A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks (Revised)Woodbury, Angus M. (Angus Munn)
History
A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks (Revised)
Woodbury, Angus M. (Angus Munn)
National parks and reserves -- Utah -- History; Utah -- History
During the next winter in Washington, D.C., Albright toyed with the idea
of changing the name of the monument from Mukuntuweap to Zion and was
urged to do so by Douglas White. Secretary Lane approved and the Utah
congressional delegation concurred. Albright prepared a proclamation
changing the name and enlarging the monument to one hundred and twenty
square miles, which President Wilson signed March 18, 1918.
Other Utah scenic areas, including Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon and Wayne
Wonderland, all profited by the publicity accorded Zion and the Grand
Canyon. S. A. Halterman of Parowan, Utah, took the first automobile to
Cedar Breaks via the wagon road in Parowan Canyon. In 1920, he piloted
Senator Smoot and others over the same route to see the Breaks. By 1921,
he was planning regular weekly trips for tourists during the summer.
Iron County spent about $12,000 that year to improve the road.
On August 25, 1918, Oliver J. Grimes of Salt Lake City, published an
article in _The Salt Lake Tribune_, describing “Utah’s New Wonderland,
Bryce’s Canyon,” which stimulated additional interest in southern Utah’s
scenic wonderland. During that summer, LeRoy Jeffers, an eastern writer,
visited Bryce Canyon and published an article entitled, “The Temple of
the Gods in Utah” in the _Scientific American_ of October 5, 1918. He
approached Bryce from North Rim of Grand Canyon, from which he says, “we
made a rapid run through the yellow pine and aspen forest of the Kaibab
Plateau—crossed the burning sands of the Kanab which nestles verdantly
among the vermillion cliffs of southern Utah. We had come eighty to
eighty-five miles before sundown and were ready for a similar trip to
Panguitch on the following day.” He gave directions for reaching Bryce
via Marysvale and Panguitch; described the wonders of the scenery and
published four pictures.
When Albright read the article, he recalled that he had heard of Bryce
Canyon when he was at Zion and made inquiries about the feasibility of
establishing it as a national monument. He was temporarily blocked
because it was a part of a national forest. However, it was placed on
the agenda for later consideration. Albright later made up his mind that
Bryce Canyon belonged in the National Park System, but Director Mather
did not at first agree and toyed with the idea of a system of state
parks to supplement the national system. Bryce, he considered, would
make a keystone around which other state parks could be clustered.
However, when the Utah governor and state legislature rejected his view
and insisted that Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks and Wayne Wonderland were
of national park caliber, he yielded and when later he saw these
marvels, was delighted that he had done so.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account