by Alex Gugel , all rights reserved
![]() | Bryce CanyonPark History |
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covered parks
Bryce Canyon
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bryce Canyon National Park
From Curiosity to National Park
It is a place that was known to the ancient hunters who wandered this part of North America
thousands of years ago. To the Southern Paiute it was known as “Agka-ku-wass-a-wits,”
which means red painted faces, and the rock formations were the Legend People, turned
to stone by Coyote. For the Mormon Pioneers the canyon they named for Ebenezer Bryce
was little more than a curiosity – and a place you wouldn’t want to lose a cow. By the early
20th Century, however, the word began to spread and people today come by the millions to
marvel at the wonder and timeless beauty that is Bryce Canyon.
.
Beginnings
The Syretts
J.W. Humphrey was transferred to the town
of Panguitch in 1915 as the new Forest
Supervisor of the Sevier National Forest.
At the urging of Forest Service Ranger
Elias Smith, Humphrey first visited the
eastern escarpment of the Paunsaugunt
Plateau and, surprised at the “indescribable
beauty” of the canyon, almost immediately
began developing plans to publicize what
he had seen. Humphrey designated Mark
Anderson, foreman of the forest’s grazing
crew, to take on this task. Anderson had yet
to see “Bryce’s Canyon” himself, and would
not until the spring of 1916. Returning
to Panguitch, Anderson immediately
telegraphed a request for Forest Service
photographer George Coshen to be sent
down with still and movie cameras. Coshen
arrived the following day and, upon
completion, the photographs and movie
were sent to Forest Service officials in
Washington, D.C. as well as to Union Pacific
Railroad officials in Omaha, Nebraska.
In either the late spring or early summer
of that year, Humphrey, with the help of
Anderson and James T. Jardine, secured
an appropriation of $50 to build bridges
over the East Fork of the Sevier River
and complete a dry weather road to the
plateau’s rim (which ended near the site of
the present Bryce Canyon Lodge). By late
1916, two articles were written about the
canyon, one by Arthur Stevens, a member
of the grazing crew, which was published in
a Union Pacific publication, Outdoor Life,
and the other by Humphrey, under the pen
name J.J. Drew, published in Red Book, a
periodical published by the Denver & Rio
Grande Western Railroad.
As the Forest service was first beginning to
publicize the canyon in 1916, Reuben “Ruby”
and Minnie Syrett were living in Panguitch
but looking for a place to homestead. Settling
on a location about 3-1/2 miles from what is
now Sunset Point, they moved to the area in
early May of 1916. By the end of the summer,
Ruby and Minnie were inviting friends from
Panguitch to come up and see the area’s
scenery.
the ranch and returned with several beds.
Ruby and Minnie would spend the rest of
that summer accommodating visitors. In the
spring of 1920 the Syretts built a permanent
lodge, along with several cabins, that would
soon be named Tourist’s Rest.
The years from 1916 to 1919 saw the Syrett’s
adding to their homestead and splitting time
between there, Escalante, and Tropic. As
word began to spread and visitors arrived in
ever increasing numbers, one Sunday in the
spring or early summer of 1919 found a large
group arriving from Salt Lake. The Syretts
erected a large tent, served a noon meal,
and later that afternoon, Ruby went back to
The years 1917 and 1918 brought more
visitors to see Bryce’s Canyon, one of the
most significant being Salt Lake Tribune
photographer Oliver J. Grimes. A full
page article, “Utah’s New Wonderland,”
appeared in the Tribune in August of
1918, and, along with many photographs,
included directions. Grimes would soon
become State Secretary to Governor
Bamberger and, apparently, had some
influence on the state legislature passing a
Joint Memorial on March 13, 1919 urging
the U.S. Congress to set aside Bryce’s
Canyon as a national monument.
Tourist’s Rest in the 1920’s.
National Monument
Senator Reed Smoot of Utah introduced
a bill in November of 1919 to establish
Bryce as Utah National Park but the
Department of the Interior’s position was
establishment of a national monument
was a better idea. Senator Smoot would
try again in 1921 however, by late 1922, he
finally conceded that obtaining monument
status would be the best way to proceed.
Following meetings in December of 1922
and recommendations from both the
Departments of Interior and Agriculture,
on June 8, 1923 President Warren G.
Harding issued a proclamation establishing
Bryce Canyon National Monument.
Senator Smoot continued his pursuit of
national park status for Bryce and his
bill establishing Utah National Park was
finally passed June 7, 1924. There was
a stipulation, however, that it remain a
national monument until such time as
all lands within the boundaries became
property of the U.S. Government. It would
be four more years before this came to pass
and from 1923 to 1928 the monument was
managed by the forest service.
Union Pacific
Meanwhile, as the wheels of government
turned in the early 1920’s, the Union
Pacific Railroad pursued their interest
in developing the scenic attractions of
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.
Bryce was a welcome addition to their plans
which included Zion and Cedar Breaks
along with the Grand Canyon’s North
Rim. The company’s plans included a
hotel and depot in Cedar City, lodges in the
parks and monuments, and transportation
services. In addition to facilities, there
was also the problem of roads in the area.
Negotiations between the State of Utah, the
Federal Government, and Union Pacific,
operating as Utah Parks Company, led to
improvements in that regard. The Syretts
were another issue and, while they did
not actually own the land where Tourist’s
Rest was located, they did have a verbal
agreement with the state and they did own
water rights. Following several months
of negotiation, the two parties came to
agreement in late September, 1923 and
the transfer of the Syrett’s land, along with
other adjoining land, was completed.
Bryce Canyon in early May of 1923; it was
on this visit that he selected the location
for the building. Construction of the
building began in the summer of 1924
and was opened for the first visitors in
1925. Expansion of the main lodge, plus
construction of both standard and deluxe
Even before acquiring the land, Union
Pacific had contracted with Los Angeles
architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood to
design the lodges. Underwood first visited
Park Status
Some Utah authorities were not happy
with the name “Utah National Park”
as designated from the 1924 legislation
creating the park. There were several
reasons for this, including the fact that the
monument had been going by the name
Bryce Canyon, it had long been advertised
by that name, and the name carried with
it some local significance. Senator Smoot
introduced a bill during the first session
of the 70th Congress to change the name
to Bryce Canyon National Park. Included
in this bill were appropriations to acquire
additional land and, with the addition of
lands held by the state and Utah Parks
Company, in 1928 Bryce Canyon National
Park was officially established. Over the
next few years more land was added to the
park and by early 1931 the park had more
than doubled in size from 14, 480 acres
to 30, 560 acres. With land added in later
years the park’s current acreage stands at
35, 835, the ninth smallest national park.
In the early years only one ranger, Maurice
Cope, was permanently assigned to the
park and he served only seasonally from
1929 through 1932. Cope became the park’s
first permanent ranger in 1933 and would
remain at Bryce until 1943. Except for the
years 1932 and 1933, when the effects of
the Depression were worst, visitation grew
steadily until the start of the Second World
E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A™
A tour bus parked in front of the lodge in the late ‘20s.
cabins, also designed by Underwood,
continued for the next several years. By the
fall of 1927 wings, which housed additional
rooms and a curio store, and a recreation
hall had been added to the lodge. By the
same time there were 67 standard cabins
and 5 deluxe cabins completed and, by
1929, an additional 10 deluxe cabins would
be built.
War from 21,997 visitors in 1929 to 124,098
in 1941. In the 21st Century the park’s
annual visitation now exceeds 1.5 million, a
dramatic change in a little over 80 years.
Maurice Cope, the first permanent ranger at Bryce
Canyon National Park.
Gathering for a guided walk at Sunset Point, late ‘20s.