by Alex Gugel , all rights reserved
Zion Maps and Guides2009 Centennial Newspaper |
The official 2009 Centennial Newspaper of Zion National Park (NP) in Utah. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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National Parks Pocket Maps | ||
Utah Pocket Maps |
Zion National Park
Official Centennial Newspaper
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
A Century of Sanctuary 1909–2009
Isaac Loren Covington, untitled, 1929, oil on canvas. Collection of Hal Canon and Teresa Jordan
This special edition newspaper highlights the last 100 years of events, people,
and places of Zion National Park, but the timeline of Zion began much earlier.
Humans, who have inhabited southern
Utah for over 10,000 years, continue to visit
this mysterious canyon. Why? Originally it
wasn’t to hike or take pictures, rock climb
or rest. Food and water…it was as simple as
that. Human survival meant gleaning from
the land its scant harvests. Archaic peoples,
Ancestral Puebloans, and Southern Paiutes,
the latter inhabiting this area for the last
several hundred years, had extensive and
intuitive knowledge of the plants, animals,
and seasons. Homes were temporary brush
shelters used for sleeping or to escape the
heat. As they observed their surroundings,
they knew they could “make a living.” They
would hunt, fish, gather, and grow modest
crops. Whatever was necessary to ensure
their survival was used, but the harvest did
not begin until asking and thanking the
generous bounty.
This ancient way of life is gone now. Today,
when traveling through on vacation, our
temporary home isn’t a brush shelter but a
tent or motel. We graze on granola rather
than rice grass. Our water source comes
from a tap, not the natural springs in the
rocks. We don’t need to forage in order to
live. But what may not have changed is a
deeply felt, personal experience after we
set foot here: the sound of the song of a
river; a canyon wren scolding us; the subtle
perfumery of sagebrush and juniper; the
sight of cliffs that make us think big and feel
small. Yet here we stand, mouths agape,
eyes wide.
What will your harvest be? Joy, relief,
excitement, challenge? Unlike our earliest
visitors, we come to collect not things but
knowledge, not resources but memories,
not trophies but satisfaction.
Zion National Park has shed its winter
whites, brushed off the dry remains of last
season’s display, and opened its arms to
you. The sun warms the ground. Buds and
birds return once more. A quiet liveliness
rustles and shuffles through the park.
This year is special. We have the chance
to reflect on the last century of what it has
meant to come to this place. A Century of
Sanctuary—1909 to 2009—includes the
millions of people who have made their
journey to Zion and, in many ways, made
their mark. From the initial establishment
of Mukuntuweap National Monument in
1909 to this year’s gala packed with events,
dedications, and programs; we can know,
always, that we have an unchanging landscape to visit. With all the changes in the
world, we can take comfort in returning to
this spot. We can believe that, even though
our personal world may be unsettled, sitting
and gazing deep into the soul of this canyon, we might find contentment— we might
find peace. John Muir suggests: “Keep close
to Nature’s heart... and break clear away,
once in awhile, and climb a mountain or
spend a week in the woods. Wash your
spirit clean.”
May your spirit be renewed and soar as
high as the highest cliffs. May this visit to
your park be a remarkable experience.
To conserve the scenery
and the natural and
historic objects and the
wild life therein and to
provide for the enjoyment of the same in such
manner and by such
means as will leave them
unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future
generations.
National Park Service
Organic Act 1916
Zion National Park
Altar of Sacrifice
Superintendent
Jock Whitworth
Mailing Address
Zion National Park
Springdale, Utah 84767
Web Site
www.nps.gov/zion
Park Headquarters
435 772-3256
Fax 435 772-3426
E-mail
ZION_park_information@nps.gov
Printing made possible by the National
Park Foundation. Printed on recycled
paper with soy ink. Please recycle again.
Special Thanks
Robin Hampton, Jacqueline Drake, Holly
Baker, Adrienne Fitzgerald, Mike Large,
Jennifer Aguayo, Karen Mayne, Ron
Terry, Tiffany Taylor, J.L. Crawford, Betsy
Ehrlich, and all the staff of Zion National
Park, present and past.
ZNP 3-24-09
Part of the Towers and Temples of the
Virgin, behind the Human History Museum, this distinctive cliff was named for
the red iron oxide streaking down its front.
The streaking of minerals washed down the
cliff confers the appearance of blood on a
sacrificial altar.
Angels Landing
Named by Methodist Minister Frederick
Vining Fisher during an excursion up Zion
Canyon in 1916. Fisher was accompanied
by two Rockville boys acting as guides,
Claud Hirschi and Ethelbert Bingham.
After Fisher praised the striking presence of
the Great White Throne he turned toward
what would soon become Angels Landing
and stated “The Angels would never land
on the throne, but would reverently pause
at the foot [of Angels Landing].”
believed he was the first Anglo to explore
this far up canyon noting, “the narrows…
the most wonderful defile [gorge] it has
been my fortune to behold.”
in 1901 by young pioneer David Flanigan.
His hope was to fulfill Brigham Young’s
prophecy that one day timber would come
down from the cliffs of Zion Canyon “like
a hawk flies.” The cable works proved to be
a success. The system was used to provide
building timber for the pioneers around
Zion Canyon. The cable works and a sawmill were in place for over 20 years. Wood
for the Zion Lodge came down the cable
works.
believed that Paiute Indians drove mule
deer onto the mesa here, trapping them for
food.
Located across from the Lodge and within
Heaps Canyon are a series of three pools:
the lower, middle, and upper Emerald
Pools. These pools were named for the
emerald green tint of the water, caused by
the algae that grows in it.
Orderville
Checkerboard Mesa
The Great White Throne
The Organ
Found near the east entrance. The name
stems from the cliffs distinctive checkerboard pattern. The horizontal lines are
caused by crossbedding, a remnant of ancient sand dunes. The vertical lines formed
because of the contraction and expansion
of the sandstone. This peak was originally
named Checkerboard Mountain by the
third superintendent, Preston P. Patraw.
Named by Methodist Minister Frederick
Vining Fisher while he was accompanied
by Claud Hirschi and Ethelbert Bingham.
Fisher was noted as saying: “I have looked
for this mountain all my life but never
expected to fine it in this world. This is the
Great White Throne.”
Formally named “the Great Organ.” It is
believed to have been named by Claud
Hirschi and Ethelbert Bingham, residents
of Rockville, on their 1916 trip with Methodist Minister Frederick Vining Fisher.
Behunin Canyon
Above Lower Emerald Pools; named for
Isaac Behunin, the first settler who had a
farm near the present day Zion Lodge.
A Tunnel Through Time
Coalpits Wash
In the southwestern corner of the park,
it was named for the “flowing” black lava
rock that had the appearance of coal.
Bridge Mountain
Formally referred to as Crawford’s Peak because of its location near the Crawford family homestead. Later the cliff was renamed
for a long narrow arch or “flying buttress”
found near the top of the cliff.
Cougar Mountain
Cable Mountain
Deertrap Mountain
Named for the cable works structure at its
top. The cable works were implemented
This cliff is found near Cable Mountain and
accessible off the East Rim Trail. It is
Located off of the Kolob Terrace Road
between North Creek and Coalpits Wash,
this cliff formation was named for the abundance of cougars found in the area.
Thomas Moran visits and makes
the first paintings of Zion Canyon.
switchbacks leading from Refrigerator
Canyon to Scout Lookout. It was named in
honor of Walter Ruesch, first custodian of
the park around the time of construction in
1925. Ruesch not only conceived the idea
for this section of trail, but was active in the
engineering and building.
Emerald Pools
Kolob
The name of the major star in Mormon cosmography—the star nearest to the throne
of God.
During the time of Mormon pioneering, an
economic system was in place in Orderville
known as the United Order. The town
was named after this system; however, the
system was eventually abandoned.
The Watchman
It is believed to be named for its location
watching over the entrance to the canyon.
It is unclear where the name may have
originated; some believe it was Methodist
Minister Frederick Vining Fisher. Early pioneers referred to this peak as Flanigan Peak
because the Flanigan family homestead sat
at the base of this cliff.
West Temple
Refrigerator Canyon
The highest feature in Zion Canyon. Called
“Temp-o-i-tin-car-ur” meaning “Mountain
without a trail” by the Paiute, “Steamboat
Mountain” by the local Mormons, and
“West Temple” by John Wesley Powell on
his explorations in 1872.
This cool canyon brings a breath of fresh,
crisp air as one ascends Angels Landing
in the heat of the summer. Refrigerator
Canyon is just before the famed Walter’s
Wiggles and was named for the surprisingly
cool breeze. It receives very little sunlight.
Mukuntuweap
The Narrows
Named for the narrowest section of canyon
of the North Fork of the Virgin River.
Grove K. Gilbert named this section on an
1872 expedition of southern Utah. It’s
Scout Lookout
1873
Walter’s Wiggles
Refers to a short section of the Angels
Landing Trail with twenty-one short
The east entrance bridge during construction.
Leo A. Snow, of the U.S.Geological
Survey, maps the area and is struck
by its wild beauty. He states that
Zion Canyon ought to be made a
national park.
Isaac Behunin homesteads in the
canyon, settling at what is now
the Zion Lodge. He refers to it as a
place of sanctuary and calls it Zion.
1872
1879
Grand Canyon National Monument is set aside by President
Theodore Rosevelt.
President Taft uses the Antiquities
Act of 1906 to proclaim Zion
Canyon as Mukuntuweap National
Monument.
Courtesy J.L. Crawford
William L. Crawford grows up in
a home at the site of the Human
History Museum and takes hundreds of photographs of the area.
August 25, 1916
The National Park Service is created by act of Congress to manage the parks and monuments
in such manner as to leave them
unimpaired for future generations.
Drilling in the tunnel was grimy work.
Congress redesignates Mukuntuweap National Monument as
Zion National Park and expands
the boundary to include the high
plateaus above the canyon. Walter
Ruesch is the first custodian.
Visitation is 1,814 people.
1916
July 31, 1909
1903
Frederick S. Dellenbaugh’s paintings of Zion
Canyon are exibited at the World’s Fair. People
don’t believe the scenery is real.
Methodist Minister Frederick Vining Fisher and local boys Claude
Hirschi and Ethelbert Bingham
explore Zion Canyon and name
many of the features. Most of the
names stick.
1908
1904
Explorer John Wesely Powell visits
what is now Zion Canyon and
names it Mukuntuweap, thinking
it a Paiute word meaning “straight
canyon.”
Yellowstone becomes the first
national park.
2 A Century of Sanctuary
1896
Weather station established in
Zion Canyon, possibly the longest
continuosly operating station in
Utah.
Zion NP ZION 38105
1864
Zion NP
Yellowstone NP YELL 23063
1858
By the mid-1920s, interest in Zion National
Park as a vacation spot was growing. This
monumental project was proposed to make
Zion more accessible and to allow tourists
to make their way around the Grand Circle
of parks (Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon).
The project created hundreds of jobs and
Mormon pioneer Isaac Behunin is credited
with naming Zion Canyon: “These are the
Temples of God, built without the use of
human hands. A man can worship God
among these great cathedrals as well as in
any man-made church—this is Zion.” Zion
is a Hebrew word, later interpreted by Mormons to mean a place of safety and refuge.
A viewpoint 1,000 feet above the canyon
floor, on the way to Angels Landing. The
origin is unknown, but possibly named for
John and Barney Gifford who first
“scouted” the route for the West Rim Trail.
Frederick S. Dellenbaugh writes
articles about Zion Canyon for the
widely read Scribner’s Magazine.
With a Southern Paiute guide,
Nephi Johnson becomes the first
Anglo to enter Zion Canyon.
The Zion Tunnel took eleven months and
twelve days of blasting, cutting, carving,
and hauling to make a passageway through
the cliff. First, six galleries, or windows,
were blasted out of the side of the cliff. A
pilot tunnel was then drilled and the debris
dumped out of the galleries. Finally, a ring
of holes were drilled into the pilot tunnel at
regular intervals, the holes filled with dynamite, and the full 22-foot bore of the tunel
was blasted out. It was the longest tunnel of
its kind when it was completed. It also held
the dubious distinction of being the most
expensive mile of road ever built — costing
$503,000. July 4th, 1930 was dedication day
with dignitaries and hundreds of wellwishers.
Zion
This is the name originally given to Zion
Canyon by Major John Wesley Powell. The
name was believed to be a Paiute name
meaning “straight canyon.”
Zion settler John Winder begins
building what is now the East
Rim Trail to get cattle to the high
country.
A rock fall at The Grotto creates
Great Red Arch and buries the
Gifford farm in rubble. It was a
Sunday and the family was in
church.
1880
men worked round-the-clock on three
crews: the switchbacks, the tunnel, and the
east highway.
Beautiful and inhospitable — two adjectives
that describe travel from the floor of Zion
Canyon, up precipitous ledges and through
slot canyons, to reach Zion’s east side. Early
Native Americans established a treacherous
foot trail to hunt and gather food. Springdale resident, John Winder, decided to
improve this trail in 1896 to move livestock.
Winder’s knowledge laid the groundwork
for the state and federal governments and
several contractors to build a 24-mile road
from Canyon Junction, up Pine Creek,
through 1.1 miles of sandstone, to end at
Mt. Carmel.
Zion NP ZION 10188
What’s in a Name? History.
Zion NP ZION 11922
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
The price of gas is 12½¢ a gallon.
1914
The first automobile enters Zion
Canyon.
The first free travel map is given
away at gas stations.
November 19, 1918
1917
William Wylie establishes a
tent camp as the first tourist
accomodations in the park.
A road is improved into Zion
Canyon as far as Weeping
Rock.
Annual visitation reaches
1,000.
NPS uniform, based on that of
the U.S. Cavalry, is introduced.
Yosemite NP YOSE RL-9429
A Century of Sanctuary 3
The Golden Age of the Loop Tour
delicious dining, a barbershop, and a bar.
Undisputedly, time spent in the great outdoors was the draw to these National Parks,
but as it turned out, time spent indoors was
incredibly posh!
Once travelers arrived at their respective
destinations, they could challenge both
courage and curiosity on the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail or travel a narrow
spine out to Angels Landing in Zion. If
hiking alongside vertical cliff walls didn’t
sound enjoyable, one could allow a horse to
take them instead. Horseback riding tours
within the parks were exceedingly popular,
and would take visitors along some amazing
trails between narrow canyon walls and
to the top of high plateaus. After a hard
day, visitors were tempted by the luxurious swimming pool set within the quiet
sanctuary of the canyon. As evening would
draw near, a day’s entertainment had only
just begun. Women waitresses, outfitted
in crisp white, would serve up a delicious
Construction begins on the ZionMt Carmel Highway, including the
1.1 mile long tunnel and 3 miles
of switchbacks.
Courtesy Eleanor Warriner
1921
Under the direction of Walter Ruesch
construction begins on the West Rim
Trail, including the 21 switchbacks
know as “Walter’s Wiggles.”
A second bridge is built and is
also washed away by a flood.
The park’s first visitor center and museum opens at The Grotto adjacent
to North Campground. It is being
restored in 2009.
1930
1928
1935
1934
1933
Bryce Canyon National Park is
created.
The beautifully crafted Pine Creek Bridge is
built. Its stones include every type of rock
found in Zion.
Zion NP ZION 13004
1930
1929
An annual park permit costs 50¢.
Visitation to Zion is 8,400 people.
4 A Century of Sanctuary
Zion NP ZION 2393
1926
Daily bus service takes tourists
from the train depot in Cedar City
along the “Grand Circle Tour” of
Zion, Bryce Canyon, and North
Rim of the Grand Canyon.
1924
2nd day
3rd day
4th day
All-expenses: including motor bus
transportation and three meals
and one lodging at Zion Lodge,
six meals and two lodgings at
Grand Canyon Lodge, two meals
and one lodging at Bryce Canyon
Lodge and one meal at Cedar Breaks
$58.75
Employees singing farewell to a departing tour bus.
The entrance fee is $2 per car and
doesn’t change again until 1987,
when it increases to $5.
The Kolob Canyons and Kolob
Terrace sections of the park are
added.
The Zion-Mt Carmel Highway, 1.1
mile-long tunnel, and the Pine
Creek Bridge are opened to the
public, allowing travelers to tour
the “Grand Circle” of national
parks.
The cost of an annual park permit
goes up to $1.
1927
1925
Lv. Cedar City
Ar. Zion Natl. Pk.
Lv. Zion Natl. Pk.
Ar. Grand Canyon
At Grand Canyon
Lv. Grand Canyon
Ar. Bryce Canyon
Lv. Bryce Canyon
Ar. Cedar Breaks
Lv. Cedar Breaks
Ar. Cedar City
389,000 people visit.
A third bridge over the Virgin River
is built and is still in use today.
Gasoline is 29¢ per gallon.
1st day
5th day
Stone entrance sign constructed.
Angus Woodbury is hired as the
first Ranger Naturalist.
16,817 people visit Zion.
Zion Lodge maids (and friend) in their crisp uniforms.
Tour No. 1A—Five Days
Zion, North Rim Grand Canyon,
Bryce Canyon, and Cedar Breaks.
First woman ranger, Herma Albertson, works in
Yellowstone National Park.
The Zion Inn, later known as Camp
Center and now the Zion Nature
Center, is built as a cafeteria with
adjoining cabins, to provide less
expensive lodging.
Lowest recorded temperature in
Zion Canyon: 15°F below zero,
January 21.
Zion NP
Zion Lodge opens, operated by the
Utah Parks Co., a subsidary of the
Union Pacific Railroad.
A guided horse tour ascends Walter’s Wiggles.
Courtesy Nellie H. Ballard
A bridge is built over the Virgin
River at Canyon Junction as part
of the Floor of the Valley Road. It
is washed away by a flash flood a
few years later.
Coach drivers were referred to as “gear jammers.”
The all-expense rates included
standard cabin accommodations.
If “de luxe” cabins were desired,
the additional charge per day was
$4.25 for one person or $2 each
for two people.
As time marched on, travel to America’s
National Parks was more popular than
ever. In 1920 Zion received 3,692 visitors;
by 1930 nearly 55,000 would witness the
drama. Across the nation, word got out
about the grandeur of America’s own National Parks and the unrivaled skyscrapers
of the West. Men would gather their best
travel suit and women their favorite dress
and kerchief and would eagerly venture off
on a grand, “loop tour.”
High quality lodging, entertainment, and
loop tours to some of the most impressive
wonders of the West, allowed visitation to
slowly grow throughout the 1920s. However, travel on many roads was still rough and
arduous. It wasn’t until 1930, which saw the
completion of a major road construction
project, that visitation and tourism would
truly take off. This was the completion of
Courtesy Tiffany Taylor
The road into Zion Canyon is
extended all the way to the
Temple of Sinawava.
Coaches line up to meet the train in Cedar City.
Utah Parks Company
Motor Bus Tours 1948
1953
1937
1943–46
1946
Zion Lodge closes during World
War II as gas rationing reduces
travel. The park remains open with
a small staff. Visitation drops 75%.
Zion NP
Zion Lodge, and the others on the Loop Tour, provided a comfortable and affordable way to visit the parks.
the Zion-Mt Carmel Highway and tunnel.
Said to be the most extensive road project
in the nation, with 24-miles of roadway
over incredibly rough terrain and two tunnels (the longer 1.1 miles in length) through
thick sandstone cliffs . The construction of
the Zion-Mt Carmel Highway opened up
access to the east, providing a more direct
loop between Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the
North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
dinner prepared by the men who ran the
kitchen. However, soon after dinner was
finished, staff would quickly assume a new
role as entertainers. Lodge staff proved to
be multi-talented. An evening in the desert
would come alive with dancing, vaudeville
and variety shows, including, musicians,
singers, comics, and acrobats. National
Park Service Ranger Naturalists also delivered slide programs in the evenings. Once
the time arrived for a tour to depart toward
a new destination, the staff would gather in
front of the respective lodge and bid adieu
with a “sing-a-way.”
Two Civilian Conservation Corps
camps are established in Zion.
Over 9 years, hundreds of enrollees build levees, trails, and buildings that are still used today.
Cedar Breaks National Monument
is proclaimed.
Zion NP ZION 10340
Found within the states of Utah and Arizona and carved deep within the Colorado
Plateau, one would find some of the most
awe-inspiring places in the West: the Grand
Canyon, a canyon plummeting to one mile
in depth from the rim down toward the
By the mid-1920s, curiosity was peaked
about the sublime beauty of the Southwest
and the promotion of travel to America’s
National Parks was in full swing. Union
Pacific Railroad travel brochures raved of a
place “…where everything is on a gigantic
scale and color has been splashed around
so extravagantly that artists despair of ever
catching the brilliance of such flashing
colors. No process yet devised by man can
faithfully bring to you the beauty of these
supreme achievements of Nature. You must
see them for yourself!” They did. Travelers
embarked via railway to Cedar City, Utah,
from such far-reaching locations as Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.
What awaited travelers was a vacation of a
life time: a comprehensive “Loop Tour” of
the American Southwest by motor coach,
complete with luxury lodging, and highcaliber entertainment. Points of interest
upon this journey included: Zion and Bryce
Canyon National Parks, Cedar Breaks
National Monument, and the North Rim
of the Grand Canyon. Along the way tours
would sojourn and a comfortable stay was
afforded within the lodges at Zion (1925),
Bryce Canyon (1925), and the North Rim
of the Grand Canyon (circa 1928). These
newly built, high-style accommodations
were funded and run by the Utah Parks
Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. Hired to design these three
prominent lodges was architect Gilbert
Stanley Underwood. Underwood brought
to the parks a design style with a classic
rustic appeal, which allowed the buildings
to blend seamlessly with the grandeur of
the skyline. Meanwhile, the design of the
interiors was complete with a lavish lounge,
Courtesy NPS Harpers Ferry Center
Throughout the West, writers vividly
described magical places of unfathomed
beauty. Meanwhile artists coated canvases
with rich colors—composing a myriad of
stunning landscapes. Amongst these were
images of striking red rocks, deep cliffs,
canyon walls, spires, spines, and hoodoos.
Each was an impressive “skyscraper,”
providing a one-of-a-kind view. These were
portraits of the American Southwest.
mighty Colorado River; Bryce Canyon,
a mystical maze of whimsically sculpted
spires and hoodoos; and Zion Canyon,
where a deceptively small river had uncompromisingly fashioned some of the world’s
tallest sandstone cliffs and contributed to a
landscape of remarkable diversity.
Courtesy Sherratte Library, Southern Utah University
United States. For longer travel, railroads
sprawled like vines across the countryside.
Rail travel reached its peak in the 1920s and
became an integral part in the promotion of
tourism, including visitation to America’s
scenic wonders—its national parks.
Courtesy Sherratte Library, Southern Utah University
The decade was unmistakably the 1920s.
The distinctive sound of jazz oozed through
the radio and into the homes of millions
of Americans. Emily Post defined what
was considered proper and polite within
her book Manners. Meanwhile, in cities
throughout the East, flappers perfected
their stylish moves and hairdos for the
dance floor. This post-war period proved
a prosperous, inventive time in the United
States. Many congregated within cities and
took interest in the stock exchange, while
new inventions like penicillin and television would shape the country well into the
future. This decade marked the first time in
the history of the nation that the number
of people residing in urban areas surpassed
those who called rural surroundings home.
As cities grew, architecture evolved and
skyscrapers—complete with high style furnishings, became the new fashion. Travel,
too, became a luxury that more and more
people could indulge in. By 1921, more
than ten million automobiles existed in the
An 880 ton boulder falls on a park
truck, crushing it.
A Century of Sanctuary 5
Growing Up In Zion
J.L. Crawford
By the early 1920s, visitors to national parks
expected arduous travel conditions in order
to reach sublime destinations. The Union
Pacific Railroad and its touring division—
the Utah Parks Company—aimed to give
guests more elegant accommodations. Gilbert Stanley Underwood, a Harvard educated architect, was tapped to design the
now much admired lodges at Zion, Bryce
Canyon, and other national parks. Underwood’s concept for Zion Lodge “borrowed
from nature” in both its design and building
materials. His creation of a main lodge
with surrounding cabins characterized the
NPS-Rustic architectural style he successfully refined. It set the direction for park
architecture for years to come. Drawing
from the Arts and Crafts movement, Underwood gave voice to the natural materials
in and around Zion by combining stone,
timber, and time in a gracious arrangement
befitting a wondrous landscape.
When all of Utah was rural and rugged, J.L.
Crawford enjoyed modern marvels as they
made their way to the family farm on the
present site of the Human History Museum. He remembers the first graded road
into Zion Canyon (1924), when running
water arrived (1926), and the day electricity was wired (1927). One of his favorite
memories was trying, with his brother, to
recognize the sound of different makes of
cars. When these autos drove by the farm,
they would run to the road to see if they
had guessed right. He led a colorful life that
included working for Zion Lodge, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the National
Park Service. Now, at 95, J.L. continues to
offer the park his expertise as a historian
providing priceless information, photographs, self-authored books, and personal
recollections. When listening to his gentle
reflections of an age long ago, time collapses and history is alive once more.
Gilbert Stanely Underwood
J.L. Crawford (right) on a family picnic, circa 1918.
William Wylie and his wife, Mary Wilson.
“Mission 66” begins, a program to improve
facilities in national parks. Zion’s second visitor
center and park headquarters is built in 1960.
60,000 tons of rock fall from
above the tunnel; some goes into
gallery #3.
And the children lucky enough to spend a
few formative years in a park might carry
a sense of responsibility too. Just like their
park ranger parents, they are learning everyday what it is about this place that makes
it worth protecting. They will know what is
at stake and why a place like Zion means so
much, now that modern civilization seems
to outnumber those wild places. Often
children follow in their parent’s footsteps,
but it seems that many park rangers chose
their career because their earliest experiences were in America’s treasured places.
Maybe they did not grow up in a park, but
someone shared one with them.
Though no one is keeping cougars as pets
anymore, children living in the park today
share many experiences with the young
people who came before. They may meet
wild turkeys at the school bus stop, stay up
past their bedtime gazing at a sky swimming
in stars, and spend lazy Saturdays counting lizards that run through the backyard.
Certainly they will share the freedom experienced by other young people in Zion.
Another prior resident remembers “the
“It was a wonderful place to grow up.” Della Higley
After heavy rain, a landslide dams
the Virgin River at the Sentinel
Slide and a section of the road is
washed away.
Your children or grandchildren can experience the same incredible moments that the
kids who grew up in Zion had. Whether it’s
swimming in the Virgin River on a hot day,
watching condors soar over Angels Landing, sleeping under the stars on a warm
night, or just spending time together in a
beautiful place — the experiences we have
in National Parks are memories that stay
with us. In a way, everyone who visits Zion
National Park experiences what the children living in Zion experienced, because
here we can feel like we did as children. We
rediscover those childlike senses of wonder,
delight, and freedom. Perhaps we can have
the same feeling that Della Higley, a Springdale resident for eight decades, shared: “We
loved the land and we love the park and we
felt that the land should be taken care of
and not destroyed.”
freedom to go up there in the hills.” She
recalls, “I always felt so fortunate to have
been born there. We slept outdoors in the
summertime. That was a big thing, to have
a bed outside. Oh, just out in the open air,
you know, and the stars above and the good
fresh smell of everything…”
Ranger family in front of their “modern” house, 1968.
Zion Canyon Visitor Center opens
and the shuttle system begins.
Historic houses are still homes for NPS families.
The economic impact of the park
to the surrounding communities
is $396 million and creates 2,432
jobs.
Roads are chipped-sealed in
red cinders, now a park
tradition.
1970
1958
1966
1968
Courtesy NPS Harpers Ferry Center HFC 70-253-96
The largest fire in the park’s history
burns 10,516 acres.
Zion NP
Zion NP
1954
The chief ranger’s children build a snowman, 1934.
Twenty desert bighorn sheep are
released to replace those last
reported in 1953. Today’s population is estimated at 188.
Women Rangers get a new
polyester uniform.
1956–1966
Living in a national park also means living
with the mandate of a conservation agency.
There are guidelines and rules to contend
with. Lorna Jolley Kesterson, daughter of
the park’s chief ranger in the 1920s, remembers they were not allowed to eat Sego lilies
as other settlers did. “My dad was pretty
strict about what we were doing.” He would
not cut down even one branch of a tree
while some Hollywood filmmakers were
making a movie in the park. “That’s the way
he was: very strict, strict with regulations.”
Zion NP ZION 12409
Courtesy Flora A. Ruesch
Sketch from the 1923 superintendents conference.
The rules about pets were interpreted differently then. Since domesticated animals
were disruptive to the natural environment, families inside the park could not
keep them. But, as Lorna tells, “we had one
mountain sheep that took over our whole
house inside. The ewe would come in and
slide the rug. My father finally decided the
sheep was too rough for us.” The children
also had two baby cougars as pets as well as
a family of ring-tailed cats in the attic.
After Zion was designated a national monument in 1909, life in the canyon remained
a wilderness of sorts, while civilization and
modern life changed outside its boundaries. For the families who made their home
in Zion, nature still played a major role. For
children brought up here, their first recollections, and the landscape that is etched
in their minds as home, is a wild, open and
unchanged one.
Dale Smith
Gilbert Stanley Underwood
William Wylie, founder of the “Wylie Way,”
began