WAYNE COUNTY HISTORY

 

Located in southeastern Utah, Wayne County is rectangular in shape. It is 23 miles wide, approximately 105 miles long, containing 2,475 miles, with 97% belonging to the Federal and State Governments. There are about 2,400 people living in the county.

The elevation varies from 8,400 feet above sea level at the west end of the county to 4,200 feet at Hanksville. The county seat, Loa, has the second highest elevation (7,045 feet) of any county seat in the state of Utah. The climate varies greatly according to the elevation as does the rainfall and temperatures from the spruce forest of Thousand Lake Mountain and Boulder Mountain to the desert of the Robber's Roost area.

Originally a part of Piute Territory, Wayne County was organized May 2, 1892. A delegate to the constitutional convention gave it the name of Wayne County in honor of his son who was dragged to death by a horse.

The livestock industry is the oldest and probably the most important in the county. It was the lure of fine grazing areas that brought the first settlers into the valley in the mid 19870's and early 1880's. The farming operations of this county are used in conjunction with the livestock operation. Cattle/sheep and dairy operations are the principal enterprises. Most farms have sprinkler irrigation systems.

Timber is another major source of income. It is logged at a higher elevation than any place in the U.S. This area has long been famed for its hunting and fishing quality. With the completion of highway 24 through Capitol Reef National Park and scenic highway 12 over the Boulder Mountain, Wayne County is enjoying a rapid growth in tourism.

Almost every town in the county has excellent accommodations for the tourist. There are two airports in the county. One is owned an maintained by the county near Bicknell and the second is government maintained and located at Hanksville.

Wayne County is a land situated in the Colorado River Basin. The principal; drainage through the county is the Fremont River, which extends from Fish Lake, in Sevier County, above the town of Fremont, to the town of Hanksville, where it joins the Muddy River. From this point to its junction with the Colorado River, in Garfield County, it is known as the Dirty Devil River. (History tells us that the Fremont was one of the last town rivers to be discovered in the U.S.)

The western portion of the county is a broken up plateau called the Awapa Plateau. It slopes to the east from the Parker Mountain Divide for a distance of 12-15 miles, from an elevation of about 10,000 feet-7,999 feet into the valley encompassing the towns of Fremont, Loa, Lyman and Bicknell. South and east of these towns are two high up-lifted mountains divided by the Fremont River. The one on the north is Thousand Lake and on the south is Boulder Mountain, (or Aquarius Plateau); one of the largest and highest plateaus in the U.S. Bot of these mountains have a horizontal lava capping and are over 11,000 feet high with many small lakes providing excellent fishing. You can also find excellent hunting for deer, elk, antelope, turkey, duck, pheasant, chukkers and other wild game. The general area provides grazing for livestock during the summer months. Southeast of the town of Bicknell is a wet, marshy area known as the Bicknell Bottoms, an excellent wildlife habitat, and housing the largest fish hatchery in the state.

The area east of the high mountains from Torrey to Capitol Reef National Park gradually slopes eastward, dropping 1500 feet in elevation. It is characterized by sandstone formations and some shales, reddish brown in color. This portion is rugged and broken except for the areas occupied by the towns of Torrey, Teasdale and Grover. It consists primarily of range land. Pinion, juniper, and semi-desert grasses and shrubs form the principal vegetative cover here. Fruits such as apples, pears, apricots, peaches and plums are raised in Teasdale, Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park.

Between capitol Reef National Park and Notom is a tilted section of very colorful sedimentary formations that vary in color from buff to yellow to maroon to reddish brown. These formations are sandstone with briefly banded shales of fantastic shades and color. This area is known as "Wayne Wonderland" and "Land of the Sleeping; Rainbow." The tilted section known as the Waterpocket Fold extends through the county in a southeasterly direction from the east end of Thousand Lake Mountain to the Colorado River.

East of the reef, the topography varies from eroded dissected slopes and blue-gray mesas to a vast open and rolling area near and east of Hanksville. It is a low rainfall area used primarily for winter grazing. This area is sparsely settled with the small towns of Cainville and Hanksville. Once headquarters of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, the area east of Hanksville is still called "Robbers Roost." It was so named because it was the last hideout of the old west desperados and gunmen.

Since Wayne County is the second driest county in the second driest state, water is our most precious resource. Therefore, nearly every farm in the entire county is under a sprinkling system.

 

WAYNE COUNTY AND ITS HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

A Walk Back Through Time in Wayne County, Utah

"It is a country of long views, a spacious country, yet the horizon, however distant, is always clearly defined, the ridgelines providing a proper edge to the immensity of the sky." Edward Geary wrote about the area in his book, "The Proper Edge of the Sky"

Wayne County has a wide range of attractions, most well known are the scenic National Parks, National Forests and byways and backways. This brochure will concentrate on a less well-known aspect of the area which will appeal to any visitor with an interest in history. Highlighted in this piece are some of the historical buildings to be found in the area.

History has long been in evidence in the Wayne County area. There has been habitation in the area since 6000 BCE. This Archaic Culture was of the hunter-gathering type. The first known people in this area were the Native American Fremont culture. The Fremont cultivated corn, and incorporated the use of the bow and arrow, ceramics and pottery, and borrowed architecture from the Mesa Verde and Kayenta Anasazi peoples. The Fremont lived in the Wayne County area from 600 - 1100 AD "Petroglyphs" carved on rock walls and the painted "Pictographs" along with storage huts (known locally as "Moki Huts") are some of the most common artifacts of the Fremont still in view today. It is thought that the Fremont were the ancestors of today's Utes and Southern Paiutes. The Paiute Tribe was living in the area when European settlers first came to the area.

John C. Fremont, the explorer, came into the county during the fall and winter of 1853-1854 on his last expedition to the West. Fremont explored the area around Fish Lake (north of Wayne County), and followed a river from the lake down into the present location of the town of Fremont, where he carved his name on a tree. During the summer of 1869, John Wesley Powell and a group of men explored the Colorado River and the area. From Powell's accounts of the trip, he himself did not come into Wayne County, but members of his expedition party did. As local stories go, the members of the party found Fremont's name on a tree, recognized it and named the river the Fremont River.

The first written record of European men in Capitol Reef National Park consists of two names carved on the wall of the Capitol Gorge - J.S. Calland Walt Batemen who were prospecting in the area. Niels Johnson was the first full-time European settler in the area. He established a fruit orchard and farm at the confluence of Sulpher Creek and the Fremont River. The orchards gave the name "Fruita" to the settlement that developed, and the name remained until what was left of the town was purchased and absorbed into Capitol Reef National Park.

A peace treaty with the local band of Paiutes and the Mormons in 1873 greatly contributed to the feasibility of settlement in the area. The lure of fine grazing was also of the utmost importance. In the mid-1870's to the 1880's, the first ranchers and farmers eked out a living. A family named Tidwell built the first log cabin in the valley, located east of Fremont. Hardy pioneers came into Wayne County and founded the towns of Loa, Fremont, Lyman, Bicknell (originally called Thurber), Teasdale, Torrey, Grover, Caineville and Hanksville, all of which exist today. Not as fortunate were the towns of Aldridge, Notom, and Blue Valley/Giles, Clifton/Kitchentown and Mesa/Elephant which have evolved into ghost towns.

The county has grown slowly since its founding, and now has a population base of around 2,400. Wayne County is 23 miles wide, approximately 105 miles long, with 97% of the land belonging to Federal and State governments. The elevation varies from 8,400 feet above sea level at the west end of the county to 4,200 ft. at Hanksville. The climate varies greatly according to the elevation as does the rainfall and temperatures from the spruce forest of Thousand Lake Mountain and Boulder Mountain to the desert of the Robber's Roost area. Wayne County was organized on May 2, 1982. The story is told that a delegate to the state constitutional convention gave it the name of Wayne County in honor of his son who was dragged to death by a horse.

Fruita & Capitol Reef National Park:
Elevation:
Niels Johnson was the first permanent settler, around 1876, in the area now called Fruita. By 1884 more families had built up around Johnson's settlement (then called Junction). The climate was good for farming although the available land was limited by the high cliffs of Capitol Gorge. Fruits, vegetables and alfalfa were grown at the confluence of the Fremont River and Sand Creek.

The village's name was changed from Junction to Fruita in 1903-1904 for the most staple cash crop grown in the Capitol Reef Valley. Capitol Reef National Monument was established in 1937, and the town of Fruita was absorbed into the enlarged Monument in 1955.

FRUITA SCHOOLHOUSE
The one-room Fruita schoolhouse was built in 1896 on land donated by Elijah Behunin. The 17X20 floor chinked log structure originally had a flat roof covered with bentonite clay. The peaked and shingled roof was added in 1914. The interior was plastered in 1935.

Most of the teachers were young, inexperienced women who earned about $70 per month. Subjects were limited to the "3 R's" - reading, writing and 'rithmatic, plus whatever subjects the teachers felt qualified to teach and had books for. Classes varied in size from a low of 9 students in 1935 to a high of 25 students in 1911. The school was officially closed to classes in 1941 due to a lack of students. The building also served as a community meeting house. Desks were not bolted to the floor so they could be moved to the side for Saturday night dances and Sunday services.

BEHUNIN CABIN

On scenic Highway 24 on the south side of the road is the Behunin Cabin. In 1882 Elijah Cutler Behunin and his family built the cabin and stayed a brief time until the rising river washed out their crops. Behunin was one of the first settlers in the area. Like so many of his contemporaries, he moved his large family often.

A family of ten lived in this one room stone building. Most of the cooking was done inside on the fireplace, but the family probably ate outside. Elijah and his wife Tabith Jane and the two smallest children slept in the cabin. The older boys slept in the nearby cliff, in a dugout, and the older girls made a bed in an old wagon box.

GIFFORD HOMESTEAD
The Gifford Homestead lies in the heart of Fruita Rural Historic District. Recognition of this significant Rural Cultural Landscape (composed of approximately 200 acres within Fruita valley) is growing and as a result, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently the Capitol Reef Natural History Association, in collaboration with the National Park Service, operates the Gifford House as a museum, cultural demonstration site and sales outlet to increase visitor awareness of the Fruita settlements. The home depicts the typical spartan nature of early rural farms in the 1920's and 1930's. The home was built in 1908 by Cal Pendleton. Later, the Gifford family then occupied the home for 41 years, and were the last residents of Fruita. The homestead includes a seven room house, barn, smokehouse, garden, pasture, and rock walls. It was opened to the public in June of 1996.

Torrey:
Elevation: 6,800 feet. During its early history this benchsite was known by such names as Youngstown, Central, Poverty Flat and Bonite. The name Torrey was chosen at the time the town got a post office. It is said that the exploit of a certain Colonel Torrey from Wyoming, who was in charge of the Rough Riders during the Spanish American War suggested the name.

TORREY LOG SCHOOL & CHURCH:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established this ward (similar to a parish or branch) in Torrey 11 September 1989. On 18 September 1989, a meeting house for the ward was started. The one room log structure, twenty-one by thirty-seven feet in plan, was constructed, with the local settlers furnishing labor, cash or materials. Logs were cut and hauled, shingles supplied by a local mill, the doors and windows were donated.

On the night the doors and windows were installed in the building, in order to celebrate the event, the people of Torrey and surrounding ranches spent the night dancing to violin and accordion music. According to local legend, "When dances were held in the log meeting house, it was necessary for the men to take turns in dancing. So when a man bought a ticket, he was given a number, and the floor manager would call, "Numbers one to ten fill the floor for a waltz," then later, "Ten to twenty fill the floor."

By November, 1898, the building was completed and proceeds from the public dances then went to purchase the bell for the tower. The building was heated by a pot-bellied stove which apparently remained in use until a remodeling in 1947.

The building began another life as a school on December of 1898. Prior to state aid, the teachers were hired and paid by the parents. Students attended class for five months each year. When state revenue cam to the school in 1910, the school year was extended to seven months. Early makeshift desks and chairs were slowly replaced by individual desks with inkwells and slates were replaced by blackboards and paper.

As the town of Torrey grew, the log church/school house was no longer adequate. For decades, it was used for meetings of the Relief Society (the LDS women's organization), as an extra church classroom, for voting and for meetings of the local Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

The building as it now stands, has been moved and renovated. It has been placed on the National Registrar as a historical building. The Torrey Log Church/School House is a unique structure. Few unaltered examples of log construction remain in Utah, perhaps none that were specifically built for the multiple religious/civic, educational function as was this building. The continued use of this early, initial phase type meeting house is also uncommon. It remains a significant building, both locally, and throughout Utah.

 

Hanksville
Elevation: 4,300 feet. It was originally known as Graves Valley after John Graves, who is said to have been a member of the Powell Expedition. Ebenezer Hanks headed a group of settlers who came to the area in 1882. Hanks came to this lonely outpost for at least one reason - he had two wives. Many of the stone homes and buildings in town were made by Franz Weber, the chapel still standing is an excellent example. Hanksville has seen boom and bust days - sheepmen, cattle ranchers and even outlaws (Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch) used the town as a supply depot.

WOLVERTON MILL
In the early 1900's, Edwin Wolverton came to southern Utah to look for gold in the Henry Mountains. Wolverton and two sons began construction of the mill to crush gold ore around 1921. The mill is unique because it combines wood cutting and ore crushing operations under one roof.

Originally, the mill stood on Mt. Pennell in the Henry Mountains and was subjected to vandalism and a variety of problems for many years. The Bureau of Land Management moved the mill to its present location in 1974. Restoration was completed by the BLM in 1988.

Bicknell
Elevation: 7,200 feet. Originally called Thurber after A.K. Thurber who built the first house in the area in 1875. In 1895, it was recommended that the town be relocated because of a lack of a good culinary water supply. Another drawback of the previous location was the sand, which at certain times of the year was exceedingly disagreeable. In 1897, residents began to move to the current town site. Thomas Bicknell, a prominent educator and historian of Providence, Rhode Island, wished to perpetuate his name to Utah and offered a library of 1,000 books to the town that would take his name. The town's name was changed in April, 1916.

BICKNELL/THURBER DAUGHTERS OF THE UTAH PIONEER BUILDING:
This building was the first public building constructed on the Thurber (now Bicknell) townsite after the site was dedicated on June 7, 1895. The building was then known as the Relief Society Hall and labor for construction was primarily donated by the men and women of the local Thurber Ward. The bricks as originally burned in the kiln were not colored deeply enough, so red clay was brought from Redmond, Utah by a team and wagon - a round trip of 140 miles. A red clay bath was made in which to dip the brick.

The building was completed and dedicated in 1889. Through the years, the building was used for church services, school, amusements, and Relief Society meetings. In 1971, the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers bought the building and restored it to its present condition.

NIELSON GRIST MILL
The mill is located on Highway 24 between Teasdale and Bicknell. The original mill was built in 1883 of logs and burrstones, by Hans Peter Nielson, a Danish miller who came to Utah in 1863. Between 1883 and 1890 the mill burned down and was rebuilt in 1890. In 1910 the mill was remodeled and very modern equipment was installed. There are 16 elevators, and five reels for flour milling. The dust collector, a water power driven turbine with belting on pulleys made from native wood, a Howe wheat buying scale and a scale for packing flour all added to a fully functioning mill. The mill closed about 1935.

Gristmills once were common in Utah communities with populations of more than 500 people. They were the places families went to have their wheat ground into flour. The Nielson mill is the only mill in Utah that still has its original water-powered workings. Water for the mill was diverted by a flume from the Fremont River.

The Wayne County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers have constructed a monument with a turn-out east of the Nielson Grist Mill. Please see the separate section on the Nielson Grist Mill.

 

Teasdale
Elevation: 7,000 feet. Named after the LDS Apostle George Teasdale, the town is located at the foot of the Boulder Mountain with a beautiful view of Capitol Reef National Park and the colorful velvet ridges.
Settled in 1882, the town was originally called Bulberry. Crafts practiced in Teasdale today were begun by the pioneer women, including quilting and weaving.

TEASDALE'S FIRST PUBLIC BUILDING:
In 1885, the LDS church purchased a piece of land in Teasdale for $9.98 and the first public building in the settlement was constructed. The building was twenty feet by thirty feet and was made of sawed logs. A large fireplace was built in the west end of the building. Cost of the building was $323.86 which was contributed in cash, labor and grain. The building served the community for many years as the church, school and recreation center. At the present time, the building is owned and maintained by the Mountain View Camp and the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.

TEASDALE CULTURAL HALL:
Originally as the Ward Amusement Hall, the building was constructed in 1917-1918. Home to the Annual High Country Quilters Quilt Show on the 4th of July.

Lyman
Elevation: 7,300 feet. This picturesque hamlet is nestled at the foot of Thousand Lake Mountain. Settled in 1876 it was originally called Wilmoth. The town's name was changed to Lyman in honor of LDS Apostle Francis Lyman.

FIRST GRAVE IN LYMAN:
A marker dedicates the first grave in Lyman, that of David Sabin Young, who died in 1878. David's father, Franklin, had given this land to the town as a burial place. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in Lyman built this marker, made of native stone and concrete with a bronze plaque, in the Lyman Cemetery in 1986 with the assistance of Jack Chappel.

Fremont
Elevation: 7,200 feet. Named after the explorer John C. Fremont. Fremont was home to the first families who settled in Rabbit Valley/Wayne County area, in 1884.

FREMONT RELIEF SOCIETY BUILDING:
Wayne County's first public building was constructed in 1878. It was twenty by thirty feet, built of logs and used by the community as a church, school house, and public meeting place. It has been moved twice, and has been renovated. Plastered, painted an covered with siding, it is now home to the Fremont Relief Society.

FREMONT ROCK BUILDING:
This building was started in 1904, and completed and dedicated in 1907. It was used by the community as a church and public meeting house until 1964 when a new church was completed. It is now owned by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. The local volcanic rock came from "The Basin" north-east of Fremont. Originally, the building had a belfry on the front, which was torn down and the front entrance added.

THE FIRST SAWMILL:
In 1877 the first water powered sawmill was brought in to the area from Kamas, Utah. The mill was located near Mill Meadows, three miles north-east of Fremont. Logs were dragged by ox team to the mill, the milled lumber providing building materials for many of the first buildings in the area. The wheels bear the date of 1862. In 1972, the wheels were restored and brought to the current site.

Loa
Elevation: 7.045 feet. It is one of Utah's highest county seats. The name was suggested by Franklin Young who served a mission for the LDS church to the Hawaiian Islands. Mauna Loa is the second highest mountain in the islands and is an active volcano. When it belched, natives viewed it with awe and wonder and gave it the name of "Loa" which means high, large and powerful. The first families arrived in Loa in 1876.

TABERNACLE BUILDING:
On November 23, 1906, the ground was broken for this Tabernacle. It took three years with the assistance of the community, and was completed and dedicated in 1909.

TITHING OFFICE BUILDING:
Built in 1897 at a cost of $1,000 as a tithing office (as long as tithings were paid in produce). Later, it became the presidential office for the Wayne Stake. Now owned by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, pioneer relics are displayed and meetings held.

The monument was erected in the centennial year of 1976, and is made of Pohehoe lava, obtained by Eldon Morrell, a native of Loa.

 

"Whoever would seek to grasp the essence of rural Utah must understand the water: its scarcity, its fragility, its power to transform barren land to garden, meadowland to gully, highland to lowland." Edward Geary, "The Proper Edge of the Sky"

 

WAYNE COUNTY GHOST TOWNS:

Aldridge - located 11.1 miles east of Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park. The village was founded in 1890. A dozen families settled here, and raised fruits, vegetables, corn, melons and alfalfa. A small schoolhouse was built for the children of the town and for those from Notom. The town was deserted about 1900 because of flooding.

Caineville - located approximately 20 miles east of Fruita, Caineville is still inhabited by a few hardy souls. In late 1882, the Behunin family camped in the location, eventually building a log cabin. A number of families arrived during the winter, resulting in a tiny village named after Utah's Representative to Congress, John T. Caine. A favorable climate permitted farming of grain and garden crops. Floods were a continuing problem, in 1896, and by 1900, every two or three years the water would wash out dams. A huge flood in 1909 convinced the bulk of the settlers to relocate.

Notom - 4 miles south of Highway 24 (turnoff just outside of the Park). This hamlet was developed in 1886 and was known as Pleasant Creek or Pleasant Dale. When the post office was to be established in the village, the postal department would not allow either of the two names it was known by (there were already too many Pleasant Creeks and Pleasant Dales) - so the name of Notom was suggested. Where this name came from is not known - but it has been suggested that there were no Tom's in the village.

Giles/Blue Valley - 4 miles west of Hanksville, this is a truly remote location. At one time, approximately 200 people lived here. In 1883, another site along the Fremont River was chosen and a band of hardy pioneers moved in. Irrigation canals were dug, crops planted, and by 1900 the population reached the 200 mark. Known as Blue Valley until 1895, the town changed names to honor the local LDS Bishop, Henry Giles. Floods, common in the area were a continuing problem, and in 1919 the last villager had had enough.

Clifton or Kitchentown - all but forgotten - in about 1889 Clifton was founded by Bert Averey, just east of Giles/Blue Valley. Flooding caused the demise of this village once located near the mile post 112 on Highway 24.

Mesa or Elephant - another forgotten community, it was very near to Caineville and included in histories as a part of Caineville. Founded in 1887,approximately 10 families lived there. They weren't there long, because the flood of 1897 did extensive damage to Mesa, and was totally abandoned by 1898.

Credits: Various Histories, pamphlets and brochures: Wayne County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Veola Clark, Capitol Reef National Park. "Utah - A Guide to the State", Ward J. Roylance, "Rainbow Views - A History of Wayne County", Wayne County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Stephen L. Carr, "The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns", Edward A. Geary, "The Proper Edge of the Sky", Michael R. Kelsey, "Hiking and Exploring Utah's Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost"