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Show 0MB No. 1024-0016, NFS Forni United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 8 Page 6 Panguitch Historic District, Panguitch, Garfield County, UT established in 1908 and according to the 1910 census four rangers were stationed at Panguitch. The administrative center for the Powell National Forest was moved to Panguitch permanently in 1924. The Powell National Forest was absorbed by the Dixie National Forest in 1945, but the administrative center retains the name of Powell. The designation of National Forest lands was the first big step in generating tourism in southern Utah. Community Development and the Rise of Tourism Period. 1915-1939: The Utah gazetteer for 1914-1915 describes Panguitch as a "prosperous and progressive" city; In the early twentieth century, the businessmen along Main Street included purveyors of non-essentials, such as the jeweler, confectioner and lawyer. In the same gazetteer, the State Bank of Garfield in Panguitch proudly proclaimed it was the "Home of the Cattle and Sheep Men." It was mostly because of the cattle and sheep industry that by the beginning of this period, "Panguitch was the richest little town in the state per capita."26 Unfortunately, the State Bank of Garfield failed in 1921 and many fortunes were lost. A second bank, the Panguitch State Bank, opened in 1924, but closed in 1931 during the depression. The population remained steady growing from 1,473 in 1920 to 1,541 in 1930. Most of the new homes of the period were built for second and third generation Panguitch residents. The 1920 census indicates the community was a homogenous group of mostly Utah-born residents. There were only a few notable exceptions, for example, Jewish immigrants, William and Annie Rubinchick. The census enumeration and gazetteers of the period indicated a high number of residents in the livestock industry, but there were growing numbers in other fields. For example, the Nortons, a family of blacksmiths in Panguitch for decades, had been replaced by eight men working in the auto and trucking industries. Brick making remained an important occupation. Ed Richards and sons were operating a brick kiln in 1928 north of the current Garfield Memorial Hospital. A brickyard in the northwest corner of town run by the Fred or Frank Worthen produced yellow brick. Brandon Shakespear was the last man to operate the Judd brick yard, reportedly as late as 1936. Stephen Walker and Henry Excell were the most prominent masons in town. Contractors of the period were John Worthen, and Woodruff and Andrew Johnson. Between 1920 and 1930, the most remarkable change in Panguitch was the rise in the tourism industry. The 1930 census lists more than a dozen workers at local hotels and cafes. This change can be directly linked to the opening of Bryce Canyon National Park. The park was named for Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded the area in 1876. The brilliantly colored amphitheater of rock spires and 1,000-foot drops was, in Bryce's words, "a hell of a place to lose a cow." In 1915, forest supervisor W. J. Humphrey, was transferred to Panguitch where he was taken to Bryce by one of the local rangers, Elias Smith. Of the moment he first saw Bryce Canyon, Humphrey wrote, "We came upon what I have always considered the most beautiful piece of natural scenery on the face of the earth. Needless to say, I found it difficult to drag myself away from the beauty of the scene. Immediately upon my return to Panguitch, I began to make it possible to reach the canyon by automobile."27 Within a year, road building had begun and color photographs of Bryce had been published in tourist magazines for the Union Pacific and Rio Grande railroads. Ruby and Minnie Syrett, who had been raised in Panguitch, 26 A History of Garfield County, 312. 27 Golden Nuggets, 292. |
