Capitol Reef Cultural Landscape Report

MISSION 66 AND NPS DEVELOPMENT, 1960-1990

The most significant changes to the landscape of Fruita followed the National Park Service's implementation of Mission 66, a service-wide, 10-year program of park development instituted in 1956. In response to increasing demands of the motor touring public, parks across the country endeavored to improve roads, campgrounds, and visitor services. Capitol Reef National Monument was enlarged to 39,185 acres by Presidential Proclamation 3249 in 1958. Mission 66 development began in the monument when the NPS initiated and funded construction of a 6-mile section of a new through highway in 1959. [112] Construction of the road coincided with the acquisition of most private land holdings in Fruita. Delayed by land acquisition negotiations, construction did not begin until the summer of 1961. [113] Portions of this road were constructed in the same general alignment of a historic route following the base of the cliffs on the north side of the settlement along the Fremont River. [114] Some parts of the new highway bisected agricultural fields and/or orchards. Most private land was purchased by 1962, and further acquisition continued until 1964 when only two properties (less than 16 combined acres) remained in private ownership. The new road, designated State Highway 24, opened officially in July 1962. The old State Route 24 (Capitol Gorge Highway, Monument Road) was turned over to the NPS, closed to vehicle traffic south of Fruita at Capitol Gorge, and renamed the Scenic Drive.

Charlie Kelly retired from his position as superintendent in 1959 and was succeeded by William Krueger. [115] Superintendent Krueger reported that in March 1962 the NPS signed a contract with Mountain States Telephone and Telegraphic Company to "provide for the first time telephone service to the monument." [116] Prior to that time, Fruita residents and monument personnel relied on shortwave radio. In September 1962 work started on construction of a water supply distribution system and sewer system for the monument, two other essentials lacking since the monument's creation. By February 1963 these systems were operating, ending years of reliance on transporting culinary water from Bicknell [117]

In May 1963 construction began on campgrounds, boundary fences, access roads for both campgrounds and NPS residences, and the entrance parking area and walks. [118] Access roads usually were constructed as spur roads from old State Route 24 providing limited access to new facilities. Campground and residential area development required additional vegetation for screening or for shade. The 1965 Master Plan for the monument recommended encouraging the cottonwood community along the Fremont River east of headquarters, noting "there is evidence here that they once were prevalent before overgrazing in pre-park days caused soil and plant life removal by floods and storms." [119] In some cases non-native species were selected, particularly in the picnic area and campground, where both cottonwood and ornamental species were planted. Also during the summer of 1963, head gates and measuring devices for the four diversions which serve irrigation water from the Fremont River to the headquarters area in Fruita were installed. [120] Construction projects scheduled for 1964 and 1965 included additional residences for permanent and seasonal staff, a visitor center, equipment storage and utility building, wayside exhibits, signage, access roads, paths and walks, and parking areas. [121]

View of new campground constructed during Mission 66. View looking northwest, 1969.

With the purchase of private lands and the removal of domestic livestock and other farm animals from the valley, a new problem developed in the monument: deer. While mule deer had occasionally wandered into the valley and caused damage to orchards, due to their small numbers they did not become a serious problem until the early 1960s. No longer in competition with domestic livestock, frightened off by dogs, or shot by local residents, the deer population quickly grew. In 1963 Superintendent Krueger reported, "Deer have been stripping the young trees in the campground and residences." He added that wire baskets had been placed around the trees for protection. [122]

The removal of farm animals was, nevertheless, consistent with the NPS philosophy of restoring park lands to their natural state. Ironically, at the same time the NPS was directed to develop or expand facilities to accommodate the visiting public. While Charlie Kelly may have whole-heartedly approved the removal of all vestiges of Mormon occupation of the valley, he disliked what he heard about the developments of Mission 66. When Superintendent Robert C. (Bob) Heyder invited him back to visit the monument in 1969, Kelly wrote back from his home in Salt Lake City,

All my old monument visitor friends deplore the new developments and changes made by Kaiser [Superintendent] Krueger, and that is why I have not been back to visit the place since I left. I liked it the way it was, primitive and natural. [123]

Campers in campground, 1969.

Deer grazing in Mulford Orchard, 1993.

After acquiring title to private lands in Fruita, the NPS removed many structures which were viewed as intrusions on the natural landscape. In late 1964 and early 1965 the structures associated with the properties of Doc Inglesby and Dicey (Mrs. William) Chesnut were removed. [124] In 1967 most of the structures associated with the Mulford property (log cabin, fruit cellar, animal sheds, and corrals) were removed. Acting Superintendent Harry P. Linder reported:

A thorough general cleanup of the old Mulford Place just south of the campground was accomplished in January. The improvement in the appearance of the place from the scenic drive is quite refreshing and adds to the scenic quality of the monument. [125]

Fruita Circulation System, 1962. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

In addition to the removal of many dwellings, associated structures, such as animal sheds, corrals, and fencing, fruit cellars, and cisterns were removed or filled in. [126] On April 19, 1968 "the fruit picker's cabin located at the Brigham Young Nut Tree" on the Mulford property was removed. [27] To further clean up the valley, aging agricultural machinery which once dotted the landscape was hauled away.

Animal sheds and corrals on Cass Mulford's property, prior to removal. Remnants of stone wall remain. (undated)

All privately developed structures related to tourism in the monument were also removed during the 1960s and 1970s. After 1957 Capitol Reef Lodge was owned by Claire Bird. Numerous complaints were made to the park superintendent by visitors who reported the lodge management refused tourists meals, drinking water, or toilet facilities if they were not lodging there. The lodge owner also was known for deliberately giving wrong directions to tourists seeking the way to a competitor, Sleeping Rainbow Ranch. [128] In addition to being a public relations problem, the lodge had, by the 1960s, become a large complex that was viewed as unsightly by park managers. Concentrated on the 2.6-acre parcel of land was the lodge, several two-bedroom apartment buildings, two four-unit motel buildings, a combination cafe/kitchen, coffee and curio shop, storage sheds, a washhouse, a gas station, and five concrete pads for house trailers, surrounded by 500 feet of chain-link fence. [129] The lodge complex was eventually acquired and removed, as was the Gifford Motel and Cass Mulford's store and gas station.

The concrete block Gifford Motel was one of the last structures removed from Fruita. (undated)

The removal of both historic and post-historic period structures continued into the late 1970s. [130] Some of the buildings removed, such as Capitol Reef Lodge complex, the Gifford Motel, Doc Inglesby's and Dicey Chesnut's guest cabins, and Mulford's corrals, were associated with the tourist industry (both pre- and post-war). Their removal peeled away a layer of Fruita's history that at first glance appears unrelated to the community's agricultural past. But to some extent the response of some locals to the demands of tourists reflected their characteristic resourcefulness in seizing an opportunity to supplement their farm income. The struggle to make ends meet and feed their families in a valley beset by yearly floods and in a county that has earned the reputation as "Utah's poorest," did not come easily to Fruita's original settlers, nor to their descendants.

Orchard Manager Kent Jackson prunes a tree in the Johnson Orchard, 1993.

The most notable structures that remain in the valley are the Fruita Schoolhouse, the buildings, structures, and sites associated with the Gifford Farm (residence, barn, smokehouse; associated pasture, field, and orchard; and Pendleton rock walls and lime kiln), the Holt Farm (residence, stone walls, fruit cellar, irrigation ditches, orchard, vegetable garden, and rock inscriptions), the Sulphur Creek lime kiln, the Scenic Drive, and the Fremont River still site. In addition, the orchards, remnant vineyard, fields, pastures, vegetable gardens, and ornamental flowers, shrubs, and trees cultivated by early residents, as well as a number of the functioning historic irrigation ditches, are important resources that contribute to the historic landscape.

The orchards of Fruita continued to be maintained by special use permit until the early 1970s. The permittee paid annual fees and agreed to maintain the trees and extensive irrigation system in exchange for the fruit harvested. [131] In 1973 two men were hired as NPS staff to take over the work of maintaining the orchards, fields, and pastures. [132] The NPS now has two full-time employees who tend the agricultural lands of the district. In 1991 the orchards yielded more than 93,750 pounds of pick-your-own fruit. The fruit season that year drew visitors from up to 300 miles away. [133]

Except for the bisecting effects of State Highway 24 on north Fruita orchards, most orchards remained relatively unchanged during the 1960s. A picnic area was established on the site of Doc Inglesby's home and cabins soon after their removal in 1965. A cherry orchard located on the adjacent Chesnut land was later removed to enlarge the picnic area and to construct a parking lot. [134] Orchards were removed from several other areas since Mission 66. The Lower Chesnut Orchard (cherry, apple, and pear trees) was removed from an area now known as the Jorgensen Pasture between 1975 and 1977. The Upper Chesnut Orchard was greatly reduced in size with the construction of Campground C in 1987. Most recently, about two dozen peach trees were removed from the Mott Orchard to allow for construction of a storage shed (1992) and two new NPS residences (March to June 1993). [135]

In 1969 Presidential Proclamation 3888 added more than 215,000 acres to Capitol Reef National Monument; on December 18, 1971 an Act of Congress modified the boundaries of the monument and changed the status of Capitol Reef from a monument to a park. Fruita's last residents and their families moved away in the 1960s and 1970s, some to the nearby plateau towns of Loa, Torrey, and Richfield; others moved out-of-state. A number still are living, and their memories have helped us to piece together an understanding of Fruita's cultural landscape.