PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

"If You Build It They Will Come" - The Challenge of Roads Less Traveled

On Director Mather's second visit to Pipe Spring, his party experienced first-hand the problems associated with Utah's poor roads. Yet in 1921 much was happening that would soon greatly impact the ability of states to improve their roads. That year the Federal Aid Law was passed which provided that the federal government would aid in the construction of highways in several states to the extent of funding seven percent of the total mileage of the public highways in each state. [352] This law is sometimes referred to as the "seven percent system" for highway development. Under this program, Utah received 74 percent of the construction costs of roads and paid the balance of 26 percent plus preliminary engineering costs. [353] Plans, specifications, and estimates had to be approved by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Roads were required to have at least 18 feet of either gravel or paved surfacing with a three-foot shoulder on each side. Maximum grades were not to exceed six percent and there were certain specifications for bridges, culverts, and other road features.

The difficulty in Utah in the early 1920s was that the state had no funds for road construction, thus the 26 percent amount payable by the state had to be raised by individual counties through subscriptions. [354] Many rural counties in southern Utah were poor, resulting in a delay in financing road projects in some areas. County residents needed to be convinced that development of roads in their county would result in general economic or other improvements. Local associations were formed to promote the development of roads, while both state and local officials, as well as businessmen, acted as ardent boosters (Cedar City's Randall L. Jones was one such booster). Road development was a costly gamble toward future economic prosperity, with much at stake. Not surprisingly, competition for road funds and highway projects was at times fierce and always intensely political. While the struggle to raise local funds would be slow-going, the new Federal Aid Law set into motion in 1922 a number of serious road studies by federal agencies (including the National Park Service), the state road commission, and Union Pacific.

Along with its surveys of Utah's roads, Union Pacific directed its information-gathering efforts toward accumulating knowledge of the agricultural, mining, and scenic resources in southern Utah with the intent of expanding its transportation network in those areas with marketable resources. In 1921, at the urging of Utah politicians, Union Pacific's President Gray made a personal investigation of some of Utah's southern agricultural communities (Cedar City, Parowan, and Fillmore) and interviewed farmers and ranchers. Impressed with the area's potential, Gray authorized the building of a railroad spur to Fillmore, which was completed the following year. Later trips were made by UP officials in September and October. The latter occurred during the week of October 22, involving a Mr. Platt and an unidentified official who filed the report. Their purpose was to continue the company's survey of southern Utah and northern Arizona attractions. The two men traveled from Kanab to Zion via Pipe Spring and Hurricane. Their later trip report stated,

After making this second trip via the Pipe Springs desert and Hurricane, I am more than ever confirmed in the opinion that a touring trip in which the railroad is interested in advertising must avoid the most unpleasant hot desert trips via La Verkin, Hurricane and Pipe Springs on the south, and via Parowan, Bear Valley and Panguitch on the north. These hard hot trips would soon result in some very unfavorable advertising by tourists. The highways and roads on these portions of the trips are very bad. On account of being out of line of general travel, these particular stretches stand very poor chance of being maintained properly. A large part of these stretches are unattractive. The heat, dust and poor roads destroy the pleasure of the entire trip. [355]

This official proposed a route that would have excluded the "most unpleasant" roads described above and a loop tour that would have excluded Pipe Spring. This alternative route, however, required additional road construction and improvements. The significance of this report is that it appears to have been the first of several to recommend against use or development of the Hurricane-Fredonia route, a sentiment that resulted in continued isolation for Pipe Spring National Monument.

The problem of roads for the National Park Service was two-fold: first, how to construct and maintain a viable system within parks, and second, how to persuade state and local officials to finance a transportation network that would enable visitors to get to the parks. In late 1921 Director Mather called for a meeting to be held to discuss park developments in southern Utah. Called the Governor's Committee on National Park Development, the assembly was scheduled for December 19-20 in Salt Lake City. About three weeks prior to the meeting date, Mather wrote D. S. Spencer, General Passenger Agent of the Union Pacific System, regarding plans for the event. Mather's remarkable political acumen is illustrated by the request he made of Spencer, whose office was in Salt Lake City:

The success of the meeting will largely depend on how representative a one it is. We should absolutely count on having President Grant there, and Apostle Smith if possible. We will want men like Lafayette Hanchett and Mr. [William W.?] Armstrong of the National Copper Bank, besides the Governor, Mayor [C. Clarence] Neslen, and others. Cedar City should be represented by Randall Jones and one or two of their important men. Petty and some of the Chamber of Commerce men from Hurricane should be there, as well as Mr. [Joseph?] Snow of St. George. We ought also to get the elder [Ole] Bowman of Kanab, and Johnson [sic; Jonathan] Heaton, or one of his sons, as it will be advisable to bring up the Pipe Springs proposition at the same time. We should also count on having Mr. Adams and Mr. Basinger present. [356]

Lafayette Hanchett was president of the National Copper Bank in Salt Lake City and chairman of the Governor's Committee on National Park Development; H. M. Adams was vice-president of UP, in charge of traffic; W. S. Basinger was UP's passenger traffic manager. Joseph Snow was a promoter of the Arrowhead Trail, as well as represented St. George in the Southern Utah & Northern Arizona Road Association.

Horace Albright (at the time both superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and field assistant to Director Mather) was unable to attend the December meeting but sent a letter to Mather at Hotel Utah expressing his views on park development in southern Utah. It would be important to connect financial interests in Salt Lake City to the new developments, he advised. Albright also stressed the importance of a Park Service alliance with Union Pacific:

That Union Pacific support for the new project would be the biggest guarantee of its success. Such support would be beneficial in every respect and I do not see where any grounds could be found for criticism of the Park Service for dealing with the Union Pacific. I mention this because in the past it has been customary for everybody to rap a big corporation, particularly the railroads, and to look upon their every action with suspicion. I believe we are getting away from this sort of thing now and are coming to realize that railroads and other big organizations are necessary and desirable in our commercial life and that any business is not necessarily bad because it is big. [357]

Mather followed Albright's advice and achieved successful results in the region, as evidenced by later events.

The December meeting was held in Salt Lake City at the State Capitol's Commercial Club. It was called to order by Governor Charles R. Mabey and chaired by Lafayette Hanchett. One hundred representatives attended, including some from almost every county in southern Utah where scenic attractions were located. In addition to the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service was represented. Officials from the State Road Commission and from the railroads (Union Pacific System and the Denver & Rio Grande Western) were also present. The chief business of the meeting was "The Marketing of Utah Scenery." Topics for discussion included linkage of Utah's southern attractions with the Grand Canyon; the construction and maintenance of connecting highways and selection of best available temporary and permanent routes; the provision of adequate lodging and transportation facilities; plans for securing adequate state and federal legislation; enlisting the cooperation of national, state, and county organizations, as well as chambers of commerce and other civic organizations; and plans for adequate surveys of park territory and highways. Those present passed a resolution endorsing and pledging support for the plans made. Five subcommittees were created to tackle all of these issues. Appointees to the five committees constituted exactly the kind of powerful coalition that Mather had envisioned. Unfortunately, there is no record of whether or not Jonathan Heaton or a family representative attended the conference, but the fact that Mather had requested that a family representative attend strongly suggests that a Pipe Spring "deal" was already in the making by December 1921. [358]

At this meeting, Mather presented a plan for a system of roads that would link the scenic attractions of Utah. The convention unanimously adopted his recommendation. This system was intended to connect Zion, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon, Kaibab National Forest, and the Grand Canyon's North Rim. The Salt Lake City meeting and Mather's proposals drew considerable attention in the press. The Deseret News published a lengthy report, which included the following excerpt:

State and local organizations and citizens must unite in placing suitable accommodations in the region of Utah's scenic wonderland and with these accommodations installed developments will be pushed rapidly by the federal government and the railroads. This appeared to be the consensus of opinions expressed today at the conference of officials called by Director Stephen T. Mather of the National Park Service for deciding on some definite course of action to pursue in exploiting the scenic attractions of the state...

The necessity of good roads and the founding of good hotels so that the people could be cared for was urged...

Director Mather presented a definite proposal before the convention that a state park association be organized in Utah with representatives from various part of the states as members. [359]

The next day, the Deseret News followed up the meeting with three more articles. The first, "Highway System to Link Utah Parks Proposed," reported that plans were adopted at the conference for the improvement of existing roads and the construction of new ones that would link the scenic attractions of southern Utah and northern Arizona together, hopefully by the 1922 travel season. Among a number of proposed plans was the construction of a road from Rockville to Short Creek and improvement of the segment between Short Creek, Fredonia, and Kaibab National Forest. The article reported another proposal: "Construct a road from Mount Carmel to the rim of Zion canyon." [360] No one at the time knew if such an idea could be carried out, or at what expense. The engineering subcommittee was to coordinate with the National Park Service, U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, U.S. Forest Service, and state, county, and local authorities to develop the improved road system. This article also points to the driving enthusiasm of Church President Heber J. Grant, who spoke at the conference. The newspaper referred to his speech:

Heber J. Grant told of the power of scenic attraction and how he had been led to visit the Yellowstone park and the Grand Canyon after being told of their wonders in Europe. He pronounced himself a thorough convert of the possibilities of a national park in Cedar Breaks and Zion canyon and announced that he believes in the 'gold mine of tourists.'

'I am ready to work,' he said, 'to the best of my ability to try to persuade other people to put up their money. I have been called long ago the 'boss beggar' in the 'Mormon' church.' [361]

President Grant meant what he said. His persuasive "begging" would eventually be successful in helping to raise the funds needed for the Park Service to acquire Pipe Spring from the Heaton family of Moccasin. The hopes of conference attendees that the new road network would be in place for the 1922 tourist season, however, were overly optimistic.

The second article appearing in the Deseret News referenced plans for an improved road system and reported that resolutions made at the Salt Lake City meetings included a call to enlarge Zion National Park to include Cedar Breaks, and for the state to take action to make Bryce Canyon a state park. [362] While Albright wanted to see Bryce Canyon brought into the national park system, Mather at this time favored the idea of it being part of a state park system that would supplement the national system. [363] (The Department of the Interior inaugurated the state park movement in 1921 with its first national conference held that year in Des Moines, Iowa. [364] ) A third newspaper article focused on Utah's need to complete a primary concrete road called the Arrowhead Trail. [365] The road passed through Iron and Washington counties, linking Cedar City to St. George. Large amounts of money were being spent to promote it as an all-year route from southern Utah to Los Angeles, reported Joseph Snow of the Arrowhead Trail Association, who believed their efforts had led to a substantial increase in automobile traffic and revenue in his home town of St. George.