PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Museum Collection

Zion National Park officials dispensed more than advice to Pipe Spring National Monument the first year it oversaw the site. By December 1942 the park had loaned Pipe Spring a large collection of pioneer-era antiques from their collection. Custodian Heaton spent much of the winter cleaning and repairing artifacts, and trying to decide how and where to best display them in the fort. Heaton wrote in his journal that winter, "Worked in the fort most all day... taking care of relics, fixing them up. Having a tough problem deciding just what to do with all the pieces of museum articles. Need some display cases, shelves, and tables. Am starting on plans I would like seen put through to exhibit these articles." [1243]

During December 1942 Heaton was given an Indian skull found in a dry wash bed some 10 miles southwest of the monument by L. J. ("Ren") Brown and Grant Heaton. Just the top part of the misshapen skull was intact. Heaton speculated that its original owner had been hit a hard jolt in the left temple, probably causing death. [1244] This may have been the skull that several Kaibab Paiute women elders reported in recent interviews having seen (and being frightened by) in the fort as young children. [1245]

In September 1943 Zion staff made an official inventory of monument property. Heaton later wrote in his journal that this was the first property inspection the monument had ever had in all the years he had been there. Yeager also did some rearranging of museum articles and made recommendations to Heaton on how to improve the exhibits. [1246] Zion staff also spent time this year assisting Heaton in rearranging the filing system and in advising him on clerical procedures.

In early May 1945, Heaton obtained the donation of an important collection of pioneer artifacts from Glendale, Utah. [1247] These once belonged to Bishop John Hopkins, carpenter and blacksmith at Pipe Spring during the fort's original construction. Heaton had obtained part of this collection from Alvin Black in late 1941. He picked up additional artifacts on May 3, including many more tools. The following October, Heaton received a request from Mr. Black's daughter, Mrs. D. A. Smith of Glendale, that he return her father's carpenter and blacksmith tools. Heaton consulted with James Esplin in Glendale and was told that since the deal had been closed for some time, that Heaton was under no obligation to return them to Smith. The artifacts remained in the monument's collection.

Significant progress was made during the war years toward researching the monument's history and developing a furnishings plan for the fort (see "Interpretation" section).