PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Area Developments, Late 1924

On October 9, 1923, Mather wrote a letter to Union Pacific's President Carl Gray regarding the company's developments in southern Utah and northern Arizona. While the Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C., had approved plans for the company to build a hotel in Zion, Mather believed that the company's desire to build a large hotel on the floor of Zion Canyon would be "a grave mistake." He outlined the manner in which he wanted to see regional developments proceed:

I believe that the orderly way to do this is to develop the present [Zion] camp to a high degree and, if necessary, build a small hotel to house thirty or forty on the beautiful bench two hundred feet above the camp with its fine outlook on the whole canyon. This would then make it possible for you to concentrate on the transportation system, which is going to be a costly investment at best, and also to make the camp development at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon which is so badly needed. Then, too, at the town of Kanab there should be something in the way of an inexpensive hotel to take the place of the very poor 141.hotel which is not giving service and which is going to militate against the whole circle travel. I think too you should put in a lunch station at Pipe Springs, which we are going right to work to restore to its original basis and intend to make a very attractive spot. Just such an excellent man as you have at the Zion Camp, who is giving a far better service than Wylie ever gave, would be an ideal one to have at Pipe Springs.

It may be a little late to shift around, but I have now made four trips into this country, have studied the situation in the light of my experience in the last eight or nine years with all the National Parks, and am confident that I am on the right track in making these recommendations. I might say that Secretary Work... agrees with my point of view. [492]

Ultimately, the Utah Parks Company abandoned their plans for a large hotel and opted for a central building with small cottages. [493] Zion Lodge and cottages were under construction in 1924, completed in time for the 1925 season. What is interesting to note about Mather's above reference to Pipe Spring is his suggestion that Union Pacific develop a lunch stop facility there and hand-pick their own man to run the operation. Mather was still counting on his excellent working relationship with Union Pacific to provide much-needed visitor services at this very convenient point for a rest stop. In the midst of their crossing a particularly monotonous section of Arizona Strip desert to reach the Grand Canyon, the oasis-like quality of the fort and its ponds and the sight and sound of the running spring water would provide a welcome respite to visitors traveling on Union Pacific's tour buses as well as to individual auto tourists. Their $1,000 contribution toward the purchase of Pipe Spring was evidence of UP's interest in having the site made available to their tours as a rest stop. As events would show, however, Union Pacific wasn't disposed to comply with Mather's suggestion to sink any additional money into Pipe Spring development. Company officials cared little for the uninspiring Hurricane-Fredonia route and had long decided to route their buses across Zion National Park to Mt. Carmel, then directly southward to the North Rim, eliminating Pipe Spring National Monument from their circle tour entirely. They were only biding their time until the completion of the new road. With such plans on the table, why should Union Pacific invest money in a lunch stop at Pipe Spring, even if it was going to be "a very attractive spot"?

The 1924 travel season marked the official beginning of Union Pacific's circle tour which included stops at Cedar Breaks, Zion National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Kaibab National Forest, the Grand Canyon's North Rim, and Bryce Canyon National Monument. At this time, the complete tour was still seven days long. Travelers riding in one of UP's new fleet of motor coaches left Zion on the morning of the third day of the tour and arrived at Pipe Spring about four hours later, conveniently at 12:30 p.m., just in time for a leisurely lunch and restroom break. Thus in 1924, by virtue of its location on Union Pacific's tour route from Zion to the Grand Canyon's North Rim, Pipe Spring National Monument received an influx of tourists destined for neighboring scenic attractions. Advertised in Union Pacific brochures, depicted on their maps, listed as a scheduled tour stop, the new monument's future in 1924 appeared very bright indeed.

36. Union Pacific tour map, 1924
(Courtesy Union Pacific Museum).
(click on image for an enlargement in a new window - ~117K)

Meanwhile, Utah state road crews were constructing several shortcuts in 1924 for travel use. Perhaps the most important was the Rockville cutoff to Short Creek, later renamed Colorado City. [494] Completed in 1925, this short section of road eliminated the westward trip from Zion back to Hurricane in order to then travel eastward toward Pipe Spring and the North Rim. [495] It would shorten the travel distance from Zion to Pipe Spring by 30 miles. [496] Not surprisingly, the $40,000 steel truss bridge spanning the Virgin River (constructed 1924-1925) was partly financed by a $5,000 contribution from Stephen Mather. [497] In April 1924 Mather telegramed Union Pacific's D. S. Spencer, "I fully understand Utah situation and will take full responsibility for getting cut-off road built." [498] Mather appeared determined to get tourists to the North Rim via the Pipe Spring route and to make the trip as enjoyable as possible.

In mid-July 1924, the Annual Conference of the Western Highway Association was held in Yellowstone National Park. Two sessions held in conjunction with the conference were called especially to consider plans for the further development of the trunk line roads to the southern Utah parks. Attendees included Governor Mabey, Lafayette Hanchett, officials from the Bureau of Public Roads (Deputy Chief Engineer L. I. Hewes, District Engineer B. J. Finch), the National Park Service (Superintendent Horace Albright, Chief Civil Engineer George E. Goodwin), Utah State Road Commission (Henry H. Blood, Henry W. Lunt), as well as State Highway Engineer Howard C. Means and Randall L. Jones. Among the decisions made at this meeting were the following: the Utah State Road Commission agreed to spend $30,000 on the Rockville cutoff road from the Virgin River Bridge (then under construction); a road survey was to be conducted on the proposed road from Zion National Park to Mt. Carmel; the National Park Service agreed to spend $300,000 on the construction of the Zion-Mt. Carmel road; and Deputy Chief Engineer Hewes of the Bureau of Public Roads authorized expenditure of $30,000 of U.S. Forest Service funds to build and surface the road from Fredonia to the Kaibab National Forest. [499] The construction funds for the Zion-Mt. Carmel road promised by Albright and Goodwin were contingent on Congressional approval of the budget for park improvements, an appropriation estimated to be $7.5 million. [500]

Meanwhile, by the fall of 1924, Union Pacific's "Sell 'em Utah" campaign was in full swing. In late November the Salt Lake Tribune reported that $200,000 was to be spent by the company during 1925 to advertise southern Utah's scenic wonders by the issue of 100,000 high-class booklets with colored illustrations of Utah's scenic attractions. [501] In addition, there would be advertising in east and west coast newspapers and national magazines. The article described Utah Parks Company developments at Cedar City, Bryce Canyon National Monument, and Zion National Park. Forty-two rustic cottages had been completed at Bryce Canyon, and another 42 cottages of similar design were under construction at Zion. Transportation facilities for the 1925 season "will be greatly enlarged and improved with the purchase of forty, twelve-passenger automobile buses..." [502]

All in all, remarkable development had taken place in southern Utah from 1923 until the end of 1924. A railhead for tourists had been constructed to transport visitors to Utah's scenic south, two new monuments had been created, hotel and other lodging accommodations had been either completed or would be by the 1925 season, and considerable progress had been made in improving the state's network of roads. Road officials had recommended a route from Zion to Mt. Carmel and the National Park Service promised to fund its construction. Its completion would further cut down the travel time between scenic attractions and enhance the scenic component of the Utah Parks Company's tours. Also worthy of mention, an incredible system of trails had been constructed in Zion National Park "destined to bring fame to Zion as a wonderful trail park," stated Mather in his annual report. [503] Mather now looked toward future development at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Toward this end, the Park Service Director would once again rely on his close alliance with Union Pacific. All of these events bore on the history of newly created Pipe Spring National Monument. Still, no permanent caretaker had been chosen and there was no money to pay one. Until funding could be found for the nascent monument, Pipe Spring would remain as it had been for many years, a quaint place to pass by or to stop on one's journey from one scenic area to another.