Bryce Canyon Historic Resource Study

CREATION OF BRYCE CANYON

Early in July 1927 discussions took place at the Canyon Hotel in Yellowstone Park between Union Pacific's President Gray and National Park Service Field Director Horace Albright. [217] Their subject was the means by which Bryce Canyon could achieve national park status. National Park Service Director Mather had given Albright full authority to conduct negotiations with Gray, and Gray made it clear to Albright the Union Pacific was vitally interested in immediate action. Omaha had developed deep concern over the deplorable condition of roads in northwestern Arizona, and was reluctant to go forward with its plans for the development of the North Rim until transportation was made more efficient to and from it. [218]

Basically, what came out of the discussions between Gray and Albright was an exchange proposal by Gray. Omaha wanted the Zion-Mt. Carmel road, and specifically wanted the National Park Service to authorize that portion of it within Zion to be completed within 2 years. In return the railroad agreed to deed the 11.69 acres owned by them at Bryce Canyon to the Federal Government. Additionally, Omaha consented to the transfer by the State of Utah to the Federal Government the balance of Section 36, upon which the railroad had a long-term lease. In order to operate at Bryce under National Park Service administration, the Union Pacific wanted a concessions agreement duplicating privileges it received at Zion by virtue of the June 9, 1923, contract.

Gray readily apprehended the fact that no one individual could conclude an agreement binding the Federal Government, so he suggested placing the deed of land in escrow until the conditions asked for by the railroad were fulfilled. [219] Union Pacific's Finance Committee in New York approved the escrow agreement on July 26, 1927. [220] Necessary papers were actually placed under deed to the Federal Government in Walker Brothers Bank of Salt Lake City on August 12, 1927. [221]

Gray and Albright well knew that Congressman Cramton of Michigan was the only individual who alone could block the achievement of national park status for Bryce Canyon. Cramton simply would not permit Congressional appropriations to the Interior Department for the Zion-Mt. Carmel road until terms creating "Utah National Park" had been met. [222] As early as July 5, 1927, Acting National Park Service Director Arno B. Cammerer was careful to tip-off Cramton that negotiations between the Union Pacific and Park Service were proceeding satisfactorily with respect to Bryce. [223] On July 22, 1927, Cramton responded to Cammerer as follows:

I have your letter of July 5 with enclosures mentioned concerning the Utah National Park, etc. I am delighted to know of the very encouraging prospect for the clearing up of the Utah National Park situation. If that is cleared up satisfactory [sic] and in time, I see no reason why the road construction work in Zion should not be pushed as fast as Mr. Mather desires. [224]

Thereafter, Cramton, with the aid of Utah Senator Smoot and Utah's Congressmen, began to push for legislation creating Bryce Canyon.

Cramton's reply to Cammerer says much for the Park Service's attitude toward the Bryce Canyon negotiations. There was, in fact, whole-hearted agreement with Union Pacific's proposal. Nevertheless, the Service faced an immediate problem of substantial proportions: financing the Zion-Mt. Carmel road within Zion. By the middle of July 1927 plans for sections 1 and 2 of the tunnel were available through Assistant Chief Hewes of the Federal Bureau of Public Roads. [225] Estimates for the work approximated $700,000, and it was this figure the Park Service had to make quickly available.

Exactly $450,000 was already in the Zion allotment, so Cammerer began to assiduously seek funds that could be transferred from appropriations granted other parks. This was done in the following way:

Finishing the road within Zion would cost an additional $740,000, but Cramton could be counted on to secure these funds in appropriations for the next fiscal year. At a major conference in Salt Lake City on July 20, 1927, attended by representatives of the three principal parties, Henry H. Blood of the Utah State Road Commission assured the National Park Service that Utah would have its 16-1/2 mile section between Zion and Mt. Carmel constructed at the same time the Service finished its section. [227]

The State of Utah's most critical role in the Bryce Canyon project, however, hinged on its willingness to relinquish the lion's share of Section 36. This the State was willing to do, as Governor Dern made clear to Congressman Cramton on July 20, 1927:

I am pleased to inform you that the State Land Board had a meeting today and . . . you are hereby advised that the State of Utah will exchange the school section in question for some other section of land in order that Bryce Canyon may be made a national park . . . [227]

Dern had another reason for writing Cramton. Salt Lake City was not happy with the condition in the June 7, 1924, law renaming Bryce "Utah National Park." Dern thus put forward three sound arguments for scrapping the name. First, Bryce Canyon had already received extensive advertising during its national monument status by the Union Pacific. Changing its name would do much to negate the railroad's expense and effort. Second, the name Utah National Park had no local significance. It could have been used for any other scenic attraction in the State. Third, the title implied Utah had but one national park, and Bryce would in fact be the second. Dern urged that the 1924 law be amended to read "Bryce Canyon National Park." [229] Accordingly, Senate Bill 1312, introduced to the first session of the 70th Congress by Senator Smoot was titled a bill "To change the name of the Utah National Park . . . to the 'Bryce Canyon National Park,' and for other purposes." [230] By "other purposes" Smoot meant the acquisition of additional land.

LAND ACQUISITION

Senate Bill 1312 resulted in the February 25, 1928, Act of Congress which made the title Bryce Canyon National Park official. By virtue of this Act, and a corrective Act dated May 14, 1928, [231] a total of 11 sections of land were added to the future national park. These were: (1) the E1/2 of the E1/2 of Section 25 in T. 36 S., R. 4 W.; (2) the E1/2 and SW1/4 of Section 20, and all of Sections 21, 28, 29, 30, and 33 in T. 36 S., R. 3 W.; (3) all of Sections 24 and 25 in T. 37 S., R. 4 W.; and (4) all of Sections 19, 20, and 30 in T. 37 S., R. 3 W. From May 14, 1928, to June 13, 1930, Bryce Canyon included 22.625 sections, or 14,480 acres (Map 5).

Lands added to Bryce Canyon as a result of the 1928 Acts had to be excluded from Powell National Forest. This, of course, required close cooperation between the National Park Service and the Forest Service officials. The Chief Forester, Colonel Greeley, was willing to relinquish land to the Park Service, and asked only that it be land of particular scenic value. [232] Randall Jones, Union Pacific's agent in Cedar City, had thought for some time that Little Bryce Canyon and Boat Mountain belonged to the park, and available evidence suggests that Park Service officials concurred with his assessment. [233] They also wanted sufficient surrounding area to make these attractions accessible from Forest Service roads in Bryce Canyon. It is worth emphasizing, however, that indiscriminate additions to Bryce Canyon made no sense to either Mather or Albright. In fact, there was a deep seated unwillingness on Mather's part to acquire so much Forest Service land that road building obligations would overwhelm the future park's budget for years to come. [234]

The direct relationship between the size of Bryce Canyon and the financial obligations of the National Park Service toward it did not, however, prevent Senator Smoot of Utah from assiduously attempting to enlarge the park. Smoot actively opened his Congressional campaign in the spring of 1930 with Senate Bill 4170, a bill "To provide for the addition of certain lands to the Bryce Canyon National Park . . . and for other purposes." [235] On June 13, 1930, Senate Bill 4170 resulted in Public Law 352 of the 3rd session, 71st Congress. This law, and the joint recommendation of the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, authorized President Hoover to issue Proclamation No. 1930 on January 5, 1931.

Smoot's original bill, introduced on April 15, 1930, and House Bill 11698 sponsored by Utah Congressman Don Colton the following day, asked that any or all of unsurveyed Townships 37 and 38 S., R. 4 W. not already included in the park be added to it. [236] This general request was later made precise, and took in the following parcels by virtue of the Presidential Proclamation of January 5, 1931:

---

Unsurveyed T. 37 S., R. 4 W.

1. S1/2 of Section 2
2. S1/2 of SE1/4 of Section 3
3. S1/2 and NE1/4 of Section 10
4. All of Sections 11, 14, and 15
5. E1/2 and the E1/2 of the SW1/4 of Section 16
6. E1/2 of SE1/4 of Section 20
7. All of Sections 21, 22, and 23
8. W1/2 of Section 27
9. All of Section 28
10. E1/2 and E1/2 of SW1/4 of Section 29
11. S1/2 of Section 31
12. All of Section 32
13. N1/2 of Section 33.

---

The principal effect of President Hoover's January 5, 1931, Proclamation was to more than double the size of Bryce Canyon from 22.625 sections (14,480 acres) to 47.75 sections (30,560 acres). Southwest expansion along the Paunsaugunt rim allowed the Park Service to take under its protection points of scenic interest as far south as Rainbow Point (Map 6).

On the very day President Hoover issued Proclamation No. 1930, Senator Smoot introduced Senate Bill 5564 to the 3rd session of the 71st Congress. Eight days later Congressman Colton followed with the near-duplicate House Report 16116. Smoot and Colton asked for the removal of Section 30 in T. 37 S., R. 3 W., and Section 25 in unsurveyed T. 37 S., R. 4 W., but the real thrust of their bills was the proposal to add approximately 9.42 sections northeast of the park, as well as a total of 1 section to the far south. These proposed additions promised to entail the National Park Service with no further road building obligations, so high Park Service officials—especially Albright—favored the measure.

Park Service Director Albright explained his position on House Rule 16116 in a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, dated January 17, 1931:

The area covered by this bill is adjoining and contiguous to the Bryce Canyon National Park and comprises approximately 6,360 acres [sic]. [237]

Approximately 3,400 acres of this area are within the Powell National Forest and the remaining approximately 2,960 acres are a part of the public domain but were withdrawn by Executive order dated January 5, 1931 for classification and in aid of legislation. The lands in the bill are not of any great value for grazing purposes and are of greater value for scenic and scientific purposes than for economic development.

This bill also proposes to eliminate 1,280 acres from what are now within the boundaries of the national park and add same to the Powell National Forest. The adjustment of the boundaries of the Bryce Canyon National Park as provided for by the bill is along lines worked out by the superintendent of the Bryce Canyon National Park and the regional forester of the United States Forest Service under agreement between the two services. This adjustment will not change in any way the financial obligation of either service.

. . .

I have to recommend that H.R. 16116 . . . be given favorable consideration and enacted into law. [238]

The House Report did become Public Law 675 of the 3rd session, 71st Congress on February 17, 1931. President Hoover used this law as partial authorization for Proclamation No. 1952, dated May 4, 1931. Additions to Bryce Canyon included in the Proclamation are listed below with necessary emendations:

T 36 S. R 3 W.

Surveyed

1. S1/2 of SW1/4 of Section 2
2. S1/2 of S1/2 of Section 3
3. SE1/2 of SE1/4 of Section 4
4. E1/2 of Section 8
5. All of Section 9
6. N1/2 of Section 10
7. NW1/4 of Section 11
8. E1/2 of NE1/4 of NW1/4 and E1/2 of NW1/4 of NW1/4 and E1/2 of NW1/4 of NW1/4 and N1/2 of SE1/4 of NW1/4 and S1/2 of NE1/4 of SW1/4 and N1/2 of the S1/2 of SE1/4 of NW1/4 and N1/2 of SE1/4 of SW1/4 of Section 17.

Note:

Both the Act of February 17, 1931, and Proclamation of May 4, 1931, erroneously described Section 17. The correct description should read: E1/2 and NE1/4 of NW1/4, etc. This correction was made by Public Law 485 of the 2nd session, 77th Congress on March 7, 1942. Public Law 485 of the 2nd session, 77th Congress, brought to an end the legislative history for Bryce Canyon.

9. S1/2 of S1/2 of Section 19
10. S1/2 of NW1/4 of Section 20.

Unsurveyed

1. S1/2 of Section 10
2. SW1/4 of Section 11
3. W1/2 f Section 14
4. All of Sections 15 and 16
5. W1/2 of W1/2 of E1/2 and NE1/4 of NE1/4 of Section 22

Note: Both the Act of February 17, 1931, and Proclamation of May 4, 1931, erroneously described Section 22. The correct description should read: W1/2 and W1/2 of E1/2, etc. This correction was made by Public Law 485 of the 2nd session, 77th Congress on March 7, 1942.

6. N1/2 of NW1/4 of Section 23
7. W1/2 of Section 27
8. N1/2 of NW1/4 of Section 34.

The principal effect of President Hoover's May 4, 1931 Proclamation was to increase Bryce Canyon from 45.75 sections (29,280 acres) to 56.22 sections (35,980 acres). Northeast expansion along the Paunsaugunt rim allowed the Park Service to take under its protection points of scenic interest as far north as Shakespeare Point.

Boundaries — Marian Frost Settlement

Section 2 of the June 7, 1924, Act establishing the Utah National Park Stipulated that:

. . . nothing herein contained shall affect any valid existing claim, location, or entity under the land laws of the United States, whether for homestead, mineral, right of way, or any other purposes whatsoever, or shall affect the rights of any such claimant, locator, or entryman to the full use and enjoyment of his land . . .

The full meaning of this provision was not an issue until Marion Frost, a resident of Tropic, directed a complaint to the State Land Board on September 22, 1930. This complaint was soon referred to the General Land Office in Salt Lake City for an answer. In it, Frost explained that "Park Surveyors" had sent him notice to move his house and fence from a 40 acre tract in Section 33, T. 36 S., R. 3 W. This property, Frost contended, was as much his as the patented homestead adjoining it—upon which he claimed settlement since 1917. [239]

Frost originally had his house and other improvements located on the SW1/4 of the SW1/4 in Section 34, T. 36 S., R. 3 W., and after patent moved them to the unsurveyed SE1/4 of the SE1/4 of Section 33—the land in question. "About" September 1928 Frost sold his 120 acre homestead, comprising the W1/2 of the SW1/4 and NE1/4 of the SW1/4 of Section 34, and the 40 acre tract in Section 33 to Jesse L, and Mary L. Jolley of Tropic. At the time of the sale Frost gave the Jolleys a written statement, transferring all rights and interest in the homestead, and promised he would deliver deeds to the unsurveyed land in Section 33 as soon as they were obtainable. [240]

If Frost's claim was valid, its effect on the young park would be singularly negative. Naturally, the most far reaching implication involved the cardinal condition imposed for the creation of a National Park at Bryce Canyon by the June 7, 1924, Act: that all land within the park be owned by the Federal Government. If this condition had not been fulfilled, then everything done by the National Park Service since its administrative takeover on September 15, 1928, was illegal. Secondarily, if the 40-acre tract were removed from the park, it would be left as an isolated, unsurveyed block, with contiguous land to the north and west already having been added to Bryce Canyon (see Map 5).

Responsibility for certifying that the land in question was free of encumbrances lay with the General Land Office, Department of Interior. However, Eli F. Taylor, Registrar of the Land Office in Salt Lake City, had already muddied the water by recognizing Frost's title to the SE1/4 of the SE1/4 of Section 33. This forced the National Park Service to seek a solution from higher authorities. On September 30, 1930, Bryce Canyon/Zion Superintendent Scoyen directed correspondence to Acting National Park Service Director G. A. Moskey, plainly asking for advice. A week later Moskey told Scoyen to wait until the Land Office in Washington, D. C., conducted an investigation and issued a decision. [241]

Scoyen was understandably uneasy. On October 8. 1930, he wrote National Park Service Director Albright that:

. . . the General Land Office in Salt Lake advises that they . . . had no way of knowing the existence of this claim, and, on the basis of information presented, there could be doubt as to the validity of Frost's claim. However, in view of the fact he has sold this claim, it will be necessary for him to prove that this transaction was completed before the land was put in the park. If this cannot be done the purchaser will have no claim to the land and Frost's claim will no longer be effective. [242]

Given the issue's seriousness the General Land Office in Washington, D. C., moved quickly to resolve it. On November 11, 1930, Acting Assistant Commissioner John McPhaul of the Land Office wrote a stern letter to Registrar Taylor, definitely implying that Taylor was guilty of hasty judgment in recognizing Frost's claim to the unsurveyed 40 acres in Section 33, Early in January 1931 Assistant Commissioner Thomas C. Havell of the General Land Office reached a final decision, holding that neither Frost nor his successors in interest—the Jolley family—had a valid claim. Havell's decision was immediately approved by John H. Edwards, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Edwards' action denied Frost any right of appeal. The case was closed.

Havell's reasoning followed the principle enunciated by Superintendent Scoyen 3 months earlier. Thus, it could be demonstrated that Frost had legally sold the 120 acres in Section 34 to the Jolley family, but the "sale" of 40 acres in Section 33 was another matter. In Havell's words:

The original act [i.e. June 7, 1924] excepted from its provisions valid existing claims, locations and entries under the land laws "whether for homestead, mineral, right of way, or any other purpose whatsoever." Under the terms of these acts, any valid existing settlement claim within the areas set aside for park purposes is protected from the force and effect of the withdrawal, so long as the claim is properly maintained. Upon the failure of such claim, however, by relinquishment, attempted sale, or otherwise, the withdrawal at once becomes effective and prevents any further appropriation of the land.

It would seem, therefore, that upon the sale of the said patented land and the attempted sale of the settlement claim by Frost, the withdrawal attached as to the unsurveyed land and prevented any further lawful appropriation thereof; that the settler, Frost, has forfeited whatever right he had to such claim and that the purchaser, Mrs. Mary L. Jolly [sic], has no right thereto which can be successfully asserted as against the withdrawal. [244]

Abbreviated Grazing History

Expansion of the park, especially to the southwest, did not merely imply the National Park Service would be saddled with road building responsibilities. There was, as well, another major consideration: the opposition of local stockmen. These men reasoned that if certain areas upon which they grazed animals were absorbed into Bryce Canyon, they were likely to lose rights whose value was calculable. For example, a stockman selling a herd of sheep which had the right to graze on National Forest land was normally paid about $3 extra for each animal covered by the permit. Consequently, if land under a valid Forest Service grazing permit was acquired by the new park, local stockmen expected the National Park Service to either buy out applicable grazing rights or continue to allow grazing in the area. [245]

Grazing was well established at Bryce Canyon, dating back to Mormon settlement of the area in the late 1860s. With the creation of the "East Division" of the Sevier National Forest in 1903, grazing at Bryce Canyon naturally came under Forest Service supervision. [246] The situation continued when the "East Division" was added to the Powell National Forest in 1919. [247] In fact, the Forest Service issued grazing permits at Bryce Canyon until 1929. As an interim measure the National Park Service Director authorized the Forest Service to handle grazing through 1929. [248]

Conditions of leniency ostensibly prevailed during the issuance of Forest Service permits from 1904-29 and in retrospect it can be demonstrated that between 1907-40 total forage in the Bryce Canyon area inexorably declined. [249] In 1936, 6 years after the Park Service began imposing grazing restrictions, grass was still scarce along the Paunsaugunt rim. In 1930 the dead and partly dead stumps of shrubs such as snowberry, willow birch lear, aspen, and yellow pine were all too evident. [250] Their sad presence was poignant testimony to the story of overgrazing at Bryce Canyon.

In accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the two services, dated December 2, 1927, the Forest Service agreed to relinquish lands of exceptional scenic value to the future national park on condition the National Park Service refrained from imposing immediate or drastic action on local stockmen. At the time, District Forester Rutledge stressed that grazing permittees be given reasonable time and opportunities to locate alternate ranges. [251] Bound by this understanding, and the disinclination to buy away grazing rights, the National Park Service had little room for maneuver. It was, however, the intent of the Park Service to effectively impose those restrictions left at its disposal. The most important of these required that no transfer of grazing rights be made from one permittee to another without the personal approval of the National Park Service Director. [252] The principle here was clear: no sale of stock necessarily carried with it the right to graze the animals at Bryce Canyon.

Between 1928-31 cooperation between the Forest Service and Park Service was absolutely essential. Nearly all of the land covered by proposed additions to the park remained under the Forest Service's protection. A "field agreement" between the two services, dated December 4, 1930, put into effect the following measures for these lands: (1) no change of existing privileges to the detriment of current permittees; (2) administration of permits and fees by the Forest Service, in accordance with cooperative Forest Service-National Park Service plans; (3) no increase in the number of livestock permitted in areas contiguous to Bryce Canyon; (4) transfer of grazing permits allowed with a 20 percent reduction in each case; and (5) the elimination of grazing as a long-range goal. [253] President Hoover's May 4, 1931, Proclamation was partially reflective of this agreement, stipulating that stockmen had the right to drive their animals across the southwestern addition to the park. [254]

Inter-service cooperation during the years 1931-35 had the effect of eliminating grazing in the north-central area of Bryce Canyon. Encouraged, the Secretary of the Interior asked the National Park Service to study means for the speedy elimination of all grazing. A wide range of possibilities was given careful consideration by park personnel, and, in the end, their recommendation was to continue the December 4, 1930, Forest Service-National Park Service agreement for gradual reduction. In 1939 the Secretary accepted this recommendation, but wanted the National Park Service to cooperate more closely with the Grazing Service to find nearby ranges on which stock then grazing in Bryce Canyon could be easily transferred. [255]

In 1940 the status of grazing at Bryce Canyon was as follows:

Subsequently, the trend toward gradual reduction continued. In 1944 Johnson sold his sheep and began to raise cattle. Findlay followed suit the following year. In 1946 Pollock sold his sheep, terminating all sheep grazing in Bryce Canyon. Johnson's permit was invalid in 1951. By 1953 the only permittees in the Bryce Canyon area were these:

This satisfactory trend was brought to a temporary halt in 1956 when the Johnson permit was reinstated. It had been unilaterally terminated by the National Park Service in 1951 because of nonuse. Unfortunately, the Forest Service was not informed, which constituted a breach of the December 2, 1927, Memorandum of Understanding between the two services. Then, between 1951-56 the local Forest Supervisor's office had continued to carry Johnson as a permittee. [258] Although this was a temporary setback to the Bryce Canyon grazing termination program, in the long-run the incident was probably beneficial. It certainly had the effect of making Park Service personnel aware of the fact that a closer working relationship with the Forest Service was indispensable.

Of the two additional permittees, the Findlay Brothers were considered the more difficult problem. Their cattle watered at Riggs Spring on the Lower Podunk, a locale that was inside the park but which furnished very little forage. To get the Findlays to give up their permit inside the park, Bryce Canyon personnel had to consider piping water from Riggs Spring outside the park. Relations with the other permittee, the East Fork Cattle and Horse Association, were generally good. In 1956 the Association voluntarily agreed to reduce the level of grazing by its animals within the park. [259] Johnson's permit was not reinstated in 1957. He had divided his forest grazing permit among several members of his family. The Forest Service then refused to transfer to another operator that part of his permit which was applicable to park lands. [260] The Findlays and East Fork Cattle Association doggedly maintained their permits through the 1963 grazing season. Both permittees continued to cherish the water supply at Riggs Spring. In order to exclude these cattle, the park scheduled a fencing program for fiscal year 1964. Riggs Spring was understandably given top priority. [261]

Adequate funding during fiscal year 1964 enabled Bryce Canyon to pipe water from Riggs Spring to a trough outside the park's boundary. [262] This part of the boundary was also fenced. Completion of a 13 mile sector of fence along the west boundary eliminated grazing on the East Fork permits. By the end of the calendar year 1964, permit grazing at Bryce Canyon had been eliminated. [263]

PARK ESTABLISHMENT (1929-56)

Joint Administration with Zion

To furnish a comprehensive administrative history of Bryce Canyon is beyond the intent of this study. It is worth explaining, however, the unique administrative setup imposed on the park from 1929 to 1956, due—for the most part—to geographical condition. Because of its altitude Bryce Canyon was a seasonal park, open but 6 to 8 months of the year. The overwhelming majority of its visitors took advantage of the most clement weather between May 15 and October 15. When the Forest Service tended the monument, visitation in the winter was so slight a snow removal program for existing roads and footpaths was discouraged. The National Park Service expected this trend to continue, making the need for a separate administration in Bryce Canyon all the more difficult to justify. [264]

Late in the summer of 1927, Assistant Park Service Director Albright outlined to Director Mather his views on the future administration of Bryce Canyon:

I would like to see Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Cedar Breaks all administered as one national park administrative unit even though covering rather widely separated areas. All three areas could easily be administered from Zion Park headquarters. One permanent ranger and possibly one or two temporary men in summer would be all that Bryce Canyon would need. It would never be necessary to establish a superintendent there after the Zion-Mt. Carmel road is completed. It would be as easy then to get from Zion headquarters to Bryce Canyon as it is for us to go from Yellowstone Park headquarters to the Old Faithful geyser region. [265]

There is no evidence Mather or his immediate successor, Arno B. Cammerer, disagreed with Albright's assessment. On January 12, 1929, all rules and regulations for the government of Zion were made applicable for Bryce Canyon. [266] Bryce Canyon personnel records for fiscal year 1930 show that none of Zion's permanent staff served more than 20 percent of their duty time at Bryce. Three temporaries, including a ranger-naturalist and ranger-checker, were employed at Bryce for 4 months during fiscal year 1930. [267]

A park ranger was hired for 5 months, his name was Maurice Newton Cope. In May 1925 the Utah Parks Company had employed him for $130 per month to assist tourists at the newly opened Bryce Lodge. [268] Since the tourist season wound down around September 1, Cope spent September to May teaching school in Tropic or in other gainful employment. [269] In 1929 he was hired by the Park Service as a seasonal for the months of May to November. [270] Superintendent Scoyen must have been pleased with Cope's versatility, From May 1930 to May 1931 Cope was employed both as a ranger-naturalist and park ranger. [271] During the spring of 1931 he moved his family into the park. [272] Thereafter, until Cope transferred to Zion in 1943, his family stayed with him during the tourist season and returned to Tropic for the school year. [273] Maurice Cope became Bryce Canyon's first permanent park ranger in 1933. [274]

Cope described his early Park Service duties in the following way:

When I went over with the Park Service, I had many things to look after. I helped to lay out all the trails and roads in the canyon and along the rim. We started to hire help to build trails (Illustration 20) and make ready to build camp grounds, rest rooms, chop wood and haul it for the campers, assign the rangers to the checking station, help patrol, look out for those who might violate the rules, look out for forest fires and anything else that needed attention. About the last of September everything would be closed down for the winter. Each year travel would increase and that would mean more help. We soon kept another man on duty during the winter so the roads could be kept open. Each summer about 15 men were hired to build new trails and maintain the other trails. [275]

In 1933 Zion's Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent-Engineer, Park Naturalist, Chief Ranger, and Chief Clerk served in their respective positions to administer Zion and Bryce Canyon, as well as the newly created Cedar Breaks National Monument. Only one park ranger, Maurice Cope, was permanently assigned to Bryce Canyon. During the 1933 season, Bryce Canyon's seasonal force consisted of one ranger-naturalist and two ranger-checkers. Laborers and mechanics were hired as needed from local communities. [276]

Local civic pressure for a "separate" Bryce Canyon appears to have first surfaced late in 1934. On November 10, 1934, a committee of the "Associated Civic Clubs of Southern Utah" convened at Delta. As a result of this meeting, correspondence was directed to Bryce Canyon/Zion Superintendent P. P. Patraw, asking him to explain why Bryce Canyon continued under the administrative protection of Zion. Toward the end of the year Patraw answered the committee, giving three primary reasons for the current situation. First, Patraw carefully pointed out that while the Federal Government was in the midst of spending enormous sums for emergency employment relief, it was at the same time attempting to reduce expenditures for the operation of government agencies.

Administrative appropriations for Bryce Canyon/Zion had, in fact, been pared from $54,300 for fiscal year 1933 to $46,390 for 1934. Second, the Superintendent explained the prevailing governmental trend toward an administrative consolidation of national parks and monuments. In 1934, Zion not only administered Bryce Canyon, but Cedar Breaks and two other monuments. To make this point, it was logical for Patraw to stress the geographic unity of Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Cedar Breaks. By extension, a "greater uniformity of administration" resulted from Zion's central office. Given the limited financial resources available for operating the parks, a pooling of equipment, supplies, and personnel was essential. Finally, Patraw cited the fact that Bryce Canyon was a seasonal park, inoperative for several months of the year. [277]

Patraw's response fully satisfied the committee. Yet, if spokesmen for the Associated Civic Clubs of Southern Utah concurred that parks in the area were "very capably administered," they were also determined to "advertise and do everything possible to increase the travel into these parks." [278] In his letter to the committee, the Superintendent himself recognized that even though operating expenses had declined, there were "more buildings, roads, trails, and other physical improvements to maintain, in the face of rapidly increasing tourist visitation." [279]

Notwithstanding the numbing grip of the Great Depression, annual tourist travel to Bryce Canyon rose steadily between 1934-41.

Total Visitation to Bryce Canyon, 1929-42 [280]

Breakdown of Visitation to Bryce Canyon 1929-42

Union Pacific officials certainly cannot be faulted for failing to predict the Depression, especially its economic effect on their carriage trade. The breakdown of visitation statistics to the park 1930s does, however, tend to demonstrate Omaha's original underestimation of tourist travel to Bryce Canyon by private automobile. Utah Parks Company's share of the total annual traffic was never again to approach what the company acquired during Bryce Canyon's first year of operation. Only the 3 prewar years of 1939 through 1941 approximated the total of Utah Parks Company passengers for 1929.

The visitation figures listed imply that whether the National Park Service liked it or not, it was compelled to increase expenditures for Bryce Canyon's physical plant. If roads are considered part of this physical plant, increased visitation by private automobile accelerated the need to construct the rim road. (See Park Roads section.) This and subsequent extensions in the park were wider and more expensive than earlier park roads, and were required to feature a judicious sprinkling of attractive view points, in keeping with the demands of a modern motoring public. New roads, of course, meant broader responsibilities for the posting of an adequate number of signs, and snow removal in the winter.

Bryce Canyon's campground was clearly no more than adequate by 1927 (see Forest Service Administration). By the early 1930s, the increasing volume of automobile traffic made it clear to park personnel that camping facilities needed to be expanded. New campgrounds, and the expansion of the original campgrounds, entailed new comfort stations, waterlines and sewerlines, and a more modern refuse disposal system. Trails, as well as roads and campground, had to keep pace with visitor traffic. Their proliferation and maintenance naturally required additional operating revenues.

During the period 1930-41, the number of permanent Park Service personnel at Bryce Canyon was "augmented" from 0 to 2. As noted, Maurice Cope's park ranger position was finalized in 1933. He was not joined by another permanent ranger until an authorization for fiscal year 1941. In that year much of both rangers' time was spent collecting automobile entrance fees the year-round. [281] Visitation for 1941 was three and one-half times what it had been in 1930, with nearly four times as many automobiles. On the eve of World War II, park personnel and facilities were undoubtably strained to meet the challenge.

Because of World War II, visitation to Bryce declined precipitously. The Utah Parks Company closed all of its park facilities between September 1942 and May 1946. Visitor entry from 1943 through 1945 was as follows:

Total Visitation to Bryce Canyon, 1943-45

Breakdown of Visitation to Bryce Canyon 1943-45

Approximately 80 percent of park visitation during the war years was composed of; (1) members of the armed forces, (2) local visitors, and (3) defense workers being transferred from one job to another. [283] In comparison to 1944, there was a 296.19 percent increase in visits by members of the armed forces during 1945. Throughout the war, maintenance of the park's physical plant was necessarily kept to an absolute minimum by a skeleton staff. [284] Neither additional construction (see, Isolated Construction), nor significant improvements of any kind were even contemplated. [285]

Although World War II offered Bryce Canyon a respite after years of furious expansion, postwar visitation literally overwhelmed facilities considered modern and reasonably capacious in the 1930s. To gauge the reaction of park personnel to the new state of affairs, the following excerpt from Bryce Canyon's June 1946 report is appropriate:

Travel continues to increase and to tax our facilities. The increased use of trailers in this area is significant and instead of being a fad as was prophesied a few years ago, it is apparent that they are becoming a permanent piece of traveling equipment which will call eventually for revamping our campground accommodations to include sewage [i.e. for each camp site], electrical and water connections. [286]

During June 1946 alone 23,870 persons visited Bryce Canyon. Only 639 (2.7 percent) of these arrived by Utah Parks Company buses. [287] Bryce Canyon's monthly report for September 1946 flatly stated that ". . . travel this season has broken all previous records." [288] By how much is evident in the September 1946 report:

There were 39,246 cars entered [sic] the Park this year as compared with 7,756 cars last year, and 129,134 people as 289 compared with 25,812. This is an increase of over 400%. It is a fairer measure of Bryce Canyon's postwar visitation statistics to compare them to the last prewar years of 1940-41. [289]

Visitation to Bryce Canyon, Prewar and Postwar

Breakdown of Visitation to Bryce Canyon 1946-49

This crush of visitors and automobiles was accommodated with few complaints, even though the park's physical plant had, with few exceptions, not changed since 1941. [291] By June 1947, however, parking in the lodge area had become a distinct problem." [292]

Bryce Canyon's administrative headaches in the early and mid-1950s were aggravated by the continued combination of: upward spiraling tourism, an outmoded physical plant, and an insufficient number of permanent personnel. Visitation statistics for these years were:

Total Visitation to Bryce Canyon, 1950-56

Breakdown of Visitation to Bryce Canyon, 1950-56

The visitation total for 1954 is somewhat misleading. During June 1954 the park's entrance station was not manned as many hours as in previous years, due to a lack of seasonal rangers. [295] For all practical purposes visitation between 1950-56 increased each year. There were 23 percent more visitors in 1956 than 6 years earlier. With the exception of a new sewer system, completed in the fall of 1953, [296] no additions had been made to the park's physical plant since 1947-48. In fact, some of the older buildings such as the Sunset Point shelter were demolished because of their dilapidated condition. [297]

By the tourist season of 1955 Bryce Canyon's multiple needs were really a microcosm of the needs afflicting all Park Service facilities in the Intermountain Region. In the summer of that year a campaign was begun by the Salt Lake "Tribune" to make its readers aware of deplorable conditions prevalent in national parks and monuments within Utah. On July 30, 1955, "Tribune" staff writer Don Howard devoted the second article in the series to Bryce Canyon. The park's Assistant Superintendent Tom Kennedy had told Howard that:

. . . the park should provide more parking space, more scenic viewpoints, more miles of trails and roads, more campground, better museum, information and interpretive services . . . [298]

Kennedy's message to Howard was difficult to misinterpret. Bryce Canyon had been backward and short of funds since the war. Over the years, joint administration with Zion had done little to improve matters. After the war it probably worsened them. There is no questioning that in the mid-1950s park personnel were demoralized. Bryce Canyon, like the vast majority of its sister parks, was adrift.

Separate Administration for Bryce Canyon

Had it not been for the implementation of National Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth's "MISSION 66" program at the beginning of fiscal year 1957, Bryce Canyon would likely have indefinitely remained an administrative dependent of Zion. MISSION 66, an ambitious campaign to bring Park Service facilities throughout the country "up to par" by the Service's golden anniversary in 1966, [299] evolved in three stages. Director Wirth initially requested that all Park Service facilities notify him as to what would be required to bring each up to the standards necessary for servicing mushrooming visitor traffic. Based on feedback from the parks, 11 facilities were chosen for pilot studies. One of these was Chaco Canyon, administered by Glen T. Bean. Data collected from the pilot studies resulted in a MISSION 66 prospectus—used as the key document to update the entire National Park Service system. [300]

In November 1955 Glen Bean provisionally accepted the Superintendency of Bryce Canyon, contingent on its administrative separation from Zion. Bean gave the following reasons for the split: (1) increased visitation; (2) the need for massive physical development, to be implemented by MISSION 66; (3) lack of attention to the park during winter months, especially with respect to roads and buildings; and (4) renewed local pressure for a "separate" Bryce Canyon, supported by a petition. [301] During August 1956 Director Wirth visited the park and helped to revise the current Master Plan. [302] The revised plan was finalized in January 1957. [303] This document opened the door to the modernization of Bryce Canyon's badly dated physical plant. The administrative split from Zion was made effective on July 1, 1956. Staff members added to carry the simultaneous responsibilities of administrative independence and implementation of the MISSION 66 program included a chief park ranger, chief park naturalist, park ranger, and the conversion of a clerk position to that of administrative assistant. [304] After almost 28 years of operation, Bryce Canyon was finally on its own.

OPERATIONS OF THE CONCESSIONER

Contracts

The contract for concession rights at Bryce Canyon was concluded on September 15, 1928, between the Department of Interior and the Utah Parks Company acting on behalf of Omaha. Since the railroad's land in Section 36 had been deeded to the Federal government to promote the Zion-Mt. Cannel road, the Utah Parks Company asked for and received a 20-year lease on all of the deeded parcels. This lease went into effect on December 31, 1928, and would thus not expire until January 1, 1949. Provisions were written into the September 15, 1928, contract, so that if the Utah Parks Company fulfilled the terms of its lease, an additional 20-year lease would follow. Union Pacific's subsidiary was guaranteed an annual 6 percent profit on its investments in the park. If the company did not receive its allowed profit in any given year such profit was cumulative. That is, the deficiency (without interest) would be added to the 6 percent priority of the following year or years until it was liquidated. Any profits in excess of the 6 percent were to be split with the government. If the profit split was chosen, the government was to receive 22-1/2 percent, the company 72-1/2 percent. If profits in excess of 6 percent were invested in park improvements, only 72-1/2 percent of such excess was allowable to the Utah Parks Company. [305]

On behalf of Union Pacific the Utah Parks Company retained ownership of Bryce Lodge, the cabins and other structures erected at the railroad's expense. [306] Concessioner privileges paralleled those granted the Utah Parks Company at Zion, by virtue of the June 9, 1923, contract (see the section on Absence of Contractual Agreements). Basically, these included the right to provide accommodations and food to the general public, as long as charges for these services were reasonable and had been subjected to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. [307] Transportation and livery concessions at Bryce were an extension of those already granted the Utah Parks Company at Zion and the North Rim. [308] Article II of the September 15, 1928, contract stipulated that if the Park Service took over operation of the public campground, the Utah Parks Company would furnish a "reasonable amount of water" to the government. It was understood that the government would, "at its own expense connect, furnish and install . . . additional pipelines" necessary for its activities. In later years this agreement was to cause problems for both parties.

How well did the concessioner fulfill its obligations? Fortunately, a detailed report filed in May 1935 by W. B. Burt, special agent for the Department of Interior's Division of Investigations, sheds light on the issue. Burt conducted his investigation at Bryce early in the spring of 1935. His basic conclusions summarized the quality of the Utah Parks Company during the early 1930s.

Burt assessed rates for lodging at Bryce Canyon as reasonable, "considering the seasonal operation." Premises were described as of "attractive appearance" with "adequate fire protection." Burt lauded the food: "Meals of excellent quality and sufficient to appease the most vigorous appetite are served." [309] Then, as now, Ruby's Inn, which is just outside the park's northern boundary, offered the nearest competition to the Utah Parks Company facilities. In the special agent's opinion, the rooms at Ruby's did not compare with those at Bryce Canyon. As for food, Burt said:

I had lunch at the inn. It was not as good or as well served as the meals at Zion cafeteria and was more expensive. Bryce Canyon cafeteria is no doubt as good as the one at Zion. [310]

Burt's complex assessment of the company's transportation service was generally favorable. He did point out that the fleet of buses and touring cars was obsolete, but "in excellent condition and comfortable." [311] All vehicles had been painted and repaired for the coming 1935 tourist season. [312] The Utah Parks Company had reduced rates since 1932, in keeping with the country's gloomy economic climate. Visitors to Bryce Canyon could conveniently take their automobiles to the company's garage for minor repairs, parts, washing and greasing, or a battery charge. [313]

During the first few years of Bryce Canyon's operation, then, the Utah Parks Company was fulfilling its concessioner obligations in accordance with the contract of September 15, 1928. [314] Despite difficult operating conditions, some of its services were outstanding. This is all the more surprising when the company's huge operating losses for the period are taken into account. Utah Parks Company's annual reports showed losses for the southern Utah loop totaling $267,212.77 in 1932 and $160,396.12 in 1933. For the 8 months ending on August 31, 1934, profits at North Rim and Bryce Canyon totaled $6,299.16, but all other facilities showed losses. [316] The Utah Parks Company claimed it had suffered heavy deficits ever since its incorporation. Available figures do not contradict this, but as Burt logically observed, the company was probably claiming unduly heavy depreciation charges." [315]

The Middle Years

Given Bryce's harsh climate, the lengthy period of inactivity imposed by the war took its toll on the Utah Parks Company's facilities. Late in the spring of 1945 the Utah Parks Company's maintenance staff was asked to estimate how much money was needed to reopen the southern Utah parks. On July 18, 1945, Omaha received the total figure, with breakdowns for each park. Exclusive of transportation the total was $325,849 [316] with approximately a third—$107,751—earmarked for Bryce Canyon. [317] This was, of course, discouraging news for the Utah Parks Company and its corporate parent in Omaha, and prompted speculation that the Union Pacific would attempt to completely sellout its interests in Zion, the North Rim, Cedar Breaks, and Bryce Canyon. [318]

W. P. Rogers, who then managed the Utah Parks Company, vigorously opposed a sellout. On May 21, 1945, he directed detailed correspondence to Omaha, whose sole purpose was to dissuade the railroad from implementing the idea to liquidate the Utah Parks Company. Rogers believed the Utah Parks Company would "undoubtably pay good dividends in the future." It was Rogers' contention that, discounting depreciation charges, the Utah Parks Company had at no time lost money during the 1930s. It only suffered real deficits when forced to close its doors during the war. Rogers supported his case with figures:

During the depression years 1929 to 1935 our losses including depreciation averaged $186,217.39 per year.

When business revived during the years 1936 to 1942, inclusive, our losses decreased to a yearly average of $23,905.02 including depreciation.

During the war period 1942 to 1944 inclusive the loss yearly increased to $189,467.39 per year including depreciation. [319]

In other words, if the Union Pacific's highest total investment in the Utah Parks Company is taken into account, between 1929-44 profit exclusive of depreciation was 11.2 percent.

Utah Parks Company Financial Recap 1929-44

A return of 11.2 percent on the original investment was good, if one takes into account the period spanned the Depression and World War II. Rogers, then had every reason to believe that in the coming decade of postwar prosperity, annual profits would easily exceed those for the previous peak year of 1941. Following this line of reasoning, it made no sense to sell a company if the profits it earned over a relatively short period of time equaled or exceeded the sale price. There was also the issue of corporate prestige to consider. The Union Pacific was the only railroad in the world serving three national parks (four including Yellowstone), a national monument and three national forests. [321] Rogers conceded that Omaha had "probably" made an "unwise move" in the original Utah Parks Company project, but in his opinion the worst had been weathered, and it was incumbent on the progressive leadership of the railroad to capitalize on the future.

Rogers also wanted the Utah Parks Company to stay in the public transportation business. He again played on the profit motive, and furnished the following statistics for the last 5 years of the Utah Parks Company travel operation:

The annual profits Rogers gave had been arrived at after every item of expense, such as depreciation, taxes, licenses, labor, and insurance had been charged against revenue. These figures were promising, but the Utah Parks Company could go back into the transportation business only after spending an estimated $206,900 as a capital investment to update its motor fleet with lighter, more economical buses. [323]

Rogers was an intelligent man. But he, like the promoters of the Utah Parks Company in the early 1920's, failed to realize the ominous character of private automobile traffic into the parks—in particular, its long-term implications for the future of a concessioner operation like the Utah Parks Company. Americans vacationed on wheels, and increasingly preferred them to be attached to the family car, rather than a train or concessioner's bus. Statistically, it has been demonstrated that after 1929 the Utah Parks Company's carriage trade never captured a significant chunk of tourism to the Utah park loop. After World War II the carriage trade would prove to be out-of-date. Rogers also seems to have conveniently ignored that during the first 20 years of its operation, Utah Parks Company depreciation allowances constituted an attractive financial safety valve for the Union Pacific. Yet, these would be largely written off by the end of 1948. After 1948 it would make little sense for the railroad to keep sustaining an unprofitable subsidiary.

The Road to Liquidation

Utah Parks Company Manager W. P. Rogers correctly anticipated the postwar boom, and its favorable effect on the company's business. Available evidence from Bryce Canyon's Monthly Reports indicates the lodge area served maximum crowds during the 1947 tourist season. [324] In June 1949 the lodge area continued to operate at full capacity. [325] These were good business years for the entire loop. In fact, the Utah Parks Company reduced the sum of its total losses since incorporating in 1923 from $1,960,446.13 through 1944 to $1,066,773.62 through the 1948 season. [326] In 1947-48 Utah Parks Company's transportation division brought in more than 6,000 people each year to Bryce Canyon (see the section on Joint Administration With Zion)—enough traffic to at least warrant optimism. In 1948, when it came time to renew the company's September 15, 1928, contract for an additional 20 years, Utah Parks Company officers were eager to do so.

The first diminishing blow to the company's euphoric vision of postwar prosperity came in the summer of 1949. At the time the subcommittee of the House Public Lands Committee had convened in Washington, D. C., to examine the Park Service's policy toward park concessioners. The subcommittee was especially interested in adherence by park concessioners to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. One of its provisions ordered that within 8 years of the act's passage, the maximum work week be established at 40 hours, with additional compensation for overtime. Following the war, national park concessioners registered protests with the government. These had the effect of postponing the application of Fair Labor regulations to January 1, 1949. [327] The Utah Parks Company, however, did not implement the regulations in its 1949 employee payment schedule and the subcommittee wanted to know why.

During the third week of July 1949, W. R. Rouse, "Assistant Western General Counsel" for the Union Pacific System, defended the Utah Parks Company's policy before the subcommittee. Rouse pointed out that in recent hearings held in San Francisco and Denver between the Secretary of the Interior and park concessioners, no evidence was introduced showing the need for regulations. Furthermore, no showing was made "that the working conditions of the concessioners' employes [sic] in the national parks were in any way substandard or oppressive." [328] Rouse quoted a statement by F. H. Warner, who was then W. P. Rogers' principal assistant. Warner had said that:

The imposition of the 40-hour week will result in a burden to the Utah Parks Company by way of added expense which the present schedule of rates charged will not permit and additional revenue will be required to absorb the additional expense. [329]

Figures cited by Rouse showed that implementing the 40 hour work week throughout the Utah Parks Company loop would result in additional expenditures of $15,251.15 per month, or $59,143.08 for an operating season. [330] The cost for additional dormitory facilities throughout the loop was calculated by Warner at $195,900. [331] Figures given to the subcommittee by Rouse probably made the situation look worse than it really was. It is important to recognize, however, that for the first time a serious difference of opinion had surfaced between the National Park Service and the Utah Parks Company. While the implementation of time-and-a-half for overtime did not begin until January 1, 1952, and did not poison relations between the two parties, Omaha began to realize that further major investments in the Utah Parks Company might not be worth the risk.

H. H. Hoss, Attorney for the Western Conference of National Park Concessioners, testified before the subcommittee shortly after Rouse. Hoss carefully explained how a park hotel operator had to provide "a high capacity in order to meet peak needs," even though in the off-season levels of occupancy were low or nonexistent. Hoss strenuously objected to the annual 6 percent limitation on investments by concessioners. His clients did not feel this was a fair return, given the risks involved. [332] It is a fact that any profit deficiency added to the 6 percent priority of the following year or years derived no interest. Despite the current boom, postwar inflation did not make this an attractive proposition for a large-scale concessioner.

Between 1950-54 Utah Parks Company's passengers taken into Bryce Canyon by stage accounted for an average of 2.36 percent of the park's annual visitation—down from the 3.28 percent established in the postwar years 1946-49. In terms of actual volume, the years 1950-54 showed an average of 5,399 passengers—only 50 above the 1946-49 average. These were discouraging figures, since after the war the company had spent well over $500,000 to update its park facilities and transportation service. This inactivity did not justify such expenditures, and when coupled with markedly increased postwar labor costs, certainly inclined the railroad to drag its heels on the Utah Parks Company's further modernization.

After 1956, less evidence is available for gauging the state of the Utah Parks Company's operations in Bryce Canyon, but the park's monthly report for June 1957 did have this to say:

Business for the concessioner has been below that for June of last year even though park travel has increased. Bus tours have decreased considerably. [333]

In his July 30, 1955, article on the park Don Howard of the Salt Lake "Tribune" had reported:

As in other operations of the Utah Parks Co., Union Pacific's subsidiary, facilities at Bryce have not been allowed to deteriorate as have those in Yellowstone. They are simply inadequate . . .

By the late 1950s three major problems afflicted the Utah Parks Company's operation: (1) expensive labor, (2) obsolescence of facilities and transportation service, and (3) declining passenger traffic. The Union Pacific professed passenger traffic to be the most pressing of the three and acted decisively to cut its losses. After April 24, 1960, Union Pacific's summer season train, the "309," ceased operating between Lund and Cedar City. [334] In lieu of the rail service, Omaha ran buses into Cedar City from Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. [335]

Continuation of Utah Parks Company's concessioner and transportation service for another decade was in no small measure due to the competence of Tom B. Murray. On July 12, 1960, Murray replaced Fred Warner as Utah Parks Company's General Manager—a position Murray held until the company's dissolution in 1972. [336] As the Utah Parks Company's facilities required increased maintenance, Murray's managerial insight was severely tested during the 1960s. In December 1969 it became common knowledge that the Union Pacific wanted out of the park concessioner business—publicity that did little to make Murray's last 3 years with the Utah Parks Company any easier. [337]

Throughout the 1960s, Murray's most difficult problem with Bryce Canyon was the water supply. The September 15, 1928, and October 1948 contracts between the Department of Interior and Utah Parks Company expressly required the latter to furnish the government a "reasonable amount of water" (see Contracts). By July 1964 culinary water consumption was 75,000 gallons per day by Utah Parks Company facilities, and 29,512 gallons by the National Park Service. This total approached the maximum delivery of the company's pumps. [338] In 1965 all available sources of water, including Trough and Shaker Springs within the park, and shallow wells on East Creek outside it, were needed to satisfy the year's total of 300,311 visitors—a new park record. [339]

The construction of more spacious water storage facilities and the elimination of defective supply lines enabled the Utah Parks Company—with National Park Service cooperation—to bear its contractual burden. National Park Service personnel, however, were becoming nervous. In October 1965 Bryce Canyon's Master Plan recommended that:

The present system of depending on sources of water owned and controlled by the concessioner should be changed at the earliest opportunity. These sources should become government property by gift or sale through negotiation. [340]

The October 1965 Master Plan was critical of the relationship between the concessioner and National Park Service in two additional ways. Utah Parks Company's Bryce facilities were evaluated as "substandard," not meeting "present day expectations." The plan thus called for the gradual elimination of the Utah Parks Company's units. Space made available would be used for "public campground development." Bryce Canyon's October 1965 Master Plan also called the Utah Parks Company's transportation service a "preferential franchise . . . obsolete in present day operations." The plan characterized this service as disadvantageous and inconvenient to park visitors who were "trapped by the existing arrangement." [341]

In retrospect the October 1965 Master Plan appears a callous, narrowminded document. Its authors naively believed in the sacred right of Americans to see their national parks from the comfort of bucket seats and captains chairs. Little thought was given to the future supply of fuel for these numerous vehicles.

The goal is the elimination of overnight accommodations in Bryce Canyon. Outside facilities have indicated an interest in expansion and Panguitch (27 miles distance) is not too far to drive with modern transportation. [342]

It is true the railroad had become interested in the southern Utah parks for its own reasons. Not the least of these was profit. Yet, the Union Pacific's record at Bryce Canyon stands up well under scrutiny. Omaha had contributed enormously toward making Bryce Canyon a great national park. The October 1965 Master Plan might, at least, have recognized this fact.

Despite its superabundance of ill-conceived ideas and offensive tones, the plan did serve a purpose. It made clear and inevitable the imminent dissolution of the long partnership between the railroad and National Park Service. Omaha had already begun its retreat in 1960, and it is the case that throughout the 1960s the Union Pacific continually strove to sell off the Utah Parks Company rather than give it away. Negotiations for a sale to General Host Corporation did take place in 1969. Late in that year meetings were held in Washington, D. C., between members of the House Interior Committee and Harris Ashton, President of General Host. While in Washington, Ashton also conferred with National Park Service Director George Hartzog. [343] There is some evidence General Host was not able to convince Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Saylor—a key member of the House Interior Committee—that it could do a good job. In particular, Saylor did not want the corporation to take over another operation until it had cleaned up its backyard in Yellowstone Park. [344] Since 1966 General Host had, in fact, posted a dismal record as the concessioner in Yellowstone. [345] Saylor prevailed. Early in 1970 the proposed General Host buy-out of the Utah Parks Company was cancelled. [346]

Few prospective buyers had General Host's financial resources, and the next 3 years would show the railroad had lost its last real opportunity to sell the Utah Parks Company. On March 10, 1972, the Union Pacific officially recognized the situation, donating all of the Utah Parks Company's facilities and equipment to the Park Service. This property included the lodges, cabins, service stations, and curio shop facilities in Zion, Bryce Canyon, the North Rim, and the lodge and cabins located at Cedar Breaks. In addition, the railroad donated a laundry at Kanab, the Utah Parks Company complex at Cedar City, and the entire transportation fleet. In one fell swoop, more that $2,000,000 worth of property was given over to the National Park Service. [347] Park Service Director Hartzog accepted the massive donation with the following statement:

We know that concessioners, like the Service itself, are facing new conditions and new demands. When a concessioner whose role has been so prominent for so long leaves the ranks, it underscores the changes which are taking place. [348]

Under the terms of the donation, the Union Pacific allowed its subsidiary to continue in existence through calendar year 1972. This was principally done to give the Park Service enough time to select a concessioner for the 1973 season. [349] Tom Murray affirms he spent much of his time in the spring and summer of 1972 showing prospective concessioners about the loop. In September 1972, TWA, a subsidiary of Trans World Airlines, was selected. [350] This company is the current concessioner for Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the North Rim. [351] Tom Murray officially stepped down as Manager of the Utah Parks Company on December 18, 1972. [352]

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Park Roads — Rim Road

Beginning in 1930 the National Park Service's long-term development of Bryce Canyon was predicated on the construction of a rim road which would eventually run from the park's northern boundary to its southernmost view at Rainbow Point. As conceived, the project was to comprise four sectors. The first was the entrance road which ran from the northern boundary to the lodge area. As early as 1923 the Forest Service had allotted money for an improved road to Section 36. By 1927 the road conformed to Bureau of Public Roads' standards. The Park Service planned to resurface this sector, but was otherwise satisfied with its general condition.

The second sector, termed 1-A, was surveyed in 1930 and involved approximately 10.40 miles of road. It ran from just north of the lodge area to a point approximately 3.43 miles north of the Garfield-Kane County Line. About 0.86 miles south of the lodge, two major spurs ran off the main line to the east. The shorter of the two spurs, 0.43 miles long, branched to the left and led to inspiration Point. The other ran east for 1.43 miles then forked. A left branch ran for 0.57 miles to Bryce Point, and a right branch for 0.43 miles to Little Bryce Point. All roads in sector 1-A was to conform to the Highway Standards of 1929. It was to be 18 feet wide, surveyed, graded, and finished with crushed stone.

The contract for sector 1-A was awarded to the Union Construction Company of Ogden, Utah, on June 4, 1931. The Union Construction Company submitted the lowest bid of $135,855.70, which was only $372.20 higher than the estimated furnished by B. J. Finch, 12th District Engineer for the Bureau of Public Roads. [353] The Union Construction Company was to begin the project on June 21, 1931, and was given 300 calendar days to complete it, exclusive of suspended operations by government order. [354] A Bureau of Public Roads change order, dated May 17, 1932, shows that the contractor had completed about 90 percent of the project by that date, even though subjected to a major delay. The surveyed route of 1-A was not satisfactory to the Park Service or railroad, because it came too close to the lodge area. [355] After lengthy deliberations, which forced the Union Construction Company to work around the area, the May 17, 1932, change order altered 1-A so that it ran some distance "behind" the lodge. This change added $5,872.58 to the cost of sector 1-A. [356] On July 13, 1932, Bryce Canyon/Zion Superintendent Patraw conducted a final inspect of sector 1-A with technical personnel. He reported:

The work provided under the contract as amended has been completed in a satisfactory manner and I recommend acceptance. [357]

Sector 1-B1 was the third of the four segments. It ran from the southern end of 1-A to Natural Bridges, a distance of 3.73 miles. The proposed road in 1-B1 had also been surveyed in 1930. Unlike 1-A, however, it was to conform to specifications in preparation for the Highway Standards of 1932. This principally meant the road would be 6 feet wider than sector 1-A. [358]

On August 18, 1932, the Union Construction Company also won the contract for 1-B1, submitting a low bid of $56,895.20 [359] B. J. Finch and his associates had estimated the job to cost $50,094.20, but accepted the low bid. [360] The Union Construction Company was to begin sector 1-B1 on September 8, 1932, and was given 150 calendar days to complete it, exclusive of suspended operations by government order. [361] Unfavorable weather conditions forced a suspension of operations on December 1, 1932, and construction was not resumed until May 10, 1933. [362] A Bureau of Public Roads Final Inspection Report, dated June 23, 1933, affirms that sector 1-B1 was completed on June 5, 1933. [363] Superintendent Patraw recommended acceptance of the work the following day. [364]

Project 1-B2D had a twofold purpose. The first was to grade and base surface the rim road's fourth sector, termed 1-B2, from Natural Bridge to Rainbow Point—a distance of 8.14 miles. Project 1-B2D's second purpose was to reconstruct and base surface the Forest Service's old north entrance road. [365] W. W. Clyde and Company of Springville, Utah, won the contract for 1-B2D with a bid of $115,368.80, and work was begun on October 10, 1933. Inclement weather forced the cessation of operations between November 30, 1933, and April 14, 1934, but by the cessation the north entrance road had been completed. [366] Clyde and Company completed sector 1-B2 on September 21, 1934. [367]

To protect the rim road from the park's northern boundary to the end of sector 1-B1—a distance of 12.54 miles—project 1-A1B1&D proposed a heavy oil surfacing. Progress on it was given in Bryce Canyon's Annual Report for 1935:

At the beginning of this report period [1 July 1934] the sub-grade preparation and tack coat were completed, and oil surfacing placed on about one-third of the total project. Asphalt-mixed gravel surfacing was placed on the balance of the distance, seal coat laid on the entire project, and the contract completed on August 21, 1934. [368]

The contractor for project 1-A1B1&D is unknown but the total cost was $121,517. [369] Section 1-B2's 8.74 miles were similarly treated with a bituminous surfacing. Reynolds-Ely Construction Company of Springville, Utah, was low bidder for this project with $58,475, which was $6,930 above the Bureau of Public Roads' estimate. [370] Reynolds-Ely began work on July 3, 1935, and completed the project "at the close of September" 1935. [371]

Summary Rim Road

Park Roads — By-pass Road

One result of National Park Service Director Wirth's visit to Bryce Canyon in August 1956 was his approval for inclusion in the park's Master Plan of a by-pass road to divert excess traffic away from the lodge area. Shortly afterward, the by-pass road was slated as one of seven major projects for Bryce Canyon—all to be completed with MISSION 66 funds. [372] Although only 1.25 miles in length, the by-pass was probably the most significant addition to the park's road system since completion of rim road's sector 1-B2 to Rainbow Point late in 1934. On May 2, 1957, the first allotment of $31,700 was made available for the by-pass. [373] Including funds anticipated for fiscal year 1958, the project was scheduled for completion in September 1958. [374]

Survey work, tentative field alignment, and project organization were accomplished by May 1957. Zion's gravel crusher was transferred to Bryce Canyon, and was put to work stockpiling gravel on May 6, 1957. [375] Later in the month, however, progress was obstructed. There were two problems. One stemmed from the desire of advisory personnel to realign the by-pass road. The other resulted from difficulties in purchasing suitable culverts. It appears the alignment problem between Washington, Region III, in Santa Fe and the park was ironed out in June 1957. [376] The park's monthly report for June suggested the culverts were expected to arrive during the third week of July. Presumably they did. On July 29, 1957, the second allotment of $26,000 assured completion of the by-pass. By the end of July the roadway was finished except for an oil mat and seal coat. [377] Then rainy weather held up application of the oil mat until early September. [378] Execution of the seal coat and final landscaping actually did not terminate the project until September 1958. [379]

Rapid Construction Phase

Generous appropriations to the Park Service by the Hoover Administration [380] enabled the completion of some basic park facilities in Bryce Canyon between 1929-32. The location of these and other buildings in the rapid construction phase is included in the Architectural Data Section of this study. Because of delays in receiving plans, Park Service construction in Bryce Canyon did not begin until late in the working season of 1929. Rush work, supervised by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Design in San Francisco, then resulted in the construction of a custodian's residence—now referred to as the Old Superintendent's Residence—two comfort stations and a checking station (entrance kiosk) off the north entrance road. By October 1, 1929, all of these buildings had been finished with the exception of the custodian's residence, which was 60 percent complete. It is known that no construction projects were carried over that year, [381] so the custodian's residence must have been completed late in the fall of 1929.

In 1930, plans were laid and work begun on a new utility area. [382] By September 30, 1930, two buildings occupied it. One was a warehouse measuring 64 feet by 30 feet, the other a small two-stall horse barn. President Hoover's final appropriations in 1930-32 resulted in four buildings for Bryce Canyon. During the spring of 1932, a 44 foot by 22 foot dormitory and mess house capable of seating 20 were completed. Two buildings were undertaken in 1932. [383] A three-room cabin for temporary employees was completed later in the year. A small office building—destined to become the park's first administrative center—was also completed in 1932, except for the laying of floors and painting. [384]

Toward the end of Hoover's Administration, formerly generous allotments for National Park Service construction were cut off. The effect this policy had on individual projects is apparent in the construction of Bryce Canyon's office building. An appropriation of $2,000 had been designated for this structure, but 10 percent of this sum was allotted to the San Francisco Field Office, and another 10 percent was sliced off as an "Economy Act." This, of course, left only $1,600 for actual construction. Superintendent Patraw saw no way the original building plans could be implemented with available funds, so recommended the structure be scaled down and simplified:

. . . the plans will have to be changed to provide a single room only. This will be satisfactory if designs can be made for a building of log, to contain the main information lobby, and adapted for later addition of other rooms . . . [385]

Patraw had toyed with the idea of allowing the allotment to revert, but Acting National Park Service Director Demaray made clear to him in August 1932 that future construction funds would be "awfully hard to get." On September 12, 1932, Patraw submitted a revised plan to the Director, which reduced construction costs to $1,701. Patraw felt that even more money could be saved when laying the foundation, so as to complete the office building within the $1,600 allotment. [386] Acting Director Demaray approved the revised plan on September 16, 1932. [387]

During the early 1930s, only one significant building was erected by the Utah Parks Company. It was a cafeteria begun in the spring of 1932. This structure was designated the central unit in the Utah Parks Company's "housekeeping camp unit." Available evidence suggests the Utah Parks Company intended to use the cafeteria building as a center of operations once the lodge was closed for the season. [388] It soon became evident the building was too small for this purpose. In April 1937 the company submitted plans to the Park Service for extending and altering it. These were approved with minor recommendations by the Washington Office on April 30, 1937. [389] Remodeling work on the cafeteria began late in September 1937, and was finished during November of that year. [390]

Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) generated the Public Works Administration (PWA). This was one of President Roosevelt's earliest and most lavishly funded "pump priming" agencies, [391] whose purpose was to increase national employment by a quick infusion of money to private construction agencies. [392] Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes was chosen to head the PWA from its inception in June 1933, so the Park Service stood to gain distinct advantages. Particularly—since advanced planning procedures in the Park Service dated from 1925. [393] By March 1933 this advanced planning had been refined into 6-year programs—called "master plans"—for nearly all of the national parks and monuments. [394]

Ickes was impatient to get the ball rolling on a wide variety of projects. When the Public Works Administration requested work drawings from the Park Service for potential construction projects, many preliminary sketches and building plans were available. The first Public Works Administration allotments to the National Park Service were made on July 21, 1933, with the Western Division receiving 106 federally funded projects. Bryce Canyon was awarded four of these, which included: (1) two employees cabins—Funded Project 8; (2) an extension to the office building—Funded Project 9; (3) a comfort station—Funded Project 11; and (4) an equipment shed—Funded Project 14. [395]

Funded Project 8's allotment consisted of $2,700. [396] This sum was expected to cover total costs for wood frame buildings with shingle roofs, exterior wood siding, interior plaster board, and wood floors. Each cabin was to contain a bedroom, kitchen, and bath. Material for the cabins' construction was purchased by the park. In June 1934 a contract was awarded for labor and the additional materials necessary to complete the buildings. Only 10 percent of the construction was finished by June 30, 1934, [397] but in August of that year [398] both buildings had been completed for the sum of 2,698. [399]

The purpose of Funded Project 9 was to move administrative activities out of the park's museum. [400] This project was funded for $1,800. The office building's extension was to have a log exterior. [401] Specifications included a shingle roof, interior plaster board, wood floor, and lavatory. [402] Building materials were purchased by the government. [403] Bids had been solicited from local contractors for labor but there were no takers. Actual construction of the extension began by force account in October 1934. By June 1935, Funded Project 9's allotment had been expended without completing the interior. Despite this situation, the new wing was considered immediately usable. [404]

Funded Project 11's allotment was also funded for $1,800. [405] Construction materials for this eight-unit comfort station were purchased by the government [406] and a contract easily secured for requisite labor. The building was completed on October 31, 1934, for the sum of $1,824.

Funded Project 14's allotment consisted of $2,160. [407] The building, which was basically a three-stall shed, was completed in the fall of 1933, with the exception of a concrete floor. [408] This was laid and the building terminated in September 1934. [409] Final construction costs amounted to $2,135. [410]

Except for the four projects discussed above, Bryce Canyon received no further Public Works Administration building funds. [411] Fortunately, though, another of F. D. Roosevelt's alphabet agencies came along to increase the number of government buildings at Bryce Canyon. This was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), whose role in the history of Bryce Canyon is given due attention in the section entitled "The Civilian Conservation Corps in Bryce Canyon." During 1935 the park's first entrance station was razed and replaced with one situated near the north entrance road. This "checking station" was the first structure begun and completed by Bryce Canyon's CCC camp. Two additional building projects were begun by the CCC that year. One required the relocation of a comfort station from the old Forest Service campground to Sunset Point. Construction of a three-room employee's cabin was also started. [412] Both of these projects were completed in 1937. [413] As Bryce Canyon's CCC camp gained experience in rustic construction techniques, more sophisticated projects were attempted. The CCC's outstanding achievement in the park was a combination museum-overlook at Rainbow Point. This tasteful structure was finished in the summer of 1940. [414]

The Utah Parks Company's final construction project from start to finish was a male dormitory, put up in 1937. [415] Significant alterations to 20 standard cabins in the lodge area took place in the spring of 1940. These consisted of bathroom additions, which provided 40 rooms with showers and toilets. Subsequently, these cabins proved extremely popular, and were usually the first standard cabins taken by overnight guests. [416]

F. D. Roosevelt outlined the second phase of his "New Deal" in a message to Congress on January 4, 1935. The very first measure of the "Second New Deal" was the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act (ERA), passed on April 8, 1935. It was the ERA which signalized the Federal government's retreat from direct relief to the unemployed. The primary purpose of the ERA was to establish a large-scale Federal work program for the skilled jobless. To implement the program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration became the Works Projects Administration. [417]

In April 1938 Bryce Canyon's first ERA program was allotted $5,519 for 9,200 man-hours (60 cents per hour). A newly organized ERA crew then "took over from the CCC the task of forest insect control work on May 9 (1938) and completed the job in June." The remainder of the allotment was used to construct a garbage pit and to excavate sewage filtration trenches. In July 1938 another ERA allotment was granted the park: $5,200 for 92 man-months of employment. This money was spent for trail improvement, construction of campground tables, signs, museum equipment, and for remodeling the mess hall into a residence. [418] Available evidence indicates the ERA program was renewed again in April [419] and July 1939. [420]

Beginning with the July 1939 allotment of $18,358 the ERA undertook the construction of a building. This was a rangers dormitory, built with lumber salvaged from the old dormitory, which was razed. Weather permitted work on the rangers dormitory until December 28, 1939. Construction was resumed on March 18, 1940. The July 1939 allotment also permitted the construction of 5 miles of boundary fence, the planting of trees and shrubs, the obliteration of old roads, insect control on the "Black Hills beetle" infestation in ponderosa pine, and a number of miscellaneous landscaping jobs. Normally, the program [421] employed an average of 32 men per month. The final Emergency Relief Appropriation Act funds received by the park were in February 1941. This money was used to improve the "Tropic sector of the park highway," [422] and to cut logs on Forest Service land. [423] An inventory of all ERA jobs completed in Bryce Canyon is included in Appendix A of this study.

The Civilian Conservation Corps in Bryce Canyon

Only 5 days after his inaugural address, President Roosevelt outlined rudimentary plans to employ a 250,000-man task force on a wide variety of conservation and [424] public works projects. These loose ideas soon united and gave birth to a mammoth federal agency: the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). On March 21, 1933, Roosevelt explained the agency's objective was primarily [425] unemployment relief. The CCC was to be rapidly mobilized and put to work on elementary tasks in forestry, land reclamation, flood control, and miscellaneous public works. Four federal agencies were expected to mold the CCC into an effective organization. [426]

Labor was allotted the task of choosing candidates for the CCC. The War Department received what was probably the most far-reaching responsibility—that of administration. Toward this end, the country was organized into nine corps areas. These in turn were broken down into districts, each of which usually took in one or more states. District CCC officers were conceived as intermediate clearinghouses for the dissemination of information between corps headquarters and individual CCC camps. It was, of course, the individual camp which constituted the key organizational unit of the CCC. Normally, each camp was to have as its Commanding Officer (CO), a Captain or First Lieutenant in the regular Army or Army Reserve. Less senior officers and enrollee leaders were to assist the CO in camp administration. [427]

The Departments of Agriculture and Interior were assigned the use of CCC labor. [428] Within Agriculture, the Forest Service was seen as the most logical choice for this task. Similarly, within the Interior the National Park Service stood out. Given the labor requirements of each bureau, the field organization of Forest Service and Park Service CCC camps evolved in different ways. As a rule, fewer advisory personnel with technical backgrounds were attached to Forest Service camps. Each CCC camp working within a National Park Service facility usually had an experienced engineer, technical forester, technical landscape architect, and a number of history and wildlife technicians. All advisory personnel took their cues from a project superintendent. Forest Service and National Park Service camps were often split up into "stub" or "spike" camps. Each was supervised by an onsite foreman. [429]

Establishment Administration and Contribution of NP-3

By June 30, 1935, there were no fewer than 2,110 CCC camps throughout the country—19 of which were located in Utah. [430] Bryce Canyon was placed in the nine corps areas, headquartered in San Francisco. The park's district CCC office was in Fort Douglas. Bryce Canyon received its CCC camp—designated NP-3—the spring of 1934. Late in April of that year an advance party from Zion's camp—was sent over to Bryce Canyon to establish a water supply for NP-3. In a report to the Chief Architect of the Park Service, dated May 10, 1934, Resident Landscape Architect Harry Langley described the selection of NP-3's campsite:

I reviewed the campsite with the Army officers in charge and think they have chosen a good location. It is the same place where a road contractor [Union Construction Company] established camp when building section A[1-A] of the Rim Road and is approximately three miles south of headquarters area. Water is supplied from a spring used by the Utah Parks Company years ago and considerable work was necessary on the pipeline due to lack of maintenance since it was abandoned. [431]

The day after Langley's report the main contingent of NP-3, consisting of CCC Company No. 962, moved over from Zion. Within days the campsite sported a frame messhall, recreation building, latrine, and a number of tents to quarter enrollees. Illustration 39 shows NP-3 as it appeared on December 3, 1934. The Army personnel, camp Superintendent and Foreman used to administer NP-2 were brought over from Zion to Bryce Canyon. As a result, "good cooperation and efficiency" [432] among the enrollees of NP-3 characterized the working season of 1934.

During that first year, CCC personnel at camp NP-3 undertook the following projects:

1. Campground development. This entailed improving 3 acres of public campground. Roads and parking spurs were constructed; grounds were subdivided into individual campsites. A 500 foot walk from the campground to the lecture circle, comfort station, and cafeteria was graveled. Logs were cut for seats and positioned around the campground lecture circle.

2. Sloping of road banks. Much of the 7,500 square yards completed were along section 1-B1 of the rim road. Erosion was thus minimized and the roads' appearance enhanced.

3. Roadside cleanup and improvement. Down timber was cut and removed for 18 miles along the north entrance road and rim road proper.

4. Under-rim fire trail. A horse trail, 18.8 miles in length, was constructed from Bryce Point to Rainbow Point. As part of the 18.8 mile section, a stub trail was put in from the main trail to rim road. The project's purpose was to protect forested areas under the Paunsaugunt rim from fire.

5. Fairyland Trail. An existing trail from Campbell's Canyon, near Boat Mountain, to the head of Fairyland Canyon was improved.

6. East boundary fence, 7.25 miles of fence were constructed from Tropic highway south along the park's east boundary to approximately the center of Section 8 in T. 37 S., R. 3 W.

7. Improvement of Boat Mountain Road. A minor road was constructed for about a mile, from the north entrance road south of the checking station to the rim of Fairyland Canyon.

8. Erosion control. 325 check dams were positioned in gullies. These were constructed of peeled logs salvaged from the rim road right-of-way. [433]

Projects 2, 3, and 7 were completed in 1935, with 5, 6, and 8 presumably finished that year. Project 4 was completed to Rainbow Point in 1935, and the stub trail begun the following year. Campground development (Project 1) was terminated in the spring of 1936. The improved campground was opened to the public on June 1, 1936. [434]

Having completed its first working season at Bryce Canyon, Company 962 moved to Zion on October 29, 1934, and reassumed the CCC designation NP-2. About 25 enrollees were left behind in Bryce Canyon as a stub camp to continue some of the projects enumerated above. Later, these men secured NP-3 for the winter months. [435]

The following May, Company 962 moved from Zion to Bryce Canyon. [436] Assistant Landscape Architect A. H. Doerner had gone over to Bryce Canyon earlier in the month to prepare projects in advance of the company's arrival. [437] During the 1935 working season, NP-3's morale was reputedly high, [438] but the necessity to establish spike camps at Pipe Springs National Monument, and Henrieville, east of Bryce Canyon, [439] reduced camp strength. By September 1935 there were only 80 odd enrollees at work in Bryce Canyon, compared to 1934's full complement of more than 200. Apparently, in September 1935 many enrollees left NP-3 to go to school or to accept jobs." [440] To worsen affairs, Bryce's monthly allotments that year for overhead, maintenance, equipment operation, and the purchase of materials were "drastically curtailed." Even so, during the 1935 work season three new projects were undertaken: (1) the checking station, (2) the comfort station at Sunset Point, and (3) an employee's cabin. These, the first CCC buildings in Bryce Canyon, are referred to in the section titled "Rapid Construction Phase." Company 962 broke camp on October 28, 1935, and returned to Zion for the winter. Camp NP-3 was reestablished at Bryce Canyon on May 1, 1936. [441] New work projects included the following:

1. Improvement of service roads to park buildings, museum, and cafeteria.

2. Construction of parking areas at Lodge and White Man's Bench. This project included grading and surfacing.

3. Construction of miscellaneous foot trails.

4. Insect pest control, including the felling and burning of trees. [442]

Beginning in 1936 insect pest control absorbed much of the CCC's work activity in the park. Trouble was anticipated in July 1936 when it was reported that:

An epidemic of bark beetles appears to be developing in the coniferous trees of the park and adjacent Powell Forest. Further studies of the situation are planned during the coming fall. [443]

Later in the year Entomologist Donald DeLeon supervised CCC crews who felled and burned 1,617 Douglas firs and 890 ponderosa pines. These infected trees were spotted over an area of approximately 10,000 acres. [444] Company 962 moved back to Zion for the winter on October 30, 1936. [445]

Senior Project Superintendent F. R. Rozelle supervised both the Zion and Bryce Canyon CCC camps. Periodically, he or one of his immediate subordinates was responsible for submitting a narrative report to the CCC's district office in Port Douglas. Fortuitously, several of these for the 1937 work season have survived. In the accumulation they permitted a reasonably detailed account of CCC activities in Bryce Canyon that year. An excerpt from Rozelle's "General Work Report" for the period ending May 31, 1937, follows:

Both camps for the month of May have been in excellent condition. Camp NP-3 in Bryce Canyon National Park seemed glad of the change from Zion to Bryce and at this time are [sic] comfortably quartered. The mess hall and all buildings have been reconditioned and the general appearance outside as well as inside is neat and orderly.

The strength of the Camp is 113, Captain C.B. Whitney Commanding, Lieut. Carnahan Adjutant, Dr. Anderson in charge of the infirmary and Von Robertson Educational Advisor. A great many boys left during the month to accept jobs near their homes or assist their parents in work at home. During the month two enrollees, Davis and Lohr, were given appointments as assistant Technicians. A small sub camp is being maintained at Zion. . . .

. . . The Douglas Fir beetles have swarmed and during the month of June all insect pest control will be confined to the pine. This must be completed about June 20th [1937]. The work is still being directed by Dr. DeLeon.

. . .

The engineering in Zion, Bryce and Cedar Breaks is under the direction of Frank Huscon who also directs the work at Boulder Dam, Farmington Bay, Timpanogos and Lehmans Cave[s].

The landscaping is directed by Harlan Stephenson who also has the same number of camps, monuments, parks, etc. to look after.

The usual amount of classes are being conducted with about the same amount of interest. Inasmuch as the entire camp at Bryce is engaged in insect pest control Dr. DeLeon was prevailed upon to give an occasional talk on the work in which the boys are engaged. These talks have been very interesting and beneficial.

Trips taken to nearby towns as usual for dances and ball games. [446]

The following were new CCC projects for 1937:

1. A fence along the west and north park boundaries. It included a cattle-guard and an underpass at the park's north entrance.

2. Expansion of the public campground, including campground roads, spurs, parking areas, 20 fireplaces, and extension of water and sewerlines.

3. Two drinking fountains. One of these was located at Sunset Point, the other near the Administration Building.

4. Plowing snow from all park roads except those in the immediate vicinity of the headquarters area. The State Road Commission took care of the administrative area.

5. Maintenance on the under-rim fire trail. [447]

Insect pest control was continued in 1937 and must also have included roadside cleanup. The CCC's narrative report for July 1937 indicated that during the month a small crew was engaged in the removal of tree debris within sight of the rim road. It is known this debris was the result of the insect control program. After picking up logs and smaller branches, the CCC crew hauled them to the park's utility area where the wood was separated into "saw timber, barrow logs and fire wood." [448]

Through July 1937 the strength of NP-3 stood at 165. It was reported for the month that new enrollees looked young and undersize, but seemed "to be adjusting themselves to the work and camp life very nicely." No recent changes had been made in Army or advisory personnel—a situation NP-3's personnel found "very satisfactory." [449]

In August 1937 project work throughout the park was on schedule. Enrollees spent their off-duty hours in a variety of ways. Baseball was particularly popular with Company 962. During the month three games were played in nearby towns. On August 21 the company hosted a barn dance in NP-3's messhall, with music provided by the company "orchestra." The event was "well liked by the guests." In addition to baseball, at least one other recreational trip was taken that month. Available evidence suggests the camp's educational advisor took his job seriously. A number of new classes were organized at NP-3 in August. Use of the steel square, taught by General Foreman A. O. Johnson, was considered one of the best classes that month. [450]

Much of any CCC camp's stability depended on the retention of "Local Experienced Men" (LEMs). [451] Usually about eight LEMs were attached to NP-3. Since these men were generally older and possessed a skilled trade, they were only apt to use CCC employment—with its $30 a month salary—as a makeshift measure. In September 1937 a sufficient number of LEMs left Bryce Canyon's camp which temporarily caused apprehension. Camp stability also tended to suffer when well liked Army or technical personnel were transferred to other billets. In September the Bryce Canyon camp's adjutant, Lieutenant Carnahan, was transferred east for an indefinite period of time. NP-3's district medical officer, Dr. Anderson, was also moved to another assignment that month. [452] On October 1, 1937, Company 962 withdrew to Zion for the winter. A crew of 18 men and a foreman were left behind to complete unfinished projects and winterize the camp.

The cycle was renewed in March 1938 when a stub camp was sent over to Bryce Canyon from Zion. Its threefold task was to prepare NP-3 for reoccupancy, get a jump on insect control work, and aid in snow removal operations. Company 962's main contingent was transferred over to Bryce Canyon on May 23. [453] In July 1938 Lieutenant Victor E. Warren was transferred from the Farmington Bay State Camp to NP-3 as second in command. [454] Several days later Lieutenant John T. Hazzard was relocated from the Duck Creek Forest Camp to NP-3, relieving Lieutenant Merwin H. Smith as Commanding Officer. At the beginning of August 1938 the strength of NP-3 was 177.

NP-3's project work schedule in 1938 was basically a continuation of jobs begun the previous year. Large crews were assigned to road bank sloping and trail maintenance. [455] Insect control and the salvage of wind-thrown timber were also given some attention [456] Completion of the Comfort station at Sunset Point was delayed until the end of the working season, because all plumbing and inside finishing were assigned to foreman A. O. Johnson and one helper. According to Rozelle skilled and semiskilled workers in Company 962 were nil, and with the limited funds available it was not possible to employ skilled labor. [457] As in years past, Company 962 withdrew to Zion during the month of October. [458]

By the beginning of July 1939, Company 962 was energetically participating in a number of new projects. [459] Among these were the following:

1. Museum-overlook at Rainbow Point. This building is referred to in the section on Rapid Construction Phase.

2. Operation of a rock crushing plant. Gravel was stockpiled in the utility area for surfacing park roads.

3. Insect control work on the Black Hills beetle. This project also included the salvage of logs from infested pines (Illustration 41).

4. Assistance to the Garkane Power Company. The company erected a powerline from the north boundary to the park's residential area.

5. A parking area adjacent to the headquarters building.

6. Footpaths at Rainbow Point.

7. Guide and contact station work.

8. General maintenance of roads, trails, buildings, and boundary fences.

9. Road signs and a park entrance marker of special design.

10. Landscaping and planting work.

Projects 4 through 10 were completed during the 1939 working season. [460] Project 1 was finished in the summer of 1940, and project 2 by the end of the 1940 working season. [461] Only project 3 was open-ended. Company 962 returned to Zion on September 1 [462] — somewhat earlier than usual. A side camp of 30 men stayed at Bryce Canyon until November 30, 1939, spotting infested ponderosa pines. [463]

After September 1, 1939, NP-3 was not occupied by Company 962. [464] Only CCC stub camps operated at Bryce Canyon from the spring of 1940 to July 1942. [465] During 1940 stub camps participated in three projects. These included:

1. Continuing insect control work on the Black Hills beetle.

2. The production of 4,000 cubic yards of crushed rock for road maintenance, and

3. The construction of a cattle guard in Tropic Canyon. [466]

Stub camps were located in Bryce from July 1 to August 29, 1941, and April 16 to June 30, 1942. Work concentrated exclusively on the insect control program. By the end of the 1942 fiscal year, this work had [467] soaked up 14,603 man-days of labor. Appendix A of this study furnishes an inventory of all CCC work performed in Bryce Canyon between April 1933 and July 1942.

Trails

A map that was drafted in 1931 characterizes the trail system in Bryce Canyon prior to the CCC's arrival. During the first few years of its existence, all trail construction in Bryce Canyon was modestly handled by force account operations. These reached their peak in appropriations for the 1931 fiscal year, when a total of 4-1/2 miles of foot and horse trails were constructed. The following segments were planned and completed by the fall of 1931:

(1) Sunset Point to Bryce Point, (2) Bryce Point to Peek-a-boo Canyon, and (3) Sunrise Point to Campbell Canyon. [468] To prevent indiscriminate riding between the lodge and rim, a short bridle path was also laid. All work in fiscal year 1931 was accomplished with available park forces. [469] Spring trail maintenance was carried out between 1932-34, [470] but a shortage of funds appears to have interrupted new trail construction.

Information in "Establishment, Administration, and Contribution of NP-3," discussed previously, demonstrates that insect control and road work absorbed most of the CCC's time in Bryce Canyon. However, a review of these yearly projects also indicates enrollees made a few significant contributions to the park's trail system. In the 1934 work season, Company 962 inaugurated construction on the Under-Rim Fire Trail and Fairyland Trail. Then, for the next two work seasons, it abstained from new trail work in Bryce Canyon. In fact, only routine maintenance was performed by "day labor" during the 1935-36 working seasons. On June 1, 1937, three trails were begun by Company 962. The longest trail, by far, led from the administrative area to Bryce Point. One of the two shorter trails led from the campground to the rim—the other from the museum to the rim. [471] Park trails were given spring maintenance by day labor in 1938. Later in that year an Emergency Relief Appropriation Act allotment financed some trail improvement work in unspecified areas of the park. [472] The CCC's final contribution to Bryce Canyon's trail system was in May and June of 1940, when the stub camp responsible for completing the museum-overlook at Rainbow Point also constructed footpaths in the vicinity. [473]

Liquidation of Camp NP-3

Despite President Roosevelt's continued support, the CCC increasingly became a subject of public concern. This was all the more true from 1941 on, when employment began to rise and the country turned its attention from domestic relief to national defense. The agency's fate was debated by a Joint Committee of Congress on November 28 and December 4, 1941. Given the Committee's conservative membership, it was no surprise when it recommended the CCC's abolishment by July 1, 1942. President Roosevelt and Officials of the CCC continued to scrap for the agency, but a lack of Congressional support nullified these efforts. The decisive stroke was applied on June 5, 1942, when the House voted 158 to 151 against further subsidies for CCC projects. Instead, $500,000 was appropriated for the agency's liquidation. [474]

It was easy enough to disband enrollees and transfer vehicles and equipment to Zion for distribution. The disposition of NP-3's buildings, however, was considerably more complex. Available evidence implies Bryce Canyon/Zion Superintendent Paul R. Franke petitioned the War Department for retention of NP-3's six rigid buildings. [475] These included the following: (1) messhall, 20 feet by 138 feet; (2) recreation building, 20 feet by 40 feet; (3) storehouse, 27 feet by 27 feet; (4) blacksmith house, 7 feet by 13 feet; (5) maintenance shop, 27 feet by 30 feet; and (6) a minor shed of unknown dimensions. All had been erected in 1934, and all were in "poor" condition by September 1942 due to the flimsy construction and Bryce Canyon's harsh winter climate. [476] On August 24, 1942, Superintendent Franke received notification, via Region III in Santa Fe, that his dubious request had been approved. [477]

That the buildings soon became a burden is borne out in correspondence dated August 11, 1943, and directed from Acting Park Superintendent Dorr G. Yeager to the Regional Director. Yeager explained that Superintendent Franke had originally wanted the CCC buildings to house anticipated construction and work crews. In Yeager's words:

It appears, however, that such crews will, not be used for several years, due to curtailment of funds and construction in general. In the meantime, it is [i.e. the abandoned camp] a constant maintenance problem which we are unable to meet, and it was our thought that the simplest solution would be to invite bids for the demolition of the structures and cleaning of the area. [478]

In response to Yeager's memo, Acting Regional Director Ross A. Maxwell explained that the "simplest solution" was not necessarily in accordance with government regulations:

. . . these buildings must be declared surplus to the Procurement Division if they are no longer needed in your area. If the Procurement Division finds another Government agency that can use them, they may be transferred. If they are not needed by other agencies, they can be sold to outsiders. The structures should be disposed of by transfer or sale by the Procurement Division. [479]

On the last day of October 1943, NP-3's buildings were braced to "protect them from the weight of snow . . . ." [480] The next known reference to the structures is in the park's Monthly Report for October 1945. It is implied the Procurement Division was not able to find another government agency that needed the buildings. Consequently, bids for the buildings' scrap value were solicited. This resulted in an acceptable offer by a Mr. Evan S. Lee, who began dismantling the CCC complex in September 1945. [481] Until 1961 the old campsite was used as an overflow campground. In August of that year this makeshift facility was obliterated. The area was seeded and boulders were positioned across the former entrance to discourage would-be visitors. [482] Not a trace of the old campsite is now visible.

Recent Construction Phase — Isolated Construction

After the completion of the museum-overlook at Rainbow Point in the summer of 1940, no building was erected at Bryce Canyon until the summer of 1947. This was a Standard Oil Service Station sited near the lodge. A scarcity of information forces the conclusion that the Service Station was constructed after an agreement between the oil company and Omaha had been reached—as well as another between the concessioners and Park Service.

Harmon Brothers Construction Company of Salt Lake City was the successful bidder on the project. Both park Superintendent Charles J. Smith and Regional Landscape Architect Harvey Cornell approved the building's location in June 1947. [483] Work began on July 16, 1947. By the beginning of August the roughing in of the structure's concrete walls had been completed. [484] The following month gasoline storage tanks with a capacity of 20,000 gallons and pumps were installed. Rough framing and rock masonry were "about 75 percent completed on the main building." Rock masonry work was subcontracted by Olson and Son of Springfield, Utah. Surprisingly, it was reported that "suitable rock in Sufficient quantities proved to be a problem at the outset of the job." [485] Park records indicate the Service Station was completed in 1948 at a cost of $29,275. [486]

Recent Construction Phase — MISSION 66 Construction

After construction of the Service Station, no additional buildings of any significance were begun in Bryce Canyon until the MISSION 66 program got under way nearly a decade later. Once underway, MISSION 66 promised to eventually alleviate the park's critical need for: (1) employee housing, (2) an adequate visitors center and administration building, (3) a modern maintenance yard, and (4) campground facilities. Park personnel understandably perceived that the need for employee housing was most urgent. [487] To mitigate this demoralizing situation, 13 single-family residences and a four-unit apartment were constructed with MISSION 66 funds between 1958-64. This new employee housing was put up in three stages: (1) 7 three-bedroom residences in 1957-58, (2) a two-bedroom residence and the apartment in 1960, and (3) 5 two-bedroom residences in 1963-64.

The C. M. Moss Construction Company of Santa Clara, Utah, won the contract for the three-bedroom houses in August 1957 with a low bid of $130,073.50. [488] An examination of construction progress reports for these buildings suggests the following observation. Moss, like contractors before and after, underestimated the constraints on routine construction practices imposed by weather at 8,000 feet of altitude.

Seventeen days of precipitation in October 1957 caused the contractor to struggle with his schedule, [489] To complete the buildings on time, Moss was forced to hurry exterior work. This necessitated the "exterior rehabilitation" of all seven houses in the summer of 1961. [490]

With the exception of construction costs, information for the employee housing put up in 1960 is practically nonexistent. [491] On the other hand, park records have much to say about the five houses constructed in 1963-64. Perhaps the most interesting information is from the park's Monthly Report for June 1963, which bemoaned that modifications desired by park personnel were not included in plans for the structures:

Many of these items are required for proper construction at this 8,000 foot altitude where snow depths of three to four feet and temperatures of 25 degrees below zero are not uncommon. While these items had been brought to the attention of the Western Design Offices many times in the past several years, we have still not been able to have them recognized. [492]

Notwithstanding these deficiencies in conception, the contractor for the project—Valley Builders of Gunnison, Utah—did a fine job. When the buildings were conditionally accepted on February 7, 1964, it was remarked by the park's Maintenance Supervisor that:

The quality of the construction in these five homes is much better than some of the other homes built here previously. [493]

As a result of National Park Service Director Wirth's visit to Bryce Canyon in August 1956, the park's revised master plan called for a new Visitor Center. Wirth appears to have pushed for a location adjacent to the north entrance road. The Director also wanted the new entrance station to be as close to the Visitors Center as possible. [494] Architect Cecil Doty of the Western Office of Design and Construction visited the park early in September 1956 to sketch preliminary plans for the center. [495] Apparently, Doty and park personnel did not discuss the building's orientation at length, because Superintendent Bean was surprised when final plans called for the structure to face south instead of east. [496]

Park personnel began transferring from the Old Administration Building to the new Center on June 1, 1959. It was possible to carry on park business and moving simultaneously. Bryce Canyon's administrative assistant was especially impressed with the building, remarking that:

Adequate space, new equipment and an office atmosphere is really a new experience for Bryce Canyon . . . the office space will undoubtedly make for more efficient and smooth operation of assigned tasks . . . [497]

The visitors center and new entrance station were completed for the respective costs of $224,402 and $2,760. [498] A formal dedication was not held until June 1960. [499]

MISSION 66 fulfilled the park's need for a modern maintenance yard in two stages. During 1959 a utility building and shops were erected. The yard was rounded out in 1964-65 with the addition of equipment storage buildings and an extension to the existing utility building. [500] Detailed information is only available for these later projects. Valley Builders of Gunnison, Utah, was low bidder and won the contract on June 30, 1964. Architects Cannon and Mullen of Salt Lake City furnished the architectural drawings. Construction began on August 4, 1964, and Valley Builders was given 180 days—that is, until January 30, 1965—to complete the project. A hitch occurred when it was determined that ready-mixed concrete ordered from Panguitch was not satisfactory. The contractor then moved his concrete mixer onto the job site and did this work himself. [501] Construction otherwise proceeded without delays. Between 1959-65 construction costs for the maintenance yard totaled $130,071. [502]

Between 1957-65 MISSION 66 funds permitted the construction of six comfort stations at North and Sunset Campgrounds, a complete revamping of one campfire circle, and the construction of another. Early in the MISSION 66 program, Witt Construction Company of Provo, Utah, won a contract for two comfort stations at North Campground with a low bid of $23,770. [503] Substantive work on these began in April 1957. [504] Inclement weather delayed progress, but the buildings were ready for acceptance in September. [505] Monthly Narrative Reports for the construction period evidenced that park personnel were complimentary of the workmanship put into these structures. [506] During 1961-62 the new Sunset Campground received four comfort stations—each costing $7,131. [507] Besides work on the maintenance yard, the contract awarded Valley Builders on June 30, 1964, specified the modernization of dated facilities at North Campground and construction of a new campfire circle facility at Sunset Campground. Drawings for these projects were issued from the Park Service's Western Office of Design and Construction. The contractor was originally given 90 calendar days to complete the project from August 3, 1964. However administrative decisions and adverse weather caused construction delays. This necessitated several change orders to give Valley Builders needed extensions. Final inspection and acceptance of the campfire circles was not made until July 12, 1965. [508] Illustrations 43-45 show the campfire circle at North Campground before, during, and after modernization. Illustrations 51 and 52 similarly show the campfire circle at Sunset Campground during and after construction. Costs for the renovation at North Campground amounted to $8,050 plus incidental equipment. Facilities at Sunset Campground cost $13,681.94, exclusive of projection equipment. [509]

Over the decade 1957-67, MISSION 66 expenditures for buildings and building-related projects in Bryce Canyon totaled $1,534,600. The following table furnishes a breakdown for the period.

MISSION 66 Building and Building-Related Funds for Bryce Canyon, 1957-67

Major reasons for the failure to stylistically bridge the rapid and recent construction phases at Bryce Canyon are apparent. During the MISSION 66 period, limitations on time and money made a continuation of the rustic style improbable. Consequently, if the MISSION 66 program failed with use of rustic architecture it was mainly because of the economics and modern construction schedules. Notwithstanding arguments to the contrary, [511] there also seems to have been a basic unwillingness on the part of certain technical personnel in the Park Service to build using rustic design. It is known that Cecil Doty, who was the Park Service Supervisory Architect in the mid-1950s, had forsaken rustic for functionalism as early as 1940-41. [512] Finally, maintenance problems with rustic buildings counteracted a continuance of the style. As Tweed has pointed out:

Most of these structures had been designed with their exterior appearance as the dominant factor, a trait that often made their repair or renovation difficult. In the numerous mixed stone and wood buildings dry rot often became a problem. . . . [513]

It was dry rot that forced removal of the Utah Parks Company shelters at Sunrise and Inspiration Points as early as 1945. [514] Recent restoration work on the Old Administration Building had to be accomplished with epoxy because of difficulties presented by the replacement of entire logs.

Inclusive of the by-pass road (covered in the section on "By-pass Road") MISSION 66 funds programmed for Bryce Canyon's road and trail system totaled $894,000. [515] No significant extensions of roads or trails in the "precious area" were contemplated. The goal was merely to improve existing networks. [516] Insuring the park's water supply was another major project brought to a successful conclusion with MISSION 66 funding. By the beginning of the 1964 fiscal year $151,421.80 had been spent to extend and reinforce waterlines. [517]

In review, MISSION 66 was responsible for the completion of seven major projects in Bryce Canyon. These included the following:

1. Modernization of the park's road and trail system, including a new by-pass road,

2. Construction of Sunset Campground, and the modernization of campground facilities elsewhere in the park,

3. Extended waterlines and sewerlines,

4. A new Visitors Center,

5. New housing for park employees,

6. A new maintenance yard, and

7. Guard rails for some of the park's prominent scenic views. [518]

MISSION 66 definitely helped to mend fences throughout Garfield County. Because of the program local Utahns felt Bryce Canyon's facilities had finally been brought up to standards with Zion's. There is little doubt MISSION 66 also created long lasting goodwill toward the Park Service in Salt Lake City. [519]

Illustration 20. Maurice Cope supervising trail repair, early 1930s. (Mrs. Maurice Cope)

Illustration 21. Far view of Custodian's Residence, under construction, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 22. Near view of the Custodian's Residence, under construction, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 23. Custodian's Residence, showing detail of rock corner, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 24. Bryce Canyon Comfort Station No. 1, under construction, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 25. Comfort Station No. 1, after completion, probably early 1930s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 26. Comfort Station No. 2 under construction, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 27. Comfort Station No. 2, completion, probably early 1930s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 28. Checking Kiosk, 1929. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 29. Checking Kiosk, near view, probably early 1930s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.)

Illustration 30. Union Pacific Cafeteria Building, probably early 1930s. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 31. Union Pacific Cafeteria Building, 1945. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 32. Bryce Canyon Employee Cabins, probably 1930s. (Edward A. Nickel's Report on Public Works Building Program)

Illustration 33. Bryce Canyon Comfort Station, probably 1930s. (Edward A. Nickel's Report on Public Works Building Program)

Illustration 34. Bryce Canyon Museum-Overlook, Rainbow Point, Civilian Conservation Corps, probably 1940. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 35. Bryce Canyon's Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, NP-3, 1943. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 36. Civilian Conservation Corps hauling logs, 1937. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 37. Civilian Conservation Corps loading logs along Rim Road, 1939. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 38. Standard Oil Service Station, 1952. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 39. Placement of exterior walls, Residence No. 134, 1963. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 40. Residence No. 129 after installation of interior and exterior walls, 1963. (Bryce Canyon National Park History Files)

Illustration 41. Installation of forms for foundation walls on Equipment Storage Building, probably early 1930s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 42. Installation of canopy on extension to Utility Building (Warehouse), probably 1960s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 43. Campfire Circle at North Campground, prior to modernization, date unknown. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 44. Modernization under construction at North Campground, probably early 1960s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 45. Completion photograph of modernization, Campfire Lecture Facility at North Campground, probably early 1960s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 46. Staging for Campfire Circle under construction at Sunset Campground, probably early 1960s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)

Illustration 47. Completion photograph of Campfire Lecture Facility at Sunset Campground, probably 1960s. (Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service, Denver Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado)