Capitol Reef Cultural Landscape Report

VEGETATION RELATED TO LAND USE

Three categories of vegetation resources characterize the cultural landscape of Fruita: "natural" vegetation, including native and introduced species associated with the riparian communities along the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek; introduced plant materials used for ornamental or cultural purposes; and the orchards, fields, and pastures which are the dominant vegetation associated with the agricultural landscape of Fruita.

Riparian Plant Communities

A number of riparian plant communities have been identified along the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek. These are comprised of both native and introduced species that have naturalized over time. Common plants include cottonwood, willow, squawbush, and Russian olive (introduced), with a number of herbaceous materials such as wild tarragon, sweet clover (introduced), American bulrush, and wire rush.

Introduced Plant Materials (ornamental/cultural)

Some introduced and naturally-occurring plant materials are significant features in the cultural landscape of Fruita. Some of this vegetation, such as the Lombardy poplar, was planted historically to define property lines, create windbreaks, or define irrigation ditches, all of which reflect traditional Mormon cultural practice. Several of these trees remain, especially along the north edge of the district. In addition, throughout the district are a variety of non-native plant materials that provide evidence of past land use, or reflect valuable historic features in the context of the cultural landscape as a whole. Examples of these materials include the two cottonwood trees next to the campground (the "mail tree" and its companion), rows of walnut and pecan trees associated with several orchards, isolated fruit and nut trees, scattered mulberry trees, and a variety of remnant ornamental materials (lilacs and wisteria vines) that mark the location of nonextant residences or home sites. Contemporary plantings in the picnic area and campgrounds reflect period design (Mission 66). In addition to cottonwood trees, these areas also contain exotic materials such as hackberry and blue spruce.

Mail tree along the Scenic Drive, looking southeast, March 1993.

Agriculture

The primary type of vegetation throughout Fruita relates to historic and ongoing agricultural use of the land. Within the district there are 17 primary orchards as well as scattered fruit and nut trees located along historic property lines or abandoned farms. Individual orchards range in size from less than 1 acre to more than 6 acres and are a mix of plum, apricot, peach, pear, nectarines, cherries, nut trees, and several varieties of apple. In addition to the orchards, there are approximately 25 acres of open field in crop or pasture grasses, including three large fields: Hattie's Field (approximately 5 acres), Pendleton's Field (approximately 4 acres), and the Jorgensen Pasture (approximately 5 acres). [17]

The agricultural landscape of Fruita was established early in the development of the Mormon community. Using the narrow corridor of arable lands along the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek, these early settlers exercised traditional cultural practices by establishing orchards and planting a variety of crops such as wheat, oats, alfalfa, potatoes, corn, apples, peaches, apricots, and cherries. Most of these crops were grown for subsistence, as families tried to maintain and improve their lands. Earliest records indicate that the lands in Fruita were extremely conducive to the production of fruit and a relatively large portion of each claim and landowners' holdings were planted in orchard trees. [18] In 1888 Nels Johnson's claim included 17 acres cultivation, seven of which were planted in orchard. By 1901 the orchard had expanded to cover 11 acres. His neighbor, Elijah Behunin, had 12 acres in cultivation in 1895, 4 acres of which were in orchards. In 1896 Behunin's son Hyrum was cultivating 35 acres, some of which was fruit. In affidavits relating to their claims, both Johnson and Behunin stated that their lands were most valuable for the production of fruit. [19] Other settlers found the same and, as the community developed, orchards dominated the landscape.

Farmers tended to grow fruits and other crops that were available and suited to the climate of the canyon bottoms. Orchards usually contained several types of fruit trees to provide variety and allow the harvest and other work to occur throughout the season. In this way families could sustain themselves and successfully maintain relatively large tracts. As property was sold or divided among family members, it was common practice to alter the proportion of land given to field crops and to orchards in order to meet individual family needs, abilities, and the larger regional market economies. When Utah experienced an agricultural depression in the early 1920s, several of the original settlers sold their lands. New owners carried on traditional use of the land by piecing together contiguous tracts of orchards and fields which left the agricultural landscape relatively intact.

The Holt farm in 1992, during it's period of use as an NPS staff residence.

After the NPS purchased most of the private holdings in Fruita in the early 1960s, the disposition of the orchards was an immediate management concern. One view held that the landscape should be returned to its natural, pre-settlement appearance. Others argued that the orchards should be maintained, either by the NPS or a lessee who would maximize production of the fruit trees. The decision was made in 1974 to maintain the orchards as a historical resource. The first formal orchard management plan was approved in 1979. [20] It initially proposed that the number of fruit trees be reduced to 1,700. When the plan was presented to the public, it met with strong opposition. [21] Consequently, the plan was revised to allow for the continued maintenance of 2,563 trees as a cultural resource. [22]

From the beginning there was never an attempt by the NPS to manage the orchard trees of Fruita as a horticultural archive. A subsequent orchard management plan in 1988 stated that "the objective is the preservation of the landscape, not the preservation of individual trees." [23] The plan recommended maintenance of 2,500 trees; when replanting was required, it was to be in a single-species, "block" pattern, rather than the earlier and common "hodge podge" pattern. The "block" pattern was necessary to facilitate the high level of maintenance required to manage the number and diversity of existing orchards. A small number of mixed-variety orchards (which included historical fruit varieties) were recommended for interpretive purposes. [24] In addition to the maintenance of orchards, many fields in the park continued to be planted in alfalfa and pasture grass as they were historically. While there were an estimated 3,500 fruit trees during Fruita's zenith, the numbers have fluctuated through the years, and today there are about 2,500. [25]

Orchard Summaries

There are 17 individual orchards currently managed in Fruita. They range in size from less than 1 acre to more than 6 acres. [26] The location of the orchards and many of the trees in them are historic, dating to the 1940s. Throughout the district, orchard trees that are in poor condition have historically been replaced, and in some cases entire orchards have been replanted with new trees as the old trees failed. All of the orchards in Fruita are managed using current horticultural practices, and fruit is harvested using a "pick-your-own" system and sold to visitors. This inventory consolidates current and historical data for each orchard, and for the three primary fields/pastures in the district. Data in the inventory is organized into several categories including name, park code, location, acres cultivated, historical documentation, and crop information. Summary descriptions are coordinated with the fold-out map (located in the rear pocket of this report) and are given in the following order: beginning from the western boundary of the district; proceeding along State Highway 24 to the far eastern boundary; then from west to east along the Scenic Drive to the district's southern boundary.

Orchard Names

During the 1980s the park sought to pique visitor curiosity and increase their awareness about Fruita's history by assigning names to the orchards and fields and erecting signage in each of them. In some cases, names were assigned that had been commonly used by earlier orchard caretakers; in other instances, the orchard or field was named after the person with the longest (or latest) association with the property. The names were chosen to be "representative" of different families that had once lived or farmed in Fruita. Little research was done prior to selection of names on the specific land use history of each orchard or field. [27] In the course of this study, the question arose about the appropriateness of some of the names. In a number of cases, the names chosen for certain orchards have no (or tenuous) historic ties with the property. "Behunin Grove," for example, is located on land that was part of the Nels Johnson homestead; the orchard was planted by Cora Smith, who last owned the land prior to NPS acquisition. "Mott's Orchard" is named for a man who only held title to the land for 3 years; it was farmed longest by Aaron Holt (1914-1939). The "Guy Smith Place" was owned by Merin Smith, but farmed for several years by his brother Guy. A portion of this orchard was subdivided in 1996 with one part renamed the "Jackson Orchard" in honor of Worthen and Kent Jackson, father and son who tended the park's orchards for many years. The "Krueger Orchard" was historically associated with one of the valley's most important farmers, 'Tine Oyler, from 1916 to 1941. (While Krueger owned the land from 1941 to 1961, he spent only one summer in Fruita as a resident.) It is not known what association, if any, Abie Clarke had to the orchard named after him.

Because the current names of orchards do not always have strong historic association with the land, there is some confusion among park visitors, particularly those with family ties to past residents. The names currently assigned to the orchards or fields have been used throughout this document. At some point, the park may wish to reevaluate their use of current names given additional historic documentation and public input.

Historic Crops

There are no known detailed records which pertain to individual orchards during the historic period. Listed under this heading are the types and numbers of fruit trees that were inventoried by the park in October 1970, and described in the park's orchard maintenance notebook. [28] This inventory describes the trees as "small, medium, or large" and (usually) provides corresponding diameters for each, thus it is possible to ascertain the approximate age of trees at the time of the inventory. Sizes indicate that the majority of trees in the orchards were mature at the time of the inventory. During the 1960s, when the orchards were maintained by Worthen Jackson, dead or diseased trees were replaced in kind. For purposes of the following orchard summary, all trees inventoried in 1970 (regardless of size) are described under "Historic Crops."

Historical Documentation

The documentation provided in the summaries includes estimates of acres devoted to agriculture were derived from analysis of historic photographs (including aerials), orchard records, and orchard maintenance files. In some cases, these estimates are inconsistent with those provided by the Wayne County Tax Assessment Roll for 1947. The tax assessment records appear unreliable through much of the historic period, and the acreage reportedly devoted to orchards appears to have been under-reported by the tax assessor. [29] Between 1946 and 1947, Fruita's farms were resurveyed and the figures adjusted for all landowners. The 1947 adjustment reflected a substantial increase in the size of orchards. According to a past resident Cora Smith, however, there was not a significant increase in fruit trees planted between 1940 and 1946, thus the readjusted assessment figures may approximate the amount of acres in orchard at the end of the historic period (1946). Those figures are provided in Appendix C for purposes of comparison with the figures derived from other documentary sources.