Heits on the Road: Pipe Springs National Monument

Sunday was a trip to Pipe Springs National Monument. Located about 55 miles south of us, it was a beautiful ride through the mountains, valleys, and small towns of southern Utah. Instead of taking the turn to Zion National Park, we went straight towards the north rim of the Grand Canyon. 33 miles south of the Arizona border you enter the Kaibab Paiute Reservation.

On the way, we stopped in Colorado City for lunch. The town is just inside the
Arizona border and we stopped at Berry Knoll Bakery. A pretty cool place for a small town. We spoke with the young girl that waited on us and I asked her what people did in Colorado City. She asked if we were from the area and when we said no, she explained that the town was a polygamous area. In fact, her dad has two wives and she has 18 brothers and sisters. She, on the other hand, is married with a 15 month old and one husband that she stated in no uncertain terms was only going to have one wife. Apparently, when Utah had to outlaw polygamy to get statehood, those who didn't want to change moved into Arizona. Stopping in Colorado City was a good precursor for our visit to Pipe Springs.

The earliest inhabitants were Puebloan peoples who lived in pit house villages. They were originally hunter/gathers that learned farming. Their civilization faded between 1000 and 1250. Later the Kaibab Paiutes came into the area and were perfectly adapted to the harsh environment. Their first contact with Europeans was in 1776 when Spanish missionaries and explorers entered the area. Over the next 100 years European diseases and Navajo/Ute slaving raids reduced the population to 1,200.

Mormon ranchers began settling in the area, restricting the water source and driving the Paiutes further away from the area. The Mormons built a fort, not to keep out the Indians but to keep out the Federal Government. The ranch became the sanctuary for second, third, fourth or more wives. The ranch was originally owned and run by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Ultimately, the area was divested to individual Mormons who overgrazed the area, turning it from grasslands to desert. Fights over water were common between the Mormon Militia and the Indians. The Indians reached desperate straits by the 1900's with a population that was almost eliminated. In 1907, the Federal government finally returned a small portion of their original lands to the tribe. In 1923, the area was added to the National Park system as one of the first monuments that were historically important.

Today the visitor center and museum is jointly operated by the National Park Service and the Kaibab-Paiute. The Ranger who gave us a tour of the fort is a Kaibab-Paute who became a Park Service Ranger over twenty years ago and is featured in the video about the monument that is viewed in the visitor center.