Frontier Fruita
Of all the places in Utah for Mormons to create a community, Fruita might be one of the most difficult. Fronted by tens of thousands of square miles of desert, along a wild river prone to serious flooding, and in an area so remote that paved roads did not arrive until the 1960s, it is perhaps of little wonder Fruita, for most of its life, was home to no more than 8-10 families.
Fruita was for all intents and purposes still on the frontier until National Monument status was given to the surrounding cliffs and canyons in 1937. Situated in south-central Utah, about 80 miles south and east of Richfield, Fruita today is the heart and administrative centre of Capitol Reef National Park.
Fremont Indians frequented the area starting in the 700s, leaving behind rock art, pit houses and extensive irrigation canals. Whites, guided by Nels Johnson, straggled into this narrow valley between tall cliffs in 1880. Johnson built his house at the junction of the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek, now a park picnic ground. Mormon church leadership, wary of incoming 'gentiles' - what Mormons call non-Mormons - encouraged the settlement of far-flung locales such as Fruita and its valley. Mormons gradually settled from Cedar City and St George eastward into the canyon country. Already settled in the cold and windy nearby Grassy and Rabbit valleys, Fruita's valley was a logical, if difficult, leapfrog.
Though it never comprised more than 300 acres Fruita - originally called Junction - became an important settlement due to its relatively long growing season and abundant water. Settlers from nearby Torrey and Loa - which each have 90-day growing seasons - arrived in Fruita and planted thousands of trees bearing apples, apricots, peaches, pears and plums. Settlers also planted walnuts and almonds and later, grape arbours appeared. Around the turn of the century, with basic essentials taken care of, settlers turned towards constructing a school, stores and a small lodge.
Fruita, though borne of its Mormon roots, was spirited by frontier mentality. Though no Dodge City or Tombstone, Fruita operated sort of on the fringe of Mormon social culture - the town, for example, never had a church, and moonshining was not uncommon. And if Fruita was on the edge of Mormonism, it was also on the edge of lawfulness: polygamists, fleeing federal agents, often found shelter in the nearby maze of canyons, aided by sympathetic locals. Butch Cassidy also maintained a hideout nearby.
When the surrounding canyons were protected by presidential decree in the 1930s, Fruita was forced to face the outside world. Locals went to work serving tourists or working for the Park Service. Beginning in the 1950s the government began to purchase private land within the monument's boundaries.
Today, Fruita is a semi-preserved and well-managed historic district maintained by the National Park Service. The historic district contains cabins, barns, the one-room schoolhouse and, of course, the orchards. Visitors may stroll through unlocked orchards and eat as much ripe fruit as they want, though fruit may not be picked in quantity until the designated harvest begins. Fees are charged for fruit picked and removed from the orchards, with prices being similar to those found in supermarkets.
The scene above shows a typical early horse-drawn hay rake or dump rake, a wide two-wheeled implement with curved steel or iron teeth operated from a seat mounted over the rake with a lever-operated lifting mechanism. It sits outside the blacksmith's shop in Fruita.
This image is scanned from a negative and processed in Lightroom, Photoshop and Silver Efex Pro.
Frontier Fruita
Of all the places in Utah for Mormons to create a community, Fruita might be one of the most difficult. Fronted by tens of thousands of square miles of desert, along a wild river prone to serious flooding, and in an area so remote that paved roads did not arrive until the 1960s, it is perhaps of little wonder Fruita, for most of its life, was home to no more than 8-10 families.
Fruita was for all intents and purposes still on the frontier until National Monument status was given to the surrounding cliffs and canyons in 1937. Situated in south-central Utah, about 80 miles south and east of Richfield, Fruita today is the heart and administrative centre of Capitol Reef National Park.
Fremont Indians frequented the area starting in the 700s, leaving behind rock art, pit houses and extensive irrigation canals. Whites, guided by Nels Johnson, straggled into this narrow valley between tall cliffs in 1880. Johnson built his house at the junction of the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek, now a park picnic ground. Mormon church leadership, wary of incoming 'gentiles' - what Mormons call non-Mormons - encouraged the settlement of far-flung locales such as Fruita and its valley. Mormons gradually settled from Cedar City and St George eastward into the canyon country. Already settled in the cold and windy nearby Grassy and Rabbit valleys, Fruita's valley was a logical, if difficult, leapfrog.
Though it never comprised more than 300 acres Fruita - originally called Junction - became an important settlement due to its relatively long growing season and abundant water. Settlers from nearby Torrey and Loa - which each have 90-day growing seasons - arrived in Fruita and planted thousands of trees bearing apples, apricots, peaches, pears and plums. Settlers also planted walnuts and almonds and later, grape arbours appeared. Around the turn of the century, with basic essentials taken care of, settlers turned towards constructing a school, stores and a small lodge.
Fruita, though borne of its Mormon roots, was spirited by frontier mentality. Though no Dodge City or Tombstone, Fruita operated sort of on the fringe of Mormon social culture - the town, for example, never had a church, and moonshining was not uncommon. And if Fruita was on the edge of Mormonism, it was also on the edge of lawfulness: polygamists, fleeing federal agents, often found shelter in the nearby maze of canyons, aided by sympathetic locals. Butch Cassidy also maintained a hideout nearby.
When the surrounding canyons were protected by presidential decree in the 1930s, Fruita was forced to face the outside world. Locals went to work serving tourists or working for the Park Service. Beginning in the 1950s the government began to purchase private land within the monument's boundaries.
Today, Fruita is a semi-preserved and well-managed historic district maintained by the National Park Service. The historic district contains cabins, barns, the one-room schoolhouse and, of course, the orchards. Visitors may stroll through unlocked orchards and eat as much ripe fruit as they want, though fruit may not be picked in quantity until the designated harvest begins. Fees are charged for fruit picked and removed from the orchards, with prices being similar to those found in supermarkets.
The scene above shows a typical early horse-drawn hay rake or dump rake, a wide two-wheeled implement with curved steel or iron teeth operated from a seat mounted over the rake with a lever-operated lifting mechanism. It sits outside the blacksmith's shop in Fruita.
This image is scanned from a negative and processed in Lightroom, Photoshop and Silver Efex Pro.