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Things To Do in Capitol Reef National Park

Fruita Historic District

  • Highway 24 and Scenic Drive
    Capitol Reef National Park, UT 1
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Fruita Historic District

  • callen60 from Ozarks
  • November 27, 2007
Gifford Homestead, FruitaMore Photos
No place in Utah gave me as strong a sense of what Mormon settlers endured while carving out homes across this not-always-hospitable state. Hard to reach and only somewhat easier to stay in, it seemed particularly lonely to call this isolated valley home with only two or three dozen fellow residents.

But for several decades, up to 10 families at a time did just that. Here on the sheltered floodplains of the Fremont River, the soil was rich enough to raise fruit, and the elevation was just a touch lower, enough to make the winters a bit warmer than in the surrounding region. Fruita’s residents planted apples, apricots, peaches, cherries and other fruits, and made a living off the harvest, livestock they grazed on the hillsides, and employment with the road commission (and eventually the Park Service). They built homesteads, a small schoolhouse for educating their children, and eventually the original infrastructure that enabled the first tourists to stay here.

The Historic District lies along the Fremont River’s east-west path, and then south on what is now the Scenic Drive. A small creek runs in from the southwest, and irrigation ditches from here and from the river watered the orchards. Establishment of the National Monument in 1937 put this small village in the midst of a modestly sized new reserve, but didn’t change much else. Residents continued to use the land as they always had, diverting water and grazing livestock.

As the Monument gradually drew more visitors, Fruita’s private lands became an increasingly difficult issue. Eventually, the Park Service acquired all of them in sales or trades, and began removing the newer tourist-era buildings. In another decade, debate about Fruita’s status as a "typical Mormon village" morphed into the decision to save and restore the oldest and most illustrative remaining buildings.

The 1896 one-room schoolhouse sits north of the road, a mile east of the Visitor Center. There aren’t many schools in a prettier setting, nearly flush against the steep rock walls, with the orchards and pastures across and up the road. We could only peer in the windows at the front of the school, and listen to a recording by one of the teachers describing life in the 1930’s classroom.

About 10 families lived in Fruita at a time, but the only remaining open residence is the Gifford Farmhouse (other structures are used by the NPS, or remain closed). Dewey Gifford and family lived there for 40 years after purchasing it from his father-in-law. The Natural History Association maintains the house as an exhibit of early 20th-century homesteading life. Nearby are the original barn and smokehouse, all set along a very pretty pasture. The home includes a small store selling period-related items, including the not-to-be-missed small cherry and apple pies, baked fresh each morning.

We took one of each out to the picnic tables in the large grassy front yard, and playfully fought over each bite. It was a good way to say goodbye to Fruita and to Capitol Reef.
From journal On the Plateau, Part VII: Empty, Beautiful Capitol Reef