Called
by some Native Americans the "Sleeping Rainbow,"
Capitol Reef National Park takes its name from a segment
of the Waterpocket Fold, which, with its many domes
of white Navajo sandstone over red Wingate sandstone
cliffs, resembles the domes of the U.S. and other capitol
buildings. The Waterpocket Fold is a north-south upthrust
ridge of slickrock nearly unbroken in the one hundred
miles of its length from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake
Powell.
Before the fourteenth century, the area was occupied
by prehistoric people known as the Fremont Indians,
who scratched petroglyphs and painted pictographs on
rock walls of the land near trails and watercourses.
In 1878 Franklin D. Richards, a Mormon settler, established
Fruita in Wayne County where park headquarters is now
located. Other pioneers tried to establish small communities
along the Fremont River. Ephraim P. Pectol of Torrey
thought of the "Wayne Wonderland" as a candidate
for national or state park status in 1910. Joseph H.
Hickman, a member of the Utah state legislature convinced
his colleagues to set aside 160 acres as a park. In
1933 Pectol was elected to the legislature and convinced
it to memorialize Congress to accept Wayne Wonderland
as part of the national park system. Capitol Reef National
Monument was the result--established by presidential
proclamation in 1937. Those most responsible for its
establishment include E. P. Pectol, J. E. Broaddus,
a Salt Lake writer, and Dr. A. L. Inglesby of Torrey.
After national attention was drawn to the Canyonlands
area by the creation of Lake Powell, the monument was
expanded to include most of the Waterpocket Fold, and
in 1971 the natural wonder was declared a park in the
national park system.
The park's Central district includes the original Monument
and the road that follows along the river between Fruita
and Cainsville. This route along State Highway 24 features
wonderful views of colored and eroded rock. The North
district is primarily Cathedral Valley, which consists
of cliffs and buttes of awesome size and beauty that
resemble the shapes of huge gothic buildings. The South
district is the long spine of Waterpocket Fold. As a
barrier to travelers this spine marks a drift line on
the east flank of the plateaus drained by the Colorado
River.
Jay M. Haymond
