Garfield County History

                                                                       

Garfield County History

The ancient Pueblo and Fremont people lived in the Garfield County area.  They left behind pottery, tools, grinding stones, arrow points and other things.  At the Anasazi State Park, there is pottery that has been found that belonged to both cultures.  Then, the Numic people moved into the county once the Pueblo and Fremont cultures disappeared.  These Numic people are known as Southern Paiutes and Utes.

White settlers first came to the Panguitch area of Garfield County in March 1864.  They didn’t settle there very long because the winters were very hard and the Black Hawk War began the next year.  So they left.  Nobody tried to live in Panguitch again until 1871.  The county was created officially in 1882.  The town of Boulder was established in 1889.  The only way to get into town was over the Boulder Mountain, but during the winter the road was closed.  Boulder became the most isolated place in Utah until a road was established from Escalante to Boulder in the 1930’s.

MOUNTAIN RANGES IN GARFIELD COUNTY

                Bryce Canyon

    Bryce Canyon National park in Garfield County is named after the Mormon pioneer Ebeneezer Bryce. The limestone rock of Bryce Canyon was formed by erosion and rainwater. It's known for "hoodoos" which are odd-shaped spires of rocks formed by erosion.  The rocks are tinted with many different colors and a lot of different shapes. Bryce Canyon has almost 200 miles of visibility and there are views of three different states. This Canyon offers some excellent places for exploring and hiking.




                   Boulder Mountain

Boulder Mountain is a mountain range in Garfield County. It has cliffs and steep slopes.  There are over 50,000 acres of meadow lands and forest hills on the top of Boulder Mountain. Dixie National Forest contains Boulder Mountain.  It is also the tallest timbered plateau in the entire North American continent.

Garfield County Rocks & Minerals

Stibnite is the most common ore found in Garfield County. In 1880, Indians first found Antimony in the form of Stibnite.  They tried to use it as lead because that's what they thought it was.  Stibnite usually contains small bits of iron, silver and gold.  The surface parts are usually dark colored.

Conglomerate is a Sedimentary Rock. It is a well rounded gravel that is made of clay and sand. It is held together by other natural cementing agents.

There is a place called Wolverine Petrified Wood Area in Garfield County.  There are large amounts of petrified wood just laying around there.  The wood was formed by forests that grew in swampy marshes. Over time, thousands of layers of rock buried the trees and they became petrified.

Climate In Garfield County

*Garfield County gets 11 in. of rain per year. That's not much not much compared to the U.S average which is 37 in. per year.

*Garfield County gets 27 in. of snowfall per year the U.S average is 25 in.per year. The average low temperature in January is 12.8 degrees.










*Garfield County gets 255 sunny days per year. The average high temperature in July is 85.6 degrees.











*The elevation of Garfield County is 6,801 feet above sea level.

Ute Indians in Garfield County

*Native Ute Indians inhabited the Garfield County area in earlier days. Some Ute people still live in this area today.


*These Indians lived in small groups and hunted and gathered for their food. They hunted small game and deer, buffalo, and elk. Seeds, fruits, and roots were gathered by the women.  The Spanish thought it was disgusting that the Utes sometimes ate insects, such as grasshoppers.  But, the Utes thought that when the Spanish ate eggs, it was disgusting.









*When the Utes hunted, they used bows and arrows.  While fighting, the men used their war spears and hide shields.  They also fired their arrows.








*Storytelling was a Ute specialty.  Fairy tales and legends, like the one about a man-eating monster, were a traditional part of Ute culture. 

*Ute Indians were very creative and did things like basket weaving, pottery, and bead work.

Garfield County Waterways

          


            The Sevier River
The Sevier River is one river found in Garfield County. Many people enjoy the rapids for short river rafting trips.
The Sevier River gets water from the high plateaus.Then it ends in the Great Basin in a dead -end lake.














Escalante River
Another river in Garfield County is the Escalante River. It carries water from lots of creeks and washes and brings it to the Colorado River-Lake Powell.

Garfield County Map

Garfield County is located in the middle, southern part of Utah.  It's county seat is Panguitch.  Some of the major cities in Garfield County are Escalante, Panguitch, Bryce, and Boulder.  It is 5,158 square miles and it's population 2,900,872.