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Panguitch, Garfield Co., Utah
Panguitch was first settled by Mormon Pioneers in 1864. |
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That first year was cold and the crops were frozen before reaching maturity. The settlers were hungry. A group of 7 men volunteered to go over the mountain to an established settlement and obtain flour to feed the starving settlers in Panguitch. They braved snow so deep, they had to abandon their wagons and walk much of the way. While walking, they would fall through the snow’s crust. But these men found a way to get through. They placed a quilt down on the snow and walked to the end of it. Then they would place another quilt down and retrieve the first quilt. By “quilt walking” the men made it to the settlement and obtained flour to bring home to feed the starving settlers in Panguitch. Their return trip was even harder, because they had to carry the flour with them back over the mountain. If you visit Panguitch in the spring, you may learn all about the “Quilt Walk” during the Annual Quilt Walk Festival. Local Quilters show the quilts they have made. Pieced quilts, embroidered quilts, both hand and machine quilted, are just some of the many heirloom quality quilts you will see displayed. You may also eat a pioneer feast and watch the story of the Quilt Walk performed by local talent.Panguitch is a Paiute Indian word, meaning “Big Fish.” The Paiute Indians would catch “Big Fish” from the lake just above town. The name became Panguitch for both the lake and the city. The first settlement was abandoned in 1866 because of the Black Hawk Indian War. But determined settlers returned in 1871.
Part of the pioneer heritage of Panguitch can be seen in the beautiful red brick homes and buildings throughout the community. They stand as reminders of the hardy pioneers who established the settlement. The brick factory was worked by the settlers. They loaded horse drawn wagons with wood and iron rich clay, then fired the kiln with wood and made their bricks. These workers were paid with bricks, rather than money. This made it so families could build brick homes. The stately, tall homes were the first ones built outside the fort. Later the shorter two-story homes became popular. These beautiful red brick homes were influenced by both English and Dutch architectural designs. Homes were built with filigree, Dixie dormers and bay windows.
Some log cabin and wood homes are still standing around town. The Alexander Cabin was preserved by a local group and may be seen at the city park on the north entrance to Panguitch. Open in the summer season, it shows the life style of the early pioneers.
Each of the homes and buildings has a unique history. An early Sheriff, James W. Pace lived in a home on Main Street. The story is told that when federal agents came to Panguitch hunting polygamists in the dark of night, Hanna Pace, the sheriff’s wife, would light a lamp and set it in the window. This was the signal to all the men in the neighborhood to leave town or go into hiding.
Another red brick building, used for many purposes, is the Bishops Store House. First used to distribute food and clothing to the poor, it later became a school room (used for religious Seminary) and is now the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum. The Social Hall is another red brick building with colorful history in Panguitch. Built to house major church meetings, the building was used for dances, fund raisers, as a gymnasium and now houses the play done each spring about the Quilt Walk.
Panguitch began as an agricultural community, but raising crops was very difficult in the cold climate. Raising sheep seemed to work better. Today, cattle are the most common site around the valley. One of the first branches of the ZCMI store was built in Panguitch. This and other stores started out as co-op groups. Later a lumber mill brought new prosperity to the community.
Today tourism is an important part of the local economy. Panguitch is in the center of some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. There are 5 National Parks: Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Zion, Canyon Lands and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Two National Monuments: Grand Staircase-Escalante and Cedar Breaks, and 1 National Recreation Area: Lake Powell are in the area. The Dixie National Forrest surrounds Panguitch. In addition, 5 State Parks and other Recreation areas include Red Canyon, Kodachrome Basin, Escalante Petrified Forest, the Anasazi Indian Village, and Calf Creek Falls are very near.
Scenic beauty abounds all around Panguitch. It is a photographer’s wonderland in Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter. Hiking, mountain biking, four wheeling, horseback riding, fishing, baseball tournaments, boating and swimming are popular summer activities. In Winter, snowmobiling, ice fishing, cross country skiing as well as down hill skiing, snow boarding and hunting are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
Scenic Byway 143 originates in Panguitch and leads to Panguitch Lake, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Brian Head Ski Resort. You will drive along forested roads and see ancient Bristle Cone Pines and magnificent meadows. While in Brian Head, you can drive above timber line. When you follow Byway 143 through Cedar Breaks to Byway 14, stop at an over look of Zion Canyon.
Invitational Rodeos, Craft Fair, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Christmas in the Country, The Quilt Walk Festival and the Garfield County Fair are some of the annual events hosted by Panguitch. The Annual 24th of July is a real pioneer celebration with a parade, rodeos, a great barbecue dinner and all you can eat breakfast. You may spend an afternoon visiting the Paunsaugunt Wildlife Museum, the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum, or enjoy a walking tour through town to observe the pioneer architecture, or the business district.
All Services are available year round, including a public library with internet access for anyone, hospital, drug store, post office, bank, ATM machines, courthouse, churches, visitors center, tourist information office, airport and Forest Service Office. Guided tours of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument originate in Panguitch.
Sleeping accommodations include motels (with 380 rooms), bed and breakfasts, RV parks and campgrounds. Dining pleasure is provided by nine restaurants and fast food establishments, a grocery store, gas & goodies stores and a liquor store.
Unique shops including quilts, crafts, antiques, Native American jewelry, fishing supplies, trading posts, florists, western apparel, toys, folk art and hardware are available in Panguitch. Gasoline and diesel, automobile and diesel repairs, car wash and laundromat are all to be found in Panguitch. The city park, county fairground, multipurpose center, race track, tennis courts and swimming pools (some seasonal) are available.
A long standing pop quiz question among Utah historians asks, "Who is perhaps Utah's most famous and simultaneously least favorite native son?" The common answer is Robert LeRoy Parker, more commonly known as Butch Cassidy, a man renowned for his wits and cowboy skills, yet scorned for his life-long passion for robbing banks and railroad cars, and then outfoxing the law. Butch was born in Circleville, Utah, April 13, 1866, the son of a miner and homesteader, and the oldest of ten children. Acquaintances with less-than-savory ranch hands and minor brushes with the law probably helped convince young Parker that a more adventurous world awaited him outside of Circle Valley, and he left home for Telluride, Colorado to find work in the mines.
Soon after his arrival in Telluride, he joined forces with another infamous Utah native, Matt Warner, and together they staged their first major bank robbery there in 1889. Butch would spend the remainder of his life staying a step ahead of the law and a day's ride away from the next robbery.
Butch shared an Utah address in Robber's Roost with many other bandits and highwaymen in the course of his life, and often returned to visit family and friends in the nearest towns to the west, including Escalante, Panguitch and Tropic. Little is known of his time spent in Utah after his life of crime began, but oral histories abound from those who met and shared moments with him.
Even less is known about Butch Cassidy's fate. Some believe he did die in a gun battle in South America with Harry Longabaugh, the "Sundance Kid," but most historians agree that Butch did return to live out his life in the United States. Matt Warner's daughter Joyce wrote that she met Butch after her father died in Price, Utah, in 1938. It is only fitting that one of the most elusive and mysterious men in Utah and American history continues to thrive as a legend to this day.
Pearson/Rowley/Parrish/Batham/Gauden
Steve Pearson
PO Box 2483, Dudley, West Midlands, England, DY2 0YH
Tel: +44 (0)1384 241010 E-mail: Steve Pearson
©S Pearson 2002
