The National Park That Preserves a Mormon Pioneer Orchard From 1880s Utah

The Fruita Settlement, Capitol Reef National Park

The Fremont River cuts through red sandstone like butter, leaving behind perfect farmland. Mormon settlers discovered this green pocket in the 1880s and went wild planting fruit trees.

Here’s how Fruita became the tastiest settlement in the American West, complete with pie you can buy today.

Nels Johnson Plants the First Orchards

Nels Johnson claimed his homestead in Junction in 1880 after seeing that the Fremont River valley could support farming.

Johnson planted his orchard where the Fremont River meets Sulphur Creek, and he built a small one-room cabin in what is now the Chestnut Picnic Area in the park.

Johnson later drowned in the Fremont River during a flood. His wife continued caring for their orchards until she remarried and moved away.

Pioneering Irrigation in Desert Conditions

Mormon pioneers dug ditches that used gravity to carry water from the Fremont River to their crops. This system made farming possible in a place that gets less than 8 inches of rain each year.

These hand-dug irrigation ditches from the 1880s are still used today. The settlers built the ditches to follow the natural slopes, letting water flow downhill to reach all their fields.

Fruit Varieties Planted in the Valley

Settlers grew many types of fruit trees including apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, and plums.

They planted Jonathan, Rome Beauty, and Twenty Ounce Pippin apples, varieties that could handle Utah’s hot summers and cold winters.

The orchards also had Moorpark apricots and Elberta peaches, known for good flavor and storage qualities. Bartlett pears became another main crop in Fruita.

Fellenberg plums completed their fruit selection.

Growth of an Orchard Community

By the late 1880s, several Mormon families had built homes in the valley.

The community stayed small, never having more than ten families at once. The fully grown trees created a green canopy over the small settlement.

Fruita Becomes a Fruit-Growing Hub

The settlement changed its name from Junction to Fruita in 1902. The orchards became famous throughout south-central Utah for their quality fruit, and nearby towns came to depend on Fruita’s fruit production.

From Isolated Settlement to National Park

Capitol Reef National Monument was established in 1937, changing Fruita’s future.

After World War II, visitors started arriving in growing numbers as Americans began traveling more by car. The once-remote community saw more and more outside visitors.

The road from Richfield to Torrey was paved in 1940, with pavement reaching Fruita in 1952.

The National Park Service bought all private property in Fruita by the late 1960s. The last family left in 1969, ending the era of permanent residents.

Visiting the Fruita Settlement

You can visit the Fruita Historic District inside Capitol Reef National Park at 52 Scenic Drive, Torrey, UT 84775.

The park is open year-round, 24 hours a day, with the visitor center operating from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM daily (extended hours in summer).

Entry costs $20 per vehicle, valid for seven days.

During your visit, you can also walk through the historic one-room schoolhouse, explore the orchards, and try homemade pie at the Gifford Homestead. You can even pick your own fruit when in season (June-October) at $2-5 per pound.

Read More from WhenInYourState.com:

• Cathedral Monoliths, Fruit Orchards & Pioneer History Await In This Lesser-Known Utah National Park
• Utah’s Most Photogenic Ghost Town Has Rich Mormon History That Few People Know
• Utah’s Most Vibrant Formation Looks Like Melted Strawberry Ice Cream on a Summer Day