Fruita is the best-known settlement in
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park is an American national park in south-central Utah. The park is approximately long on its northsouth axis and just wide on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve of desert landscape and is open all ye ...
in
Wayne County,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States. It is located at the confluence of
Fremont River
The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy Creek near Ha ...
and Sulphur Creek.
Despite its status as ghost town, it is the location of the National Park Service's employee residences.
History
Fruita was established in 1880 by a group of
Mormons
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
led by Nels Johnson, under the name Junction. The town became known as Fruita in 1902 or 1904. In 1900, Fruita was named ''The Eden of
Wayne County'' for its large
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
s. Fruita was abandoned in 1955 when the National Park Service purchased the town to be included in Capitol Reef National Park.
Today few buildings remain, except for the restored schoolhouse and the Gifford house and barn. The orchards remain, now under the ownership of the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, and have about 2,500 trees. The orchards are preserved by the NPS as a "historic landscape" and a small crew takes care of them by pruning, irrigating, replanting, and spraying them.
The
one-room schoolhouse
One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...
was built and opened in 1896. The few students were instructed mainly in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but when the teachers were capable, they also studied other subjects such as history or geography. The room was also used for balls and religious services. It was renovated in 1966 by the National Park Service.
Fruita is currently the heart and administrative center of Capitol Reef National Park.
See also
*
Fruita Schoolhouse
The Fruita Schoolhouse is a historic school building located in Fruita, Utah, United States.
Description
The Behunin family, early settlers of the Capitol Reef area, donated the land in 1892. For over a decade the school had a dirt roof and in 1 ...
Popular culture
* Used as the setting for Western 1970, according to DVD audio commentary.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Fruita has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Climate Summary for Fruita, Utah
/ref>
References
External links
{{Authority control
Capitol Reef National Park
Ghost towns in Utah
Populated places established in 1880
1880 establishments in Utah Territory
Ghost towns in Wayne County, Utah