Fruita is the best-known settlement in
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in south-central Utah. The park is approximately long on its northsouth axis and just wide on average. The park was established in ...
in
Wayne County,
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, 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, Utah, Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy ...
and Sulphur Creek.
Despite its status as
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
, 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 denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, 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 d ...
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 tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
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 List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
, 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 schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...
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.
Popular culture
* Used as the setting for Western ''
Five Bloody Graves'' 1970, according to DVD audio commentary.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
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 se ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Climate Summary for Fruita, Utah
/ref>
See also
* Fruita Schoolhouse
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