Capitol Reef National Park records [photocopies], 1880-1999

In the 1920s, Ephraim Pectol and his brother-in-law, Joseph Hickman, began publishing photographs and articles documenting the beauty of what they called "Wayne Wonderland," part of the area now included in Capitol Reef National Park. Then, in 1933, Pectol was elected to the Utah State Legislature. With a government position, Pectol contacted President Franklin Roosevelt to encourage him to make "Wayne Wonderland" a national monument. The President agreed to Pectol's proposal, and on 2 August 1937 he signed a proclamation creating Capitol Reef National Monument. The new monument languished for its first seven years of existence under the jurisdiction of Zion National Park as the government, which was consumed with mitigating the effects of the Depression, provided no money for a superintendent or park rangers. In 1943, however, Charles Kelly, a prolific writer on Western issues who had recently retired to the nearby community of Fruita, volunteered to become custodian-without-pay for Capitol Reef. Seven years later Kelly received a promotion when he became Capitol Reef's first superintendent, a position that he held until 1958 when he was relieved by Grant Clark. Over the next decade, the National Park Service and Capitol Reef consolidated the monument's land holdings by purchasing private allotments within and near the park. In addition, the park received federal aid for improvements from the Mission 66 program which provided funds for the construction of a campground and a new visitor's center. Modifications to the monument continued in 1968 when President Lyndon Johnson authorized the expansion of the monument by 215,056 acres. The impressive new size of Capitol Reef raised the question of whether the monument deserved national park status. A number of bills concerning this issue were presented in both the Senate and the House of Representatives beginning in 1970, and on December 18, 1971 Public Law 92-207 became law establishing Capitol Reef National Park.