Kanab is in the center of Utah's scenic Southwest it is located just north of the Arizona border, 80 miles east of St. George. Traveling along Scenic Byway U.S. 89 puts you less than 90 minutes from Bryce, Zion, Lake Powell and Grand Canyon National Parks. Pipe Spring, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Kodachrome Basin State Park are just minutes away. In the 1940's and 1950's Kanab became known as Utah's Little Hollywood as it was the center for filming of over 100 Western and other films. Stars such as John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Don Knotts, Tim Conway, George Hamilton, Fess Parker and Patricia Blair spent considerable time in the Kanab area while filming motion pictures. There are plenty of things to do in the Kanab, Utah area - click here to see some examples and some itineraries.

Kanab History

Kanab, Utah, is a city celebrated for its breathtaking scenery, temperate climate, and sturdy settlers. A sort of oasis in the surrounding desert environment, Kanab's wide, tree-lined streets and substantial architecture create a favorable atmosphere. The word "Kanab" comes from a Native American word for a willow basket used to carry an infant on its mother's back. The first attempt by Anglo-Americans to establish a permanent settlement was made on 7 June 1858.

The story of Kanab's first two decades is one of a series of unsuccessful efforts at colonization, each discouraged by attacks from hostile Native American tribes who were clearly opposed to white settlement of the area. Originally, the area was considered suitable for cattle raising. But equally important was the extension of Mormon dominion into northern Arizona.

Jacob Hamblin played a key role in negotiations with the Native Americans that eventually opened up the area to white occupation. LDS Church President Brigham Young appointed Hamblin president of the Santa Clara Indian Mission on 4 August 1857. Hamblin organized a series of expeditions to the Paiute, the Moquis, and the Navajo to negotiate terms of peacefully sharing the land. Nevertheless, through the 1860s raids and confrontations occurred regularly between the two groups. Initial attempts at settlement of Kanab included a fort built in 1864-65 (soon vacated), another in 1868, and a third attempt in 1870 by a colony of seventeen settlers who came to the area from Cottonwood, south of Salt Lake City.

Fort Kanab: Levi Stewart was called by President Brigham Young to lead a group of pioneers to settle this area. On June 14, 1870, he brought a party with seven wagons from Pipe Spring, where they had camped temporarily, to Fort Kanab. The fort had been built a year before by Jacob Hamblin and Indian missionaries.

During the summer of 1870, the fort at Kanab was described as a bustling center of activity. It became the focal point for local pioneering, missionary work, and exploration, and was also a relief point, trading-post, and base of operations for the Geological Survey. President Young visited the fort in April 1870 to bless the land and set it apart for the gathering of the Saints. He made the decision to stock the country with cattle, sheep, and horses. Within months, the townsite was surveyed and town lots were distributed among the local families. The next day the Mormons organized a ward; in September the group built a schoolhouse.

A visitor to Kanab one year later described the struggles of the desert town: "The grasshoppers had taken part of the wheat that was growing. The crop was light at the best, having been planted with a lick and a promise and not watered until too late to have a satisfactory stand." Because of the difficulty in working the land, the locals decided to organize cooperatively for farming. The group farm was located south of the town and included 120 acres of corn, cane, and other food products. In 1881 President John Taylor of the LDS Church called James Guthiar and Ruben Broadbent to move to Kanab to build a grist mill in Kanab Canyon, three miles north of town. During the 1890s, Zadok K. Judd built a small grist mill on his own property to the east of town. In 1915 a group of investors built a third major grist mill.

Although the railroad never came as far south and east as Kanab, the Deseret Telegraph line came to town in 1871 and connected the area to the rest of the world. Frederick Dellanbaugh, a member of the John Wesley Powell expedition through southern Utah, described Kanab in his book Canyon Voyage: "The village which had been started only a year or two was laid out in the characteristic Mormon style, with wide streets and regular lots, fenced by wattling willows between stakes. Irrigation ditches ran down each side of every street. The entire settlement had a thrifty air as is the case with the Mormons. Not a grog-shop or gambling saloon, or dance hall was to be seen; ordinarily the usual disgraceful accompaniments of the frontier town."