Pipe Spring National Monument is rich with American Indian, early explorer and Mormon pioneer history.

Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians lived at the site of the natural springs for at least 1,000 years. Spanish Catholic priests Dominguez and Escalante passed near the springs in 1776, and New Mexican trader Antonio Armijo stopped at the springs in 1829.

In the 1860s Mormon pioneers brought cattle to the area. Brigham Young di-rected the building of a fort (Winsor Castle) over the main spring for protection from Ute and Navajo raids. Mormon-Indian conflicts died down in the 1870’s, and a large Mormon church cattle ranching operation was established at Pipe Spring. John Wesley Powell was one of many visitors to this isolated outpost and way station.

Although the Indians’ way of life was greatly impacted, the Kaibab Paiute continued to live in the area and by 1907 the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established, surrounding the privately owned Pipe Spring ranch. In 1923 the Pipe Spring ranch was purchased and set aside as one of the nation’s first historic national monuments.

The Monument is an easy 21 mile drive from Kanab via U.S. Highway 89A and Arizona Highway 389. Park rangers provide tours of Winsor Castle every half hour. In the summer, rangers also give “living history” demonstrations, bringing historic pioneer and Indian traditions to life.

Visitors are welcome to tour historic out-buildings and a scenic half-mile ridge trail at their own pace. A visitor center and museum shared by the National Park Service and the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians offers an extensive array of high quality exhibits on Southern Paiute and pioneer culture and history. 

More information on the Monument is available by calling 928-643-7105, or online at www.nps.gov/pisp .