BRYCE CANYON CITY

A short history of Bryce Canyon City

Reuben C. "Ruby" Syrett built a lodge and cabins at the town's eventual location in 1916, when the promotion of Bryce Canyon for tourism was just beginning. Syrett's business grew alongside the park's popularity, particularly once it was made a national park in 1928. Ruby's Inn became an important junction, and its travelers' services developed into a small community. Syrett donated land to the state for construction of a road (now Utah State Route 63), strategically placing Ruby's Inn right at the entrance to the park.

In 2007, the Utah State Legislature unanimously passed H.B. 466, a bill that amended the state law on municipal incorporation petitions, allowing petitions for a new town with 100 to 999 residents to be filed with just the signatures of the owners of a majority of the land area, or a single majority landowner. If the petition met the conditions of state law, and its signers owned the majority of the land by value, the new law required the county government to grant the petition and appoint a mayor and town council from a list of individuals approved by the petitioners.

The Syrett family, owners of Ruby's Inn, had been seeking municipal incorporation for some time, hoping to qualify for a portion of county sales tax revenue to help fund the water system and other community infrastructure. Garfield County officials repeatedly denied the request, unwilling to give up some 10 percent of the county budget. After the passing of H.B. 466, the family filed a new petition, and on July 23, 2007, Bryce Canyon City became the first town incorporated under the amended law. It remained the only town incorporated under H.B. 466 until early 2008 when the law was amended to redefine the petition requirements.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Bryce Canyon City, Utah, revision 1375316015 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.