History
Fruita, in Capitol Reef National Park where the Fremont River meets Sulphur Creek, began in 1880 as the Mormon settlement of Junction under Nels Johnson and later took the name Fruita for its orchards. Celebrated in 1900 as the Eden of Wayne County, it became known for extensive fruit plantings that survived even after the town was abandoned in 1955 when the National Park Service acquired it. About 2,500 orchard trees are still maintained as a historic landscape, and several buildings remain, including the restored 1896 schoolhouse, which once served both education and community gatherings. Fruita endures as a preserved historic district and the park’s administrative center.
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Utah · United States
