The Bicknell area in Wayne County was first inhabited by Paleo-Indians, Anasazi, Fremont, Ute, and Paiute peoples. The Fremont River, two miles south of Bicknell, was named for John C. Fremont, who passed through the area on his last and near-fatal winter expedition to the West in 1853-54. Wayne County was created from Piute County in 1892 because residents found the seventy-mile wagon trip to the county seat at Junction difficult for business. In 1873, Brigham Young asked Albert King (A.K.) Thurber and others from Spanish Fork and Provo to explore the valley for possible settlement, and although Young did not act favorably on their report, Thurber and others brought a cooperative herd of 600 cattle to graze in what was then called Rabbit Valley. During the summer of 1874, Thurber built a home for a family and several line cabins in what is now called Bicknell Bottoms. Most early residents of Thurber and Wayne County came from Sevier, Iron, Kane, Beaver, and Sanpete Counties, and all but one of Bicknell's early settlers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many of whom had come to Utah from Illinois and foreign countries in handcarts and covered wagons. About fifty families first established homes in Thurber near the Fremont River, but poor drinking water, sandy soil that piled against houses and filled ditches, the threat of flooding, and sickness including typhoid fever led church leaders to direct the settlers to move north for their spiritual and physical well-being. In 1895, the present town site was dedicated, and about three hundred residents moved three miles north to the current location. In 1914, George C. Brinkerhoff learned while serving a church mission to the Eastern States that Thomas W. Bicknell, a wealthy author, historian, and Rhode Island's education commissioner, would donate a one thousand-volume library to any Utah town that took his name. After Brinkerhoff returned and explained the offer, the citizens of Thurber voted to change the town's name, and the prize was split between two towns, with Thurber becoming Bicknell and Grayson becoming Blanding, the maiden name of Bicknell's wife, each receiving 500 books. The local church unit remains the Thurber Ward. Many current residents are descendants of the original settlers, while others came for ranching, farming, government, education, medical, tourism, construction, and timber-related work. The area's remote location, small population, limited resources, and the fact that only 3 percent of Wayne County is privately owned have limited industrial and large business development and made public land use issues especially important. Bicknell's population has ranged from 300 to 370 since its founding, with many young people leaving after high school for work and further education and many returning after retirement. Community life centered on church, family, and agriculture has flourished from the beginning, and Bicknell remains home to many who have lived there.