When a new name was sought for Bryce Canyon in the 1920s, like 'Utah National Park'

         Bryce Canyon National Park could have been renamed "Utah National Park."

By Lynn Arave
BRYCE Canyon WASN'T always accepted as the name to a scenic wonderland of Southern Utah. In 1920 -- even before Bryce was a national monument -- there was a strong movement to rename the area something different to better conform to geology and geography.
"New name wanted for Bryce Canyon" was a June 8, 1920 headline in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper.
A state-wide contest was held by the Utah State Automobile Association to find a more suitable title for Bryce, because it wasn't really a "canyon," but an "amphitheater."
At that time, the early 20th Century, Bryce was also sometimes referred to as "Temple of the Gods," since that it is what the place was referred to on official federal maps.
Others referred to it as "Bryce's Canyon."
Since Colorado boasted a place named "Garden of the Gods," the "Temple of the Gods name was not considered confusing and not suitable.

The winner to the contest to rename Bryce, with the chosen name, would earn an all-expense paid trip to Bryce and Zion National Park.
"Bryce Canyon to be renamed" was a June 8, 1920 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner newspaper, as all major Utah papers carried the news of a big contest.
Apparently, many early visitors to Bryce had been complaining that Bryce CANYON was not an accurate title for the scenic marvel and that a new title was needed before Bryce gained world-wide fame in coming years.
Bryce Canyon was named for Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon Pioneer who homesteaded in the area in 1874. He also reportedly proclaimed it was a helluva place to lose a cow.
Bryce became a national monument in 1923 and a national park in 1928.
The renaming contest, however, did not go smoothly.
"Garfield Count protests renaming of Bryce Canyon" was a June 12, 1920 headline in the Salt Lake Herald.
That story reported that the Utah State Automobile Association agreed that Garfield County, home to Bryce Canyon, should have a strong say in the renaming process, but that the new name contest would continue.
"We are not trying to dictate the name of anything and we would not attempt to foist an undesirable name upon any section of the state," W. D. Rishel, manager of the Utah State Automobile Association, stated in the Herald story.
He continued, "Our efforts in securing a more suitable title were solicited by hundreds of visitors, who declared that Utah is hiding the most singular scenic attraction in the world under the most commonplace title."
When the renaming contest had run its course a few weeks later, it was concluded that the judges could not find a more suitable title, despite hundreds of suggested names by the public.
"Bryce name to stand" was a July 8, 1920 headline in the Salt Lake Herald.
"No better title that the present name of Bryce Canyon was found by the board of judges ..." the story concluded.

-Jump forward eight years, to 1927, and the leading new name for Bryce Canyon National Park was Utah National Park.
The Ogden Standard-Examiner of July 21, 1927 states that Utah Governor George H. Dern said that the Utah National Park name was "highly objectionable," because "much money had been expended in bringing the name of Bryce to the attention of travelers." 

(-Originally published in the Deseret News on May 13, 2019.)