Serial Homesteaders

Serial Homesteaders. Ebenezer and Mary Bryce. , Scottish-born Ebenezer Bryce apprenticed as a shipwright. In 1850, the 18-year-old converted to Mormonism, moved to Utah, and married Mary Ann Park. At the direction of church officials, the Bryces became serial homesteaders – moving from place to place helping to establish communities. Settling near Tropic in 1876, Bryce built a road into the amphitheater to harvest timber; locals began calling “Bryce’s Canyon”., In 1880, the family moved yet again to Arizona, leaving behind their cabin and their name which would be immortalized in 1928 with the establishment of Bryce Canyon National Park. In all, the couple pioneered twelve locations in Utah and Arizona. Through all of their moves, they managed to raise twelve children to adulthood – a tremendous feat by frontier standards., [Caption]: Compare this cabin Bryce built for his family with the Pine Valley Chapel (right) he built for his church. Though a mastercraftsman, Bryce was pragmatic. He knew this cabin would not be their last home – one of life’s many compromises for serial homesteaders., [Caption]: the Pine Valley Chapel. Pine Valley, Utah has the oldest Mormon church building still in use today. It was designed and built by Ebenezer Bryce in 1868. Trained as a shipwright, he built the church like as upside down ship’s hull. He is quoted as saying, “If a flood should come, it would float; and if a wind came strong enough to blow it over, it would still never crash to pieces.”