History of Escalante

War. They named a valley just east of the Escalante Mountains "Potato Valley" after finding wild potatoes growing there. Settlers from Panguitch first visited the area in the 1870s, where they met members of the John Wesley Powell expedition. The settlement was named based on a suggestion of Powell's group to honour the Spaniard even though his expedition did not travel into the valley. In June 1875, the settlers returned to survey the valley. Twenty acre parcels were staked out for farming while city lots were marked as well. After a winter spent back in Panguitch, the settlers returned again and the first home was built in March 1876 by William Alvey. The first settlers built many homes using native bricks and as a result those homes are still standing to this day.

The primary industries of the new settlement of Escalante were cattle and sheep ranching, dairy farming, logging and mining. Farming and ranching continue to drive the local economy today, along with increasing tourist-related activities. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built improved roads to Posey Lake and Boulder. Federal government management of large tracts of surrounding lands had begun and stricter regulation of public lands combined with limited private land resources caused many people to leave Escalante in the 1940s. The exodus to look for work in larger communities resulted in a loss of 33% of the population by the 1950 census. The population continued to decline through the next two decades, dropping as low as 638 people, leaving only 15 more people than the very first census in 1880. An increase of 25% by the 1990 census was followed by no change in the 2000 census and a slight decline in the 2010 census.

Since the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) was established in 1996, Escalante has seen a large increase in the number of tourists, especially in the spring through fall