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Pipe Spring National Monument is a fortified ranch and natural spring in the desert in northern Arizona. It’s surrounded by the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation and the nearest city is Fredonia. We visited on our way between Kanab and St. George, both in Utah.
History of Pipe Spring National Monument
The area around Pipe Spring has been an important place to hunt and raise crops for at least 1,000 years. The Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute people used the spring to raise crops and hunt animals.
Antonio Armijo (1804-1850) was the first person of European descent to visit the spring when he passed through the area in 1829. Later, in 1858, Pipe Spring received its modern name from Mormon missionaries led by Jacob Hamblin (1819-1886).
In the early 1860s, Mormon settlers from St. George, led by James M. Whitmore, started a cattle ranching operation at the spring. After raids by Native American tribes in 1866, the ranchers built a fort over the spring between 1870 and 1872. The ranch was purchased by Brigham Young (1801-1877) for the LDS Church in 1873, and Anson Perry Winsor was hired to operate it. The fort soon came to be called Winsor Castle.
In the 1880s and 90s, the fort served as an outpost for travelers crossing the Arizona Strip. It was also a refuge for polygamist wives, and the LDS Church lost ownership in 1887 under the Edmunds-Tucker Act. By 1907, the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established, completely surrounding the privately-owned ranch.
Finally, on May 31, 1923, the property was purchased by the National Park Service and became a national monument. It honors western pioneer life.
Visiting Pipe Spring National Monument
Entrance fees are US$10 per person age 16+ and free for kids under 16 (as of September 2025). That includes a US$3 tribal use fee to enter the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation. Cash payments are not accepted. The entrance fee is waived for holders of any interagency pass plus three guests. Check the official website for more info.
Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center and Museum
The entrance to the site is through the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center and Museum. There are exhibits about the history of the Kaibab Paiute people and the Mormon settlers in the area as well as a 25-minute film.
The Grounds at Pipe Spring National Monument
A paved trail leads from the museum through the grounds of Pipe Spring National Monument, passing a replica Kaibab Paiute village on the right. Just past the village is an orchard to the left and a garden to the right.
If you follow the path to the left past the orchard, there’s an audio station where you can listen to a story about the site. You’ll also pass two reservoirs fed by Pipe Spring that sit in front of Winsor Castle.
Winsor Castle
Winsor Castle is the main attraction at Pipe Spring National Monument. It was built to protect Mormon ranchers from the Federal Governmet and raids by Native American tribes. Ranger-guided tours are offered daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Courtyard
Tours begin in the courtyard, which separates the two main buildings and has two gated walls on each end. The doors were wide enough to accommodate wagons with which the ranchers would deliver cheese and butter produced at the ranch to St. George.
North Building
The north building was used as the living space of the families that occupied the fort. The parlor is on the ground floor. Pipe Spring flows just underneath the floorboards.
The kitchen is attached to the parlor. The stove was built in Chicago in the late 1880s. Meals were taken in shifts, and between meals the chairs were faced away from the table to remind diners to kneel and pray before eating.
On the upper floor are two bedrooms, with the larger bedroom also serving as a meeting room. Gunports were place high above the floor in order to protect the fort during an attack, but they were never used.
A watch tower is attached to the larger bedroom. It was built to keep an eye out for attacks. Again, it was never used. You can easily spot the watch tower from outside the fort.
Telegraph Office
Winsor Castle featured the very first telegraph station in Arizona. It opened in 1871 and was first operated by 16-year-old Eliza Luella Stewart. The telegraph station, on the upper floor of the south building, also served as the bedroom for the operator.
South Building
The south building contained two more bedrooms that were used for hired girls. They were also used to hide Mormon polygamist wives from federal marshals.
On the ground floor of the south building is the spring room, which has a trough flowing with water fed from Pipe Spring. It was used for cold storage and butter production.
Finally, next door is the cheese room, where about 50 to 60 pounds of cheese was produced daily. The Oneida cheese vat was shipped from Almira, New York, in 1872.
West Cabin
If you follow the path to the left of Winsor Castle, you’ll come to the West Cabin, which was used by cowboys. Some worked year-round while others worked seasonally for roundups and branding. Some worked to pay their annual tithe to the LDS Church. An audio station is just past the cabin.
From the West Cabin you can see a corral. There are also great views of the first telegraph wire to pass through Arizona and the Arizona Strip.
East Cabin
If you follow the path to the right of Winsor Castle, you’ll come to the East Cabin. It was built by the Mormon militia in 1868 as a guard house. Another corral, which was filled with horses when I visited, is next to the cabin. A chicken coop sits just behind, and you’ll also find another audio station.
Ridge Trail at Pipe Spring National Monument
The Ridge Trail is a ½-mile loop to the top of the cliffs overlooking Winsor Castle. It has an elevation change of about 130 feet, and it’s possible to see lizards, horned toads, or rattlesnakes along the trail. You’ll also get great views of the Arizona Strip.
