Editing Escalante, Utah (section)

==History==
In 1776, Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and [[Francisco Atanasio Domínguez]] left [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] attempting to find a route to the missions of [[California]]. The ''[[Dominguez–Escalante Expedition]]'' followed a route north through western Colorado, west across central Utah, and then southwest through what is now called the [[Escalante Desert]], finally circling back to the east after reaching Arizona near the north rim of the [[Grand Canyon]]. They returned to Santa Fe having never entered California or the areas near the city of Escalante.<ref name=expedition /> In 1866; Captain James Andrus led members of the Southern Utah militia through the Escalante area during the [[Black Hawk War (Utah)|Black Hawk Indian War]]. The valley east of the Escalante Mountains, where the city of Escalante is located, was named ''Potato Valley'' since the group had found wild potatoes growing there.<ref name=website />

[[File:A419, Escalante, Utah, USA, Utah State Route 12, Main Street at 200 West Street, brick house, 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Brick house on Main Street]]
Settlers from [[Panguitch, Utah|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 honor Escalante even though the expedition had not traveled 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 also marked. After a winter spent back in Panguitch, the settlers returned, 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 today.<ref name=website /><ref name=history /><ref name=twnet />

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, Utah|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.<ref name=twnet />

{{multiple image
| header    = Main Street, [[Utah State Route 12|SR-12]]<br/>view west and east
| align     = left
| direction = horizontal
| image1    = A417, Escalante, Utah, USA, Utah State Route 12, Main Street at Center Street, looking west, 2016.jpg
| width1    = 140
| image2    = A418, Escalante, Utah, USA, Utah State Route 12, Main Street at Center Street, looking east, 2016.jpg
| width2    = 140
}}
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 to as low as 638 people, leaving only 15 more people than in 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.<ref name=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 months. A survey taken from March to October 2004 by Utah State University claims that the BLM has an estimated 600,000 visitors to various parts of GSENM, many of whom pass through Escalante.<ref name=visitation />