San Juan County, Utah: People, Resources, and History edited by Allan Kent Powell

Preface This volume on San Juan County history is published for the benefit of four groups: the residents of the county with the hope they might come to know their heritage and themselves better through these pages; the visitor to the county who wishes not only to enjoy the magnificient scenic wonders of southeastern Utah but also to learn of the people and their struggles to gain and maintain a foothold in this vast land; those whose interest in Utah and western history draws them to seek an understanding of the development of the Four Corners region and its relationship to other areas; and San Juan County's schoolchildren, that they might have a supplemental volume on their own region for use as they study Utah and American history.

This volume grew out of the efforts of a number of people. In 1981 a proposal was submitted to the Utah Endowment for the Humanities for a lecture series similiar to previously held series in Emery and Carbon counties. The Utah Endowment for the Humanities awarded funds for an eight-part lecture series by historians and comments by local residents. Under the able and enthusiastic direction of project director Janet Wilcox, lectures were held in Blanding, Monticello, White Mesa, and Montezuma Creek during the spring and fall of 1982. The local response was warm and encouraging, so she and Sunny Redd approached the San Juan County Commission about providing funds for publication of the lectures and comments. Convinced that the book would be of great value to the citizens of the county, the commissioners encouraged the Utah State Historical Society to proceed with editorial work and in December 1982 allocated funds in the county's 1983 budget for publication costs. vn