Utah History - Quilt Walk of 1864 - Panguitch

Panguitch, Utah was initially established in 1863 under the name of Fairview, and is approximately 20 miles west of what is now Bryce Canyon National Park. The valley where the pioneers settled sits at an elevation of 6,600 feet, and this elevation makes for a short growing season. As significant snow storms came too early in the second winter of the new settlement, the wheat crops were unable to mature, and therefore difficult to grind into a useable flour. The people boiled the wheat but it was not palatable. Without some flour, the pioneers would starve. This is the story of how the men of the community were forced to use their quilts as a form of snowshoes to walk across the deep snows, and over a mountain to a community where they could obtain flour for their families. The Quilt Walk of 1864