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B−History
History · Kanab

Kanab dates to 1864, and 9 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #45 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Kanab was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1890.

1864founded
9on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kanab’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kanab began

When was Kanab founded?

1864

Kanab dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 409 in 18902020 census: 4,683162 years

How historic is Kanab?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.
History grade

What drives Kanab’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kanab is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #45 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kanab’s overall grade.
Founding era1864, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±2.6) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register9 listings, 21 historic buildings, 41.3 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 63%

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kanab’s 41.3 sits above most of its state (83% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1864.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Kanab’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1860–1987.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Kanab, decade by decade

8 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1920s7 items
LeviStewart1860sLeviStewartCross bedded sand stone1872Cross bedded sand stoneIndian relics unearthed near Kanab, Utah1900Indian relics unearthed near Kanab, UtahMary Chamberlain councilc. 1912Mary Chamberlain council1924. Kanab, Utah19241924. Kanab, Utah1924. Kanab, Utah19241924. Kanab, Utah1924. Kanab, Utah19241924. Kanab, Utah
1930s–1980s6 items
K Motel, U.S. Highway 89, south... Air conditioned... Kanab, Utah (89508)c. 1930K Motel, U.S. Highway 89, south... Air conditioned...…Southern Utah News front page (1956)1956Southern Utah News front page (1956)Old Paria (Pahrea) movie set, Utah1980Old Paria (Pahrea) movie set, UtahDenny's Wigwam gift shop and stage coach sign, Route 891987Denny's Wigwam gift shop and stage coach sign, Route …Denny's Wigwam stage coach gift shop sign, Route 891987Denny's Wigwam stage coach gift shop sign, Route 89Kansas Wonderstone Gift Shop, angle 2, Route 891987Kansas Wonderstone Gift Shop, angle 2, Route 89
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Toroweap Area map - Flickr - brewbooks2011Toroweap Area map - Flickr - brewbooksMapSanstone Utah2010Sanstone UtahFROM N35204 FLIGHT LAS-EWR2009FROM N35204 FLIGHT LAS-EWRKanab2007KanabDiligence Wells Fargo2007Diligence Wells FargoBeautiful2007BeautifulKanab62006Kanab6Kanab UT2005Kanab UT
On the National Register

9 historic places in Kanab

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
21
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Bowman-Chamberlain House
Bowman-Chamberlain HouseRider-Pugh House, built 1894Stewart-Woolley House, built 1872William Derby Johnson Jr. HouseKanab (Union Pacific) Lodge, built 1925Kanab Hotel and CafeParry Lodge, built 1930Kanab Post OfficeKanab Library
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian5
Victorian Eclectic4
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements3
Cross Wing2
Commercial Style2
Modern Movement2
Bowman-Chamberlain HouseVictorian
Rider-Pugh HouseLate Victorian · Built 1894
Stewart-Woolley HouseLate Victorian · Built 1872
William Derby Johnson Jr. HouseLate Victorian
Kanab (Union Pacific) LodgeLate Victorian · Built 1925
Kanab Hotel and CafeLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
Parry LodgeLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1930
Kanab Post OfficeLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
All 9 listings
Kanab LibraryBuilding · listed 1995

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Kanab, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kanab yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Kanab ( kə-NAB) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, United States. As of the 2020 census, Kanab had a population of 4,683. It is located on Kanab Creek just north of the Arizona state line.

Kanab was established in 1864. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,312 to 4,683 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Kanab, 1860 to 1961

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860In the archiveLeviStewart
  3. 1864
    FoundingKanab is established
  4. 1871Post officeThe Kanab post office opens
  5. 1872BuiltStewart-Woolley House is built
  6. 1872In the archiveCross bedded sand stone
  7. 1894BuiltRider-Pugh House is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveIndian relics unearthed near Kanab, Utah
  10. 1912In the archiveMary Chamberlain council
  11. 1924In the archive1924. Kanab, Utah
  12. 1925BuiltKanab (Union Pacific) Lodge is built
  13. 1930BuiltParry Lodge is built
  14. 1930In the archiveK Motel, U.S. Highway 89, south... Air conditioned... Kanab, Utah (89508)
  15. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1957Born hereGene Schaerr is born here
  17. 1961Born hereLaVoy Finicum is born here
On the map

Kanab on the map, 1954 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kanab. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Kanab on the 1954 USGS mapKanab on the 1985 USGS map1954Kanab SE sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kanab.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

LeviStewart
Retake this viewLeviStewart, 1860s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kanab’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Kanab, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00019001920194019601980200020204,683

Grew from 409 people in 1890 to 4,683 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kanab’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Kanab

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
LaVoy FinicumSpokesman for the American militia group Citize… · b. 1961
Gene SchaerrAmerican lawyer · b. 1957
Help out

Finish Kanab’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
6 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLeviStewart: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Kanab’s history

What year was Kanab founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Kanab’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1890 counted 409 people here.

How does Kanab rank for history?

Kanab is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #45 of 119 in Utah. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Kanab?

9 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Bowman-Chamberlain House (listed 1975, the first). 21 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Kanab?

3% of Kanab’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1995.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.