Commission lays out 10-stop Springdale historic walking tour, assigns research tasks

At the March 5 meeting commissioners and staff moved from concept to concrete assignments for a Springdale entry in the Preservation Utah walking tours app, a two-year partnership approved by town council Feb. 11, 2026. Staff said the tour requires a name, description, main image, estimated duration and, for each stop, a site name, age, architect (if known), address, description and photographs.

"This is a two-year partnership with the possibility of extension," staff member Kendall said as she described the project. The commission consolidated a 10-stop candidate list—town jail; the grainery; irrigation ditches; Under the Eaves; the Zion Pizza Noodle building; the Rose Cottage; the Pioneer Restaurant; the spring that gave Springdale its name; the OC Tanner (built ca. 1976); and the Worthington Gallery—and appointed commissioners to research or contact owners for each site: town jail (Judy Rook), grainery (Robert Carlton), irrigation ditches (Heidi), Under the Eaves (Jean), Zion Pizza Noodle (Rich), Rose Cottage (Jack Burns/contact), Pioneer Restaurant and the spring (Jean and Lisa), OC Tanner and Worthington Gallery (Heidi). Staff will seek permission from private owners before including privately owned sites and will compile the required text and photographs for upload to the Preservation Utah app.

Commissioners discussed boundaries and content: several members emphasized that the app should describe historic structures rather than promote current businesses (the Pizza Noodle example was cited), and they agreed to research whether a site meets the 50-year threshold for inclusion. They also flagged security and preservation concerns about the Pioneer Cemetery and, by consensus, appeared reluctant to include the cemetery without strong protective measures. Next steps: appointed commissioners will research assigned sites and staff will coordinate with Preservation Utah on content and app submission.