Alton, UT

Alton is a Kane County town of 118 people in the 2020 census, set in a sloping valley known as the Alton Amphitheater. Utah State Route 136 runs four miles east of U.S. 89, and Kanab Creek passes along the town's east side. Lorenzo Wesley Roundy first settled here in 1857 at a place called Roundy's Station. The small settlement was abandoned in 1865 as families joined larger communities, then began growing again after settlers returned to Upper Kanab in the 1870s.

A sawmill built under Brigham Young's direction helped the returning community develop, and the town's name changed several times before a 1912 drawing settled on Alton. The winning name came from Alton Fjord in Norway and was pulled from a hat by a two-year-old child. Today the town's main geography is still easy to read: Route 136 brings travelers through the valley, the creek traces the eastern edge, and the surrounding country opens toward the high plateaus of southern Utah. Alton is a tiny town with a long naming story and a landscape that does much of the talking.