Bicknell, UT

Bicknell is a Wayne County town on State Route 24 in Rabbit Valley, where the Fremont River runs between Thousand Lake Mountain and Boulder Mountain. The 2020 census counted 323 residents. The town sits at roughly 7,125 feet and lies within the high-desert country west of Capitol Reef National Park; the park's visitor center is about 17 miles east. Wayne County's middle and high schools are in Bicknell, so the route through town connects school traffic, county services, farm ground, and visitors bound for the national park.

Bicknell began as Thurber, named for A. K. Thurber, who built the first house in the area. In 1897 the settlement moved because sandy soil and poor water made the first location difficult. In April 1916 it became Bicknell after educator and historian Thomas Bicknell offered a 1,000-book library to the town that would take his name. That origin gives the town a particular high-country character: a river valley community whose school, park, and roads sit in the shadow of two mountain ranges.