In April 1956, the United States Congress authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to build a dam on the Colorado River. Subsequently, living accommodations and support services were needed for construction workers, their families and everyone connected with the project.
Page began as that construction camp over 40 years ago for the giant hydro-electric project known as Glen Canyon Dam and Powerplant. Today Page is a thriving city of more than 8,200 people with some of the finest facilities in the state for education and the best "backyard" any recreationist could want - Lake Powell.
A reciprocal agreement was made by the Federal government with the Navajo Tribe to transfer 16.7 square miles of Manson Mesa to the Bureau of Reclamation in exchange for certain desirable lands in southeastern Utah (now known as the Aneth oil fields) going to the Tribe. The mesa on which the City of Page now stands was part of the Navajo Tribal grazing allotment belonging to the Manson Family, hence the name Manson Mesa.
Survey work began in early 1957 to lay out the streets of the town then unnamed. The town was given the name of a man who stood high in the annals of western history. The Honorable John C. Page served as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration 1937-43. Mr. Page never saw Glen Canyon Dam or the town named after him. He died in 1955. Page City Park bears his name.
Workers for the Glen Canyon Dam and Powerplant Project first lived in a construction camp on the west side of the canyon with a footbridge connecting the east side 700 feet over the Colorado River gorge.
As more construction workers began to arrive daily, trailers were placed by the score in rows on the mesa. At the end of each row were mini-laundromats where the wives and single men did the washing - taking turns with the limited machines available.
Even as the Glen Canyon Bridge was being built (with completion in early 1959 and dedication on Feb. 20, 1959) businesses started arriving and metal structures became stores. Babbitt Brothers Trading Company was the first supermarket.
Construction continued on the Dam which was finished in 1965 when the last of the electrical turbines went on line to produce hydro-energy. Schools were needed for the children of the construction and support services workers. The Bureau furnished Butler Building type warehouses for the first three school buildings. They were placed just east of the homes located on the sweeping curve of South Navajo Drive.
Churches began springing up across from the school buildings on South Lake Powell Boulevard, then called Seventh Avenue. Eleven religious denominations were granted land to build on by the Bureau, which chose that area because sewer and water lines, sidewalks, curbs and gutters were already in place.
Living in early Page meant no television, poor radio reception and not much to do so the people made their own entertainment. Dances, barbecues, 16 mm films and gatherings were popular.
Today residents can watch many stations on the cable system or on their own satellite dishes. Page boasts an AM and FM radio station as well as reception of Northern Arizona University's FM classic music station in Flagstaff, 132 miles south.
The first movie theatre opened here in 1960 with limited showings during the week. Today movies can be seen nightly. Hollywood came to Page in 1962 with the filming of "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and the movie industry followed that epic with many more films, television commercials and magazine photo layouts.
Not everything was peaceful in early Page. Dam construction workers, seeking higher wages, struck for six months in the summer of 1959. Work resumed Jan. 2, 1960, when a new contract was approved.
The work stoppage now meant non-stop round the clock shifts to complete the massive "plug" in the Colorado River on schedule.
On a cloudy day in September 1963, the last bucket of concrete was poured into the dam and work began to wind down. Page's population took a downward swing until 1970 when ground was broken for the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired plant east of town on the Navajo Reservation. Workers began pouring back into Page and the economy climbed.
The power plant was dedicated in June 1976 and has provided steady employment for several hundred of Page's and the Navajo Tribe's citizens.
By 1974 the Bureau decided to remove itself from governing Page. After a popular vote of the residents, the town of Page was created on Dec. 17, 1974. By formal resolution of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors on March 1, 1975, Page became the second largest town incorporated in Coconino County. In 1975 the first city council election was conducted.
Today, Page's City Hall -- once an electronics factory -- on Lake Powell Boulevard is the location for the mayor, city council and most of over 100 people who work in city government. Public Works, Police, Fire and Court personnel work in other buildings close by. Page also boasts its own electrical system, which was purchased in 1986 from Arizona Public Service. Electricity is bought directly from the federal government through Glen Canyon Dam.
In the years since incorporation in 1975, city services have grown tremendously. Today the annual budget is over $51 million which includes $17 million for the electric utility system.
Growth through tourism is Page's future. Plans include more residential and business development, an IMAX theatre, expansion of the airport runways to accommodate larger aircraft, resort home development at the new 18-hole championship golf course and on the north mesa, and beautification of the mesa shopping area and gateway entrances on the north and south access roads.