By 1870 the area began to be settled by the white men. Ebenezer and Mary Bryce came in 1875. Their need for timber and fire wood had him construct the first road on the Plateau. As more settlers moved into the area and befriended Ebenezer, the people began to refer to the rock formations near his home as "Bryce." Although the Bryce family moved to Arizona in 1880, the name of the rock formations remain to this day.