A source of water in the desert, the springs have long been associated with human settlement dating back at least 1000 years with Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiutes living in the area.  Latter-day Saint pioneers rediscovered the springs in the late 1850s naming them Pipe Springs and establishing a ranching outfit in the area.  Later conflict with the native peoples prompted the fortification of the springs and the building you see here was constructed from the native sandstone of the area.  Water from the springs was pooled in ponds to the west of the house.

The Kaibab Paiutes continued living in the area and in 1913, the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established surrounding the Pipe Springs ranch, which no longer belonged to the LDS church.  In 1923 the ranch was established as a national monument to commemorate its pioneer history.

Today the Kaibab Band of Piaute Indians and the National Park Service jointly operate the monument, a visitor center and a cultural museum detailing the long history of native peoples in the area prior to the arrival of the LDS pioneers.