Ghost Towns of Utah (S-Z)

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Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
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Disestablished:
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Salduro, UT

County: Tooele
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 40°44’06″N 113°51’23″W
Elevation: 4,219 ft (1,286 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Salduro (also Salduro Siding) is a ghost town located in Tooele County, Utah, United States. The name “Salduro” is a combination of Spanish words and means hard salt. The settlement was located on the geologically-significant Salduro Salt Marsh, also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville Speedway is located approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) north of Salduro. Salduro formed next to the Western Pacific Railroad, which was completed in the early 1900s. Significant salt beds were identified during the construction of the railroad, and several mining claims soon followed. After several years of unprofitable attempts to produce salt, the claims were leased by the Capell Salt Company, which erected a small mill near Salduro.
Remains: Around 1916, the Capell Salt Company merged into (or was transferred to) the Solvay Process Company, a potash producer. That same year, the Solvay Process Company began extracting potash from subsurface brines of the Salduro Salt Marsh. The operation was constructed on the south side of the Western Pacific Railroad at Salduro station.
Current Status: In 1944, the potash plant at Salduro closed. Shortly after, fire swept through the settlement, and it was soon abandoned.
Remarks: On June 23, 1924, U.S. Army test pilot Russell Maughan performed the first dawn-to-dusk transcontinental flight across the United States, flying a Curtiss P-1 Hawk. One of his five refueling stops was in Salduro. The settlement gained prominence in the 1930s and 40s when significant potash and salt were mined nearby.

Scranton, UT

County: Tooele
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 40°2’56″N 112°12’3″W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1908
Disestablished: 1918
Comments: Scranton is a ghost town in Tooele County, Utah, United States. Located in Barlow Canyon near the Juab County line, it was a short-lived mining town. Scranton has been uninhabited for nearly a century, but some of its ruins have survived relatively intact.
Remains: Scranton was founded in 1908 around the New Bullion Mine, a lead and zinc mine. It was part of the North Tintic Mining District, organized in 1902 for the area’s silver, lead, and zinc mines. The new town became the home of the Scranton Mining and Smelting Company, the owners naming it after Scranton, Pennsylvania, their home town.
Current Status: Four old buildings remained in fine condition as late as 1971, when a brush fire ignited by a National Guard exercise burned two of them to the ground. The other two buildings and some mine equipment continue to mark the site of old Scranton.
Remarks: Some 90 miners lived in Scranton, a few with families. The town included homes, a boarding house, general store/post office, and assay office. The large pocket of good ore at the New Bullion lasted only about two years, and the town began to dwindle. Then in October 1914 a new company called the South Scranton was organized, and miners dug a long tunnel in search of other mineral resources. During World War I Scranton produced tungsten, sending it by insured parcel post due to its scarcity. After the war the town quickly emptied.

Sego, UT

County: Grand
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°01’59″N 109°42’11″W
Elevation: 5,712 ft (1,741 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1910
Disestablished: 1955
Comments: Sego /’se”go”/ is a ghost town in Grand County, Utah, United States. It lies in the narrow, winding Sego Canyon, in the Book Cliffs some 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Thompson Springs. Formerly an important eastern Utah coal mining town, Sego was inhabited about 1910–1955. The town is accessed via the grade of the Ballard & Thompson Railroad, a spur from the Denver and Rio Grande Western built by the founders of the town to transport the coal. Henry Ballard, one of the founders of Thompson Springs, discovered an exposed vein of anthracite coal here in 1908 while exploring the many canyons of the Book Cliffs. He quietly bought the land and began to hire local laborers to mine the coal. The coal camp was naturally called Ballard.
Remains: The town’s most serious problem, almost from the beginning, was a diminishing water supply. The water table was dropping, the creeks and springs drying up. One summer the water slowed to such a trickle that the coal washer could not even operate. Paradoxically, the railroad was plagued by excessive water, flash floods frequently damaging the bridges and trestles. The small train that served the mine was off the track as much as one fourth of the time. By 1915 profits were low to nonexistent, and paydays very irregular. Like many mines, the company tried to enforce a system where miners were paid in scrip redeemable only at the company store. Miners who dared to shop in Thompson, where prices were half those at Neslen, were threatened with the loss of their jobs.
Current Status: The stone company store, boarding house, and many foundations and dugouts still remain. An underground coal seam fire has continued to burn here for decades, and smoke still rises from deserted mine shafts. Another severe flash flood in the early 1980s, known as the “Hundred Years’ Flood” by locals, removed most of the remaining trestles and left the rest unsafe. The wooden boarding house collapsed some time between October 2009 and April 2010.
Remarks: By 1947 production costs exceeded income, and the company decided to close down. The miners that once had numbered 125 had been reduced to just 27. These remaining miners pooled their resources, and with the backing of two banks bought out the Chesterfield Coal Company assets. Organized under the name Utah Grand Coal Company, the miners hoped to keep the mine operating. Indeed, their first year was very successful. Then fire destroyed the tipple in 1949, and another serious fire the next year burned more equipment. The final blow came when the railroad converted to diesel locomotives, virtually eliminating the demand for coal. The Utah Grand sold its holdings in 1955 to a Texas company that intended to explore for oil and natural gas. Homes were moved to Thompson, Moab, and even Fruita, Colorado, and the schoolhouse was taken to Thompson. Sego was gone. There was a flash flood in the 1950s that wiped out the rest of the miners that still worked there. Not many homes were left standing, and one was partially collapsed from a boulder falling on top of it.

Silver City, UT

County: Juab
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°54’36″N 112°07’48″W
Elevation: 6,158 ft (1,877 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1869
Disestablished: 1940
Comments: Silver City is a ghost town located at the mouth of Dragon Canyon on the west flank of the East Tintic Mountains in northeast Juab County in central Utah, United States. It was a silver mining town approximately 90 miles (140 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. This area was considered part of the Tintic Mining District and also produced bismuth, copper, gold, and lead. Settlement began with the first mining strikes here in 1869. Silver City was inhabited until 1930 after the mines ran out. Jesse Knight, known as the “Mormon Wizard” for his ability to find ore easily, decided to build a smelter in Silver City because it had the flattest ground in all of the Tintic Mining District. Silver City had several mines in 1890, but the mines hit water and were abandoned.
Remains: In 1869, a cowboy prospector named George Rust discovered the remains of old Native American mines in Dragon Canyon. By December a large claim known as the Sunbeam Mine was located here, and a new mining camp went up quickly as the rich mines multiplied. Growth soon slowed, however, as miners were drawn away by tales of spectacular strikes in Alta and Park City. In the 1890s, just as the mine companies seemed to be locating the richest ore bodies, a new difficulty stood in their way: the mine shafts started filling with water. While the richest mines continued operating with the help of expensive pumps, Silver City began to dwindle as the more marginal mines flooded and closed. Miners left in even greater numbers after the town was devastated by fire in 1902. In 1904 Silver City had a total of 18 businesses.
Current Status: Silver City’s resurgence was short-lived. Due to dropping freight rates, Knight’s smelter proved unable to compete with those in the Salt Lake Valley. Records show that by 1912 the population was already down to 300, and there were only 8 businesses left. In 1915 the smelter was shut down and moved to Murray. Silver City’s decline is often considered to have been complete by 1930, but it was still a separate precinct in the 1940 census, which recorded a population of 111. Today it is uninhabited. Now there is nothing left other than a few holes where mines were, and a number of tailings piles.
Remarks: In 1907 Jesse Knight, already a successful mine owner in the Tintic area, revitalized Silver City by establishing the Utah Ore Sampling Company and the Tintic smelter here. He nearly transformed Silver City into a company town, but for the fact that he didn’t own the land. Knight built a power plant, some 100 new homes, and yet another railroad, called the Eureka Hill Railroad. By 1908 Silver City’s population surged to its peak of 1500, most of them Knight employees. That year the town held a special celebration called “Smelter Day” in conjunction with Utah’s annual Pioneer Day holiday.

Silver Reef, UT

County: Washington
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 37°15’10″N 113°22’4″W
Elevation: 3,796 ft (1,157 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1875
Disestablished: 1891
Comments: Silver Reef is a ghost town in Washington County, Utah, United States, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of St. George and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Leeds. Silver Reef was established after John Kemple, a prospector from Nevada, discovered a vein of silver in a sandstone formation in 1866. At first, geologists were uncertain about Kemple’s find because silver is not usually found in sandstone. In 1875, two bankers from Salt Lake City sent William Barbee to the site to stake mining claims. He staked 21 claims, and an influx of miners came to work Barbee’s claims and to stake their own. To accommodate the miners, Barbee established a town called Bonanza City. Property values there were high, so several miners settled on a ridge to the north of it and named their settlement “Rockpile”. The town was renamed Silver Reef after silver mines in nearby Pioche closed and businessmen arrived.
Remains: By 1879, about 2,000 people were living in Silver Reef. The town had a mile-long Main Street with many businesses, among them a Wells Fargo office, the Rice Building, and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant. Although adjacent to many settlements with a majority of Mormon residents, the town never had a meeting house for Latter-day Saints, only a Catholic church. In 1879, a fire destroyed several businesses, but the residents rebuilt them. Mines were gradually closed, most of them by 1884, as the worldwide price of silver dropped. By 1901, most of the buildings in town had either been demolished or moved to Leeds.
Current Status: The sandstone formations from which Silver Reef gets its name were formed when tectonic stresses forced long, longitudinally aligned sections of Navajo Sandstone to buckle and stand on their sides, giving them the appearance of ocean reefs. Over long periods of time silver ore, sediments, and vegetation were carried in water runoff from the Chinle Formation to the White, Buckeye, and East reefs. The ore settled as deposits and the vegetation became petrified. The Silver Reef Mining District’s geologic resources consist mainly of silver deposits, with smaller deposits of copper, gold, lead, and uranium oxide. Iron oxide deposits in the soil rocks cause a red coloration, and dinosaur tracks from the early Jurassic period have been found in the area.
Remarks: In 1916, mining operations in Silver Reef resumed under the direction of Alex Colbath, who organized the area’s mines into the Silver Reef Consolidated Mining Company. These mines were purchased by American Smelting and Refining Company in 1928, but the company did minimal work as a result of the Great Depression. The Western Gold & Uranium Corporation purchased Silver Reef’s mines in 1948, and in 1951, they began mining uranium in the area. These operations did not last long either, and the Western Gold & Uranium Corporation sold their mines to the 5M Corporation in 1979. Today, the Wells Fargo office, the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, the Rice Building, and numerous foundations and walls remain in the town site, and a few dozen homes have been constructed in the area.

Soldier Summit, UT

County: Wasatch
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°55’43″N 111°04’59″W
Elevation: 7,477 ft (2,279 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Soldier Summit is the name of both a mountain pass in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and a ghost town located at the pass. Soldier Summit has been an important transportation route between the Wasatch Front and Price, Utah, since the area was settled by the Mormon pioneers. It is on the route of both U.S. Route 6 and the old main line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), now owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Located where the road makes a brief bend through the extreme southwest corner of Wasatch County, Soldier Summit historically had more to do with nearby Utah County.
Remains: At one time both the state highway department and the railroad had operations at the summit, but with the exception of a gas station that is sometimes open, the town site is now abandoned. Today it is a popular rest stop and photo spot for railfans. Many railfans also take pictures of the Gilluly loops, a series of horseshoe curves on the western approach to the summit. The California Zephyr Amtrak passenger train uses this route.
Current Status: By 1979 there were only about a dozen adult residents left, but Soldier Summit still had four part-time police officers enforcing a community speed limit on the stretch of highway passing through town. When motorists complained of a speed trap, the state attorney general and the Utah Chief of Police Association investigated. They determined that the only reason for having a police department in Soldier Summit at all was to generate revenue for municipal services through traffic tickets. The police department was disbanded. The town was finally disincorporated in 1984. Other than the gas station and two or three occupied houses, Soldier Summit is uninhabited. An old two-room jail, a few deserted houses, and several acres of foundations and crumbling walls are all that remains of the former town.
Remarks: The population of Soldier Summit peaked at 2,500 in the 1920s, but began to decline as the railroad decided to move its operations back to Helper due to the severe winters and high cost of doing business at the summit. Over the next few decades, the town dwindled away. In 1948 there were 47 students at the Soldier Summit school. The next year enrollment dropped to 11, but the school stayed open. It was not until 1973 that the school was closed and the last few students sent to schools in Carbon County.

Spring Canyon, UT

County: Carbon
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°42’14″N 110°55’11″W
Elevation: 6,634 ft (2,022 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1912
Disestablished: 1969
Comments: Spring Canyon, also called Storrs, is a ghost town in Carbon County, Utah, United States. In 1912, Jesse Knight purchased 1,600 acres of coal land and began developing a mine and a company town. Knight named the town Storrs, after the mine superintendent. The name of the town was changed to Spring Canyon in 1924. 1,000 tons of coal per day were mined from 1924 to 1943, and during World War II, coal production peaked at 2,000 tons of coal per day. By 1946, the need for coal diminished, and people began to leave. By 1969, Spring Canyon was abandoned.
Remains: Prior to the establishment of Spring Canyon, residents in Helper mined coal from a small opening on the side of the mountain. In 1895, Teancum Pratt constructed a wagon road in order to make coal transportation easier. In 1912, Jesse Knight purchased 1,600 acres of land west of Helper, organized the Spring Canyon Coal Company, and constructed sixty homes. Knight also constructed a railroad in 1913 to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad line in Helper. Knight named the new town Storrs, after the mine superintendent George Storrs. Because Knight was a Mormon, he banned saloons and gambling houses from being constructed in the town. In 1914, a schoolhouse and a church were constructed for the townspeople, who were mostly members of the LDS Church. By the end of 1914, 1,000 tons of coal per day were being shipped.
Current Status: By 1924, Storrs had 1,000 residents, a hotel, a heated swimming pool, and well-built houses, offices, and stores. At this time, George Storrs was charged with mail fraud, and the town’s name was officially changed to Spring Canyon. From 1924 to 1943, 1,000 tons of coal per day were mined, and in 1940, the Spring Canyon mine was ranked as the fourth largest coal producer in Utah. During World War II, 2,000 tons of coal per day were being mined. By 1946, the Spring Canyon mine had transported and mined eleven million tons of coal, and by 1948, the Spring Canyon Coal Company was also operating the mines in Standardville and Royal. However, the need for coal began to diminish, and by 1954, only a small group of miners remained in Spring Canyon. The mine closed in 1969 due to low production and increasingly high costs. Only three families were living in Spring Canyon in 1969, and by the end of the year, Spring Canyon was abandoned. When the mine first closed in 1969 and the town’s residents relocated, few buildings were removed. The Spring Canyon Hotel, most of the homes, and the mine offices were left. However, in 1975, every building in Spring Canyon’s business district was demolished. The railroad trestle and the ruins of the residential section of town are the only remnants of the former coal mining town.
Remarks:

Standardville, UT

County: Carbon
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°42’00″N 110°56’01″W
Elevation: 6,739 ft (2,054 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1912
Disestablished: 1970s
Comments: Standardville is a ghost town in Carbon County, Utah, United States. Standardville was established after coal was discovered in the area in 1912. The layout of the town was so well-planned, it became the “standard” for all mining towns to follow, which resulted in the town name of Standardville. In 1922, a group of striking miners killed a mine guard and wounded two miners before escaping. In 1930, 20 miners were killed in a mine explosion caused by carbon monoxide gas. In 1950, the mine shut down and people began to relocate elsewhere. A couple families remained until the 1970s, after which Standardville was abandoned.
Remains: The town was established after coal was discovered in Spring Canyon in 1912. The town layout was planned with well maintained lawns, bushes, and poplar trees. This became the “standard” for coal mining towns in Spring Canyon, and the town was named Standardville. As Standardville’s population increased, a company store, several apartments, a butcher shop, a barber shop, a hospital, a recreation hall, tennis courts, and an elementary school were constructed. At its peak, the population was about 550. Although it was considered the standard for mining towns, Standardville still had problems with crime. On June 14, 1922, several miners went on strike and attacked a train carrying several new miners from both sides. The striking miners then fled and were pursued by mine guards. The shooting that occurred killed a mine guard and wounded two others.
Current Status: The coal tipple has deteriorated, leaving behind the coal storage unit. Numerous foundations can be found. At the top of the hill lies the bath house, where miners bathed and changed clothes. Remains of the Standard Mine can be found beyond the bath house. Railroad tracks that were once the property of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad end in town. Due to its proximity to the road, many of the remnants have graffiti.
Remarks: When World War II ended, the demand for coal decreased, and the mine was unable to meet its payroll as a result. In an attempt to save the mine, miners worked only for food. This attempt was unsuccessful, and the mine went bankrupt and was foreclosed on. Another coal mining company bought it, and shipments continued a couple months later. By 1948, the mine was being operated by the Spring Canyon Coal Company; however, in 1950, the mine was closed. As miners moved away, shops, the hospital, and the school were closed. Despite this, two families continued to live in the town until the 1970s.

Stateline, UT

Sulphurdale, UT

County: Beaver
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 38°33’37″N 112°34’55″W
Elevation: 6,214 ft (1,894 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1883
Disestablished: 1970s
Comments: Sulphurdale is a ghost town in Beaver County, Utah, United States. Sulphurdale was established in 1870, but mining did not begin in large scale until 1883. Homes, a school, a store and company offices were built in town. Despite the heavy mining activity, high quality sulfur was difficult to find. Production slowed in the 1940s and 1950s, and in 1966, the mine and mill shut down. By the end of the 1970s, Sulphurdale was abandoned.
Remains: The site that was to become Sulphurdale was surveyed by Charles Dickart, who discovered a large body of sulfur ore just south of Cove Fort in 1870. Minimal work was done until 1883, when a thermal plant was built to process the extracted sulfur. Steady production began in 1890. 1,000 tons of sulfur were produced annually for fifteen years. The mining company that operated the mines at Sulphurdale built 30 homes for the workers, a schoolhouse, a company store, and company offices. For a time, the town was unofficially known as Morrissey, after the operator of the mines. Twice every week, freighters hauled 20 tons of sulfur to the Union Pacific loading docks at Black Rock. Only the high grade ore was considered useful; the rest of the ore went unused.
Current Status: Although the Sulphurdale mines were fully operational, very little sulfur was mined. A sulfur mill that was built in 1951 did not produce much high quality sulfur. Production began to slow down in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1961 the Sulphurdale Chemical Company built a mill and began commercial production in 1965; however, the company owner died in 1966 and the mill shut down. After seventy years of activity, the mines at Sulphurdale were closed. In 1985, a geothermal power system was installed near Sulphurdale, and the power system is currently in operation, producing electricity for Provo. The hydrothermal system it exploits is one of the largest in the western United States, with temperature anomalies of up to 200 °C (392 °F) per kilometer. The schoolhouse and a couple of homes remain in the town proper.
Remarks:

Sunshine, UT

Terrace, UT

County: Box Elder
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 41°30’13″N 113°31’01″W
Elevation: 4,550 ft (1,387 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1869
Disestablished: 1904
Comments: Terrace is a ghost town, located in the Great Salt Lake Desert in west-central Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The town was established April 1, 1869, as a Central Pacific Railroad “division point” (operations base), on the route of the First Transcontinental Railroad and included a 16-stall roundhouse and an eight-track switchyard. Terrace was dependent on the railroad throughout its history.
Remains: In 1904 the Southern Pacific Railroad, successor to the Central Pacific, completed the Lucin Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake. The new route bypassed Terrace, and the tracks through town became a little-used branchline. The railroad closed its facilities at Terrace, moving the division point to Montello, Nevada. The railroad line through Terrace was finally abandoned in 1942. Many of Terrace’s houses and buildings were moved to Montello.
Current Status: The cemetery still remains with only three headstones, and only a pile of red bricks is next to the old railroad bed.
Remarks:

Thistle, UT

County: Utah
Zip Code: 84629
Latitude / Longitude: 39°59’29″N 111°29’54″W
Elevation: 5,043 ft (1,537 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1878
Disestablished: 1983
Comments: Thistle is a ghost town in Utah County, Utah, United States, about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Salt Lake City. During the era of steam locomotives, the town’s primary industry was servicing trains for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (often shortened to D&RG, D&RGW, or Rio Grande). The fortunes of the town were closely linked with those of the railroad until the changeover to diesel locomotives, when the town started to decline.
Remains: In April 1983, a massive landslide (specifically a complex earthflow) dammed the Spanish Fork River. The residents were evacuated as nearly 65,000 acre feet (80,000,000 m3) of water backed up, flooding the town. Thistle was destroyed; only a few structures were left partially standing. Federal and state government agencies have said this was the most costly landslide in United States history, the economic consequences of which affected the entire region. The landslide resulted in the first presidentially declared disaster area in Utah.
Current Status: Rio Grande maintenance personnel began noticing unstable ground downstream from Thistle years before the landslide occurred. Maintenance crews repaired the track on several occasions, but they did not fully investigate the problem. Beginning with the remnants of Hurricane Olivia, the autumn and winter of 1982–83 featured record-breaking snow and rainfall. As the spring thaw melted the winter snow, the mountains in the area became saturated with water.
Remarks: Thistle was almost completely destroyed. Most wooden buildings were carried away in the floodwaters. The state installed a temporary pumping station to prevent the lake from overflowing the dam; patrol boats skimmed up the floating remains of the town to prevent the debris from blocking the pumps. Most remains were either naturally deposited or placed on the eastern shore of the lake.

Tonaquint, UT

Tucker, UT

County: Utah
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°56’04″N 111°11’58″W
Elevation: 6,227 ft (1,898 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
Disestablished: 1913
Comments: Tucker is a ghost town located near the east end of Spanish Fork Canyon in Utah County, Utah, United States 7 miles (11 km) below Soldier Summit on U.S. Route 6. It was once an important loading point and construction camp on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). After the town was abandoned, the state of Utah used the town site for a rest area. In 2009, the site was buried as part of a project to re-align a portion of US-6’s western approach to Soldier Summit. To honor the town, the state of Utah built a replacement rest area about 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream from Tucker, called the Tie Fork Rest Area.
Remains: Tucker started as a simple railroad junction, between the main line of the D&RGW railroad and the spur of the Utah and Pleasant Valley Railway, which extended to mines at Winter Quarters (near today’s Scofield Reservoir). When a station was built here to house the helper engines used to push freight trains over Soldier Summit, it quickly grew into a town with a population of 500, called Clear Creek. (The current community of Clear Creek, Utah, population 4, is located several miles south of the former site of Tucker.)
Current Status: Tucker came to an end in 1913, when the railroad re-aligned the tracks to reduce the grade up to Soldier Summit from a dangerous 4% grade, to a more manageable 2.0%. With the new alignment, the branch to Scofield was completely re-routed to branch from the main near Colton. The new alignment bypassed and abandoned the town of Tucker and an area called Gilluly, although the new alignment was often called the Gilluly loops or Gilluly horseshoe curves, due to the circuitous route it took up the hill. The railroad filled in much of the location to lift the road bed far above the valley floor. All the buildings are gone, and even most of the old railroad grade is covered by the fill. When U.S. Route 50, the predecessor of the modern U.S. Route 6, was paved in the 1920s, the old railroad alignment was used for the highway. In 1969, the state used the site of the town to build a rest area near modern mile post 204. Aside from a plaque at the facility, there was no sign that the roadside rest stop sat on top of a ghost town.
Remarks: Clear Creek, as it then was known, had a boarding house, company store, and saloon, and dozens of hastily constructed houses filled the small valley. From 1881 to 1919 it also had a post office. By 1900 its name was changed to Tucker, for a certain James Tucker.

Upper Kanab, UT

Valley City, UT

Verdure, UT

Victor, UT

County: Emery
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°24’05″N 110°42’56″W
Elevation: 5,525 ft (1,684 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1910
Disestablished: 1920
Comments: Victor is a ghost town in Emery County, Utah, United States. It was inhabited from 1910 to 1920. The community has the name of George W. Victor, a postal worker.
Remains: Victor was established in 1910, when a burst dam treated the soil near Desert Lake with alkaline water, preventing farming. Residents of Desert Lake, a town located near the lake, had to relocate to a more fertile area in order to continue farming. They chose a spot 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Elmo. The town was soon named Victor. Homes and a schoolhouse were built in town. Farming was more difficult at Victor, because the area was much drier than Desert Lake. Sand dunes located near the town were often blown by wind onto farmland and the surrounding buildings.
Current Status: In 1920, the continuous lack of rain caused the residents of Victor to leave. The schoolhouse and a couple of foundations remain in the town site.
Remarks:

Vipont, UT

Wahsatch, UT

County: Summit
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 41°11’57″N 111°06’47″W
Elevation: 6,824 ft (2,080 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1868
Disestablished: 1930s
Comments: Wahsatch (/’w””sæt”/) is a ghost town in Summit County, Utah, United States. It lies along I-80 at the northeastern end of Echo Canyon some 23 miles (37 km) east of Echo, and 11 miles (18 km) west of Evanston, Wyoming. Wahsatch was established as a railroad camp, later achieving local prominence in sheep ranching. It was inhabited from 1868 until the 1930s.
Remains: Wahsatch was established in 1868 as a railroad construction camp, the first of many such camps set up in Utah by the Union Pacific Railroad in the process of building the First Transcontinental Railroad. From 1868 to 1869 a population of hundreds dug the 772-foot (235 m) Echo tunnel through the Wasatch Mountains west of town. Wahsatch soon became a major supply station and railhead, with its own roundhouse, workshops, boarding houses, and warehouses. When the transcontinental railroad was finished in May 1869, a meal station for waiting passengers was constructed.
Current Status: The townsite on the north side of the highway is on railroad property, but the ruins on the south side are on a public road and can be accessed. Most visitors see little more than an old wooden sign reading Wahsatch alongside the tracks, but there are some remnants of railroad buildings and equipment.
Remarks: Toward the end of the 19th century, Wahsatch enjoyed a minor rebirth as a location central to the area’s growing sheep ranches. A number of new dwellings were built as ranchers and laborers began to gather here annually for sheep shearing season. In the spring of 1899 alone, an estimated 700,000 pounds (320,000 kg) of wool was sheared. In June 1903 it was reported that 489 carloads of sheep had arrived at Wahsatch from their winter range. The town grew enough to justify the building of a new school in 1910. In 1916 Wahsatch became the headquarters for the construction of a second railroad tunnel, bringing another temporary surge in population. The railroad built a new depot and section houses in the 1930s, but Wahsatch soon declined, along with the sheep industry. The town was abandoned in the 1930s.

Washakie, UT

County: Box Elder
Zip Code: 84331
Latitude / Longitude: 41°56’38″N 112°13’1″W
Elevation: 4,380 ft (1,340 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1880
Disestablished: 1970s
Comments: Washakie is a ghost town in far northern Box Elder County, Utah, United States. Lying some 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Portage, it was established in 1880 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for the settlement of the Northwestern Shoshone. The Washakie Indian Farm was home to the main body of this Native American band through most of the 20th century. By the mid-1970s, Washakie’s residents were gone and the property sold to a private ranching operation. Today the tribal reservation consists of a small tract containing the Washakie cemetery, and the tribe is seeking to acquire more of the surrounding land. The old LDS chapel in Washakie is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Remains: The Bear River Massacre of 1863 left only some 1250 Northwestern Shoshone alive. After the 1867 establishment of Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho, most moved to the reservation. Two small bands led by the chiefs Sanpitch and Sagwitch stayed in northern Utah. After a few years of attempting to continue their traditional nomadic lifeways, Sagwitch’s people converted to Mormonism in 1873 and expressed a desire to learn sedentary agriculture. In 1874, George Washington Hill, the missionary who had baptized the Northwestern Shoshone, started a farm for them near Franklin, Idaho. At the end of the year, LDS Church leaders decided to close this farm and find a better location the next year
Current Status: In 1880, leaders of the LDS Church purchased a 1,700-acre (690 ha) farm south of Portage from the Brigham City Cooperative, along with the unfinished Samaria Canal. The canal was to supply irrigation water from Samaria Lake in Idaho, since the Malad River was too alkaline for watering crops.:105 The church began encouraging the Shoshone to move to the new location, which was named after Chief Washakie. From 1903 to 1929 Washakie fielded a baseball team which competed with white teams in northern Utah and southern Idaho, and received considerable local attention from both white and Indian press outlets.
Remarks: Over the next five years, two more Indian farms were established in Utah on the Bear River, first on the outskirts of Bear River City, then at a place called Lemuel’s Garden, in the area of present-day Collinston. Both farms made progress, but water was often insufficient for irrigation, and the missionaries assigned to help Hill train the new farmers were frequently absent. Harvests could not support the farm residents, let alone the frequent visitors from Fort Hall. Each winter the missionaries would return to their families, and most of the Shoshone would return to the Promontory Mountains and their other traditional winter grounds in search of food.

Watson, UT

Wattis, UT

Westwater, UT

County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 38° 58′ 20″ N, 109° 13′ 40″ W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Westwater Canyon is a canyon located on the Colorado River in Eastern Utah between the Utah/Colorado state line and Cisco, Utah. The inner gorge of the canyon is made up of black Precambrian rock and contains class III and IV rapids which are sought after by whitewater enthusiasts. The most notable rapid, called “Skull”, is the most significant.
Remains: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees a permitting system for whitewater travelers for this section of the Colorado River, and boaters must follow special rules and regulations. Many boaters pack camping equipment in on rafts and make the 17-mile trip from Westwater ranger station to Cisco landing over 1–2 days.
Current Status: The Westwater Ranger Station put-in to the Rose Ranch takeout is a 17-mile journey. Most whitewater is compacted in the Marble gorge where rescue of swimmers and recovery of capsized vessels is limited by vertical canyon walls.
Remarks: Westwater Canyon runs through a wilderness study area and has been proposed for designation as a wild and scenic river along with Ruby Canyon just upstream.

Widtsoe, UT

County: Garfield
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 37°49’56″N 111°59’44″W
Elevation: 7,605 ft (2,318 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1908
Disestablished: 1936
Comments: Widtsoe /’w”tso”/ is a ghost town in Garfield County, Utah, United States. Located in John’s Valley northeast of Bryce Canyon and along the Sevier River at the mouth of Sweetwater Creek, the town existed about 1908–1936.
Remains: The first settlers, including Isaac Riddle and a wife of John D. Lee, came to John’s Valley as early as 1876. The Riddle ranch became an important regrouping point for the San Juan Expedition in 1879, but through the end of the 19th century the area was mainly used by local cattlemen to seasonally run their stock. There were few permanent residents. In the early 1900s Jedediah Adair bought land here and started growing oats, wheat, and barley. His success attracted other settlers, and by 1908 the community became known as Adairville. As the settlement continued to expand, it was renamed Houston for John Houston, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s local stake in Panguitch.
Current Status: In 1925 the Forest Service office was moved away, and Widtsoe went into serious decline. By 1930 the population had dropped to 210, and in 1935 there were only 17 families left in town. In 1936 the federal Resettlement Administration stepped in to buy out local landowners, freeing them from unproductive land and delinquent taxes. The intention was to relocate inhabitants to more productive areas and use the land as a public grazing area. Unfortunately, the administration was inefficient and slow. The cost of administering the program was more than twice the amount paid out to purchase the land, and transactions that were supposed to last weeks took many months. Finally Widtsoe was emptied out. Government workers tore down most of the buildings and placed over 26,000 acres (110 km2) under the provisions of the Taylor Grazing Act. A few houses and an old community building still stand on the site.
Remarks: The town’s fortunes began to change in the summer of 1920, when a severe drought threatened the crops. Rain finally came late in the season and produced a good grain harvest, but the drought continued the next year. Widtsoe’s volatile climate started to drive farmers away. In 1924, as the drought wore on, William F. Holt, who had been successful in irrigating California’s Imperial Valley, came to try John’s Valley. Holt established a creamery in the valley, as well as a storage pond and flume to bring water down 7 miles (11 km) from Pine Lake. This venture, in which he invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, was ultimately a failure. Observers noticed an apparent twenty-year cycle of alternate drought and abundant water in John’s Valley, and it seemed the drought period was just getting started. Soon the only successful crop was a high-altitude variety of lettuce.

Winter Quarters, UT

County: Carbon
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°43’14″N 111°11’16″W
Elevation: 8,084 ft (2,464 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1879
Disestablished: 1930
Comments: Winter Quarters is a ghost town in Carbon County, Utah, United States. Coal was discovered in the area in 1875, and later that year, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company began coal mining operations. A group of coal miners were delayed during an early winter storm in 1877, which led to the town’s name of Winter Quarters. On May 1, 1900, an explosion in the Winter Quarters Number Four mine killed 200 miners. Despite the mine explosion, the coal mining operations remained active until 1922, when the opening of a new mine in Castle Gate caused many people to relocate there. By 1930, Winter Quarters was abandoned.
Remains: Winter Quarters is located west of Scofield, near Winter Quarters Canyon. Lower Gooseberry Reservoir is located west of Winter Quarters. Clear Creek and Electric Lake are south of Winter Quarters. Prior to the discovery of coal in 1875, several pioneers had settled in Pleasant Valley, where Winter Quarters was located. In late 1875, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company began coal mining operations. In the winter of 1877, a group of fourteen coal miners led by Peter Morgan were traveling from Fairview to Sanpete County. They became trapped in snow for several months, which led to the camp’s name of Winter Quarters. As the Winter Quarters mine developed, miners began to move into the area. As the town grew, the need for a railroad increased. In response to the town’s high demand for a railroad, in 1879, Milan Packard, a merchant from Springville, financed the construction of a railroad from Springville to Winter Quarters and Scofield. The railroad was named the Utah and Pleasant Valley Railroad until it was purchased by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1883. Approximately 1,800 people were living in Winter Quarters by 1900, and the mine was considered the safest in the state. The town’s Main Street was over a mile long, and it had many businesses, most of which were made of stone.
Current Status: The walls of the Wasatch Store can be seen from the road leading into Winter Quarters. Several foundations and the remains of the blacksmith shop also remain. The railroad bed is now a dirt road leading to Tucker. Winter Quarters is located on private property, and is posted to trespassing.
Remarks: Following the mine disaster, mining operations in Winter Quarters continued until a new mine was opened at Castle Gate in 1922. Miners from Winter Quarters and Scofield relocated to the new mine, and as a result, coal production in Pleasant Valley began to decrease. In 1930, the last few residents of Winter Quarters relocated to a more productive area.

Woodrow, UT

County: Millard
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Woodrow is an unincorporated community in Millard County, in the U.S. state of Utah.
Remains: A post office called Woodrow was established in 1913, and remained in operation until 1915. The community was named after Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States.
Current Status:
Remarks:

Woodside, UT

County: Emery
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 39°15’56″N 110°20’56″W
Elevation: 4,642 ft (1,415 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1881
Disestablished: 1970
Comments: Woodside is a ghost town located on the west bank of the shallow Price River in the nearly uninhabited eastern part of Emery County, Utah, United States. Its fenced-in filling station is one of the only signs of human activity along the lonely stretch of U.S. Route 6/191 between Wellington and Green River.
Remains: Construction on the site began with a Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad bridge and water stop. The area’s first resident was a local prospector named Henry H. Hutchinson, who settled here in 1881. Other homesteaders arrived the next year and started digging an irrigation canal. Attracted by relatively abundant water and an extensive growth of cottonwood trees, they founded a settlement known as Lower Crossing. As the town grew, adding a few stores and a blacksmith shop, it was renamed “Woodside” for the cottonwood groves.
Current Status: In the 1960s, the Highway Beautification Act led to the removal of a number of billboards advertising the town’s geyser along U.S. Route 6, which had a major impact on tourist visits. The cafe and store burned down around 1970, and the geyser and filling station are the only remnants of Woodside. The geyser formerly spouted as high as 75 feet (23 m), but is much lower now. A tanker truck explosion scene in the 1991 film Thelma & Louise was shot in Woodside; the town was bought by Roy Pogue in the early 1990s. In 2012 Pogue decided to sell the townsite.
Remarks: One of Woodside’s biggest challenges was the Price River itself. Before the construction of Scofield Reservoir the streamflow was highly variable, peaking early and nearly drying up by late summer. The river’s large drainage basin also meant that even a distant cloudburst could bring a destructive flash flood. Despite these problems the town continued growing. A hotel and stockyards were built adjacent to the railroad station, and Woodside became a supply point for neighboring ranches. A schoolhouse built in 1892 served as a town gathering place. In 1897, following a train robbery at Castle Gate, Butch Cassidy hid in a network of tunnels under one house outside town.

Sage Creek, UT