You’ll find Keetley, Utah‘s remains beneath Jordanelle Reservoir, but in the early 1900s, it thrived as a mining and railroad hub. The Park Utah Mining Company’s 1500-foot drainage tunnel and Union Pacific Railroad’s 1923 infrastructure made it a crucial shipping terminal for silver, lead, and zinc. During WWII, it hosted 130 Japanese Americans who farmed 3,500 acres to escape internment. The town’s fascinating story flows deeper than the waters that claimed it in 1995.
Key Takeaways
- Keetley was a mining town in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains that thrived in the early 1900s before being submerged by Jordanelle Reservoir.
- The town served as a crucial railroad terminal for transporting silver, lead, and zinc from the Park City Mining District.
- During World War II, Keetley hosted a Japanese American agricultural colony of 130 people who farmed 3,500 acres.
- Economic decline began during the Great Depression, leading to mine closures and population exodus by the late 1930s.
- The Blue Goose Amusement Hall was a cultural center offering entertainment until the town’s eventual abandonment.
The Rise of a Mining and Railroad Hub
When the Park Utah Mining Company expanded its operations in the Wasatch Mountains during the early 1900s, Keetley emerged as a crucial mining hub.
You’d find significant mining advancements at the 1500-foot drainage tunnel, which revolutionized ore transport by moving it horizontally instead of vertically, exiting at Keetley’s surface facilities.
The innovative drainage tunnel transformed mining efficiency, allowing horizontal ore movement through Keetley’s 1500-foot underground passage.
In 1923, Union Pacific Railroad‘s strategic railroad infrastructure development transformed Keetley’s potential.
The Ontario Branch connected Keetley Junction to the Park City Branch, enabling larger locomotives to haul increased ore volumes while avoiding dangerous steep spurs.
This rail connection, combined with surface structures like the snowshed and tipple, made Keetley a crucial shipping terminal for silver, lead, and zinc from the Park City District, though the town never installed processing equipment on-site.
With the establishment of Keetley Station, named after the Silver King Consolidated mine superintendent and former Pony Express rider John Keetley, the area became a vital ore shipment point.
The Utah Eastern Railroad had previously established important rail connections in the region, laying crucial groundwork for Keetley’s later development as a transportation hub.
Life at the Blue Goose: Entertainment in Boom Times
The Blue Goose, a painted blue amusement hall built in 1923 by Big and Little Joe from Butte, Montana, quickly became Keetley’s premier entertainment destination.
Similar to the original purpose of preventing cowboy mischief in Monticello’s Blue Goose Saloon, the venue provided a safe haven for entertainment.
You’d find everything from boxing matches featuring out-of-state fighters to high-stakes card games around marble-topped tables.
Behind the stained-glass barroom doors, bootleggers kept the whisky flowing during Prohibition, cleverly concealing their stash to dodge the law.
The venue’s entertainment options drew crowds from beyond Keetley’s borders.
Social gatherings centered around dance nights, while the crack of pool balls and shouts from wrestling matches filled the air.
During its peak in the 1920s, the Blue Goose rivaled Park City’s finest dance halls until the Great Depression silenced its revelry around 1930.
The economic hardships of the 1930s forced many local mining operations to close, devastating Keetley’s once-thriving entertainment scene.
Japanese Agricultural Colony During World War II
Following Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, Japanese-American businessman Fred Wada established a remarkable agricultural refuge at Keetley Farm, located between Park City and Heber City in Wasatch County, Utah.
Leasing 3,500 acres for $7,500 annually from George Fisher, Wada brought 130 people to escape internment camps and demonstrate Japanese loyalty through cooperative farming. The families arrived to find a snow-covered dilapidated town that would require tremendous work to make habitable. After facing initial rejections from various Utah communities, Wada’s persistence finally secured this land for his group.
Escaping internment, 130 Japanese Americans found purpose cultivating Utah farmland, proving their patriotism through shared agricultural labor.
- You’ll find they transformed rocky, undeveloped terrain into productive farmland despite early local resistance, including two dynamite incidents.
- The colony operated as a nonprofit cooperative, with all ages contributing to food production for the war effort.
- Children attended schools in Park City or Heber City, playing baseball and joining American activities.
- Several colonists had family members serving in the U.S. military, helping forge acceptance in surrounding communities.
From Prosperity to Abandonment: The Town’s Decline
Despite Fred Wada’s agricultural success at Keetley Farm in the 1940s, this Utah mining town had already begun its descent into abandonment years earlier.
The Great Depression of the 1930s exposed Keetley’s economic vulnerability, forcing most local mines to close or operate with skeleton crews. You’d have witnessed the Union Pacific’s Ontario and Park City branches losing significance as mining traffic dwindled, despite infrastructure improvements made in 1923. By the early 1940s, anti-Japanese sentiment led to some tension with the remaining locals, though relations improved over time.
The town’s singular dependence on extractive industries proved fatal. As jobs vanished, families departed seeking opportunities elsewhere, triggering rapid population decline.
The closure of the Blue Goose entertainment hall symbolized Keetley’s cultural death knell. By the late 1930s, empty houses and deteriorating buildings stood as silent witnesses to the once-vibrant community‘s collapse, decades before Jordanelle Reservoir would claim the valley.
In 1987, the construction of a dam submerged what remained of the historic settlement.
Beneath the Waters: The Legacy of Jordanelle Reservoir
When construction crews completed Jordanelle Reservoir in 1995, its waters permanently submerged three historic Utah towns – Keetley, Hailstone, and Jordanelle.
This massive water management project sparked fierce local opposition, yet proceeded despite safety concerns about the dam’s construction.
Today, you’ll find these remnants of Keetley’s past beneath the reservoir:
Beneath Jordanelle’s waters lie scattered pieces of Keetley’s history, waiting silently in their watery tomb.
- Cracked segments of old Highway 40, visible during low water periods
- The historic Keetley Farm site, where 140 Japanese Americans found refuge from internment
- Ranch lands and homesteads where generations of families once lived
- Cultural artifacts from early settlements that shaped Utah’s history
The land was initially secured through a four-year lease from local landowner George Fisher, providing a foundation for the Japanese American farming cooperative.
Under Executive Order 9066, thousands of Japanese Americans were forced to leave their West Coast homes, making sanctuaries like Keetley Farm crucial safe havens.
Near Jordanelle State Park, exhibits and signage now preserve these stories of displacement and resilience, ensuring the memory of these communities lives on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Was the Total Population of Keetley During Its Peak Years?
You’ll find population trends suggest 300-500 residents during the early 1920s peak, though historical significance relies on estimates since exact census data isn’t available for this mining-railroad junction community.
Are There Any Known Photographs of the Original Keetley Townsite?
You’ll find historical photographs of Keetley’s mining complex from 1968 in the Library of Congress, though complete townsite exploration images are limited, with most focusing on industrial structures before Jordanelle Reservoir’s flooding.
What Happened to the Original Residents After Leaving Keetley?
You’ll find their displacement impacts scattered them across the West Coast and Utah, with most returning to California after 1945. Their community stories reveal both urban job shifts and continued agricultural work.
Can Visitors Still See Any Remnants of Keetley During Low Water?
You’ll glimpse ghostly remnants of foundations, walls, and railroad ties when Jordanelle’s water levels drop. During drought conditions, these traces of underwater exploration emerge along exposed shorelines, revealing historic structural outlines.
Were There Any Notable Crimes or Accidents in Keetley’s History?
You won’t find documented crimes or major ghostly encounters in Keetley’s history. While mining accidents were common in Utah towns, records don’t show significant incidents before the town’s submergence under Jordanelle in 1992.
References
- https://hebervalleylife.com/beneath-the-surface/
- https://www.youngbuddhisteditorial.com/articles/keetley-utah
- https://historytogo.utah.gov/japanese-agricultural-colony/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKXg1Qp0ik
- https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Utah_Ghost_Towns
- https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ut/ut0200/ut0213/data/ut0213data.pdf
- https://utahrails.net/up/up-in-ut-ontario-branch.php
- https://utahrails.net/articles/up-park-city.php
- https://parkcityhistory.org/mining/park-city-mining-history/
- http://www.southwestbrowneyes.com/2015/09/the-blue-goose-saloon-still-exists-in.html
