Cultural, Historical, Geological, and Paleontological Resources

The history of European-Americans in Carbon County is strongly connected to the development of the railroad and mining industries in Utah. Advancements in these two industries lead to cyclic periods of growth and decline and the eventual demise of several small towns in Spanish Fork Canyon and Price Canyon. To best understand the series of events that have occurred in the area since the arrival of European-Americans, it is helpful to view the history of the canyons in distinct periods of time associated with significant developments. For the purpose of this overview, the area’s history has been divided into the following five periods:  Exploration and Trapping, 1776–1844; Utah Valley and Carbon County Settlement, 1847–1877; Railroad Building, 1878–1882; Canyon Settlement and Mining, 1883–1944; and Post-War Abandonment, 1945–present.

Exploration and Trapping, 1776–1846

The first Euro-Americans to make their way into Utah, by way of Spanish Fork Canyon in Utah County, were members of the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition (Morgan 1948). Entering through Diamond Fork, the expedition headed north through the canyon and entered Utah Valley. Upon reaching Utah Lake, they encountered a group of Ute Indians camped on the lakeshore. They remained with the Ute Indians for three days before attempting to continue their journey toward California. They ended up aborting the journey west and turned south through western Utah and then east, along the current southern Utah state boundary, back to their origin point of Santa Fe, New Mexico (Warner 1976).

The area was next entered when General William H. Ashley, a co-owner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, entered the region while traveling down the Green River. Ashley, cached his supplies where the Green and Duchesne Rivers meet, and continued into Carbon County. Ashley wrote the following about the area:

The whole of that distance is bounded by loft mountains heaped together in the greatest disorder, exhibiting a surface as barren as can be imagined. This part of the country is almost entirely without game. We saw a few mountain-sheep and some elk, but they were so wild, and the country so rugged that we found it impossible to approach them. (Watt 1997:18-19)

Upon Ashley’s return to the Duchesne River, the local Utes confirmed the barren nature and lack of game in the area. The Utes indicated that the Native Americans living in this region, subsisted on fish, roots and horses (Watt 1997:19).

Jedidiah Smith, also a trapper, and an employee of William Ashley, took a party of 15 men to search for trapping grounds for beaver between Utah and Southern California. Smith viewed the area from the area but did not enter, possibly because it was so barren.

Utah Valley and Carbon County Settlement, 1847–1877

Shortly after the settling of Salt Lake City by the Mormons in 1847, eager land seekers began moving southward to the rich, open farmland of Utah Valley and then east toward Carbon County. The first permanent settlement in the Carbon County area was established by Caleb Rhoades in 1877, near the site of Price (Utah Historical Records Survey Project [UHRSP] 1940:7). Rhoades and Abraham Powell built a log cabin approximately 2 miles northwest of Price and wintered there, returning to Utah County the following spring. A number of settlers soon made their way through Spanish Fork Canyon and over Soldier Summit Pass to build their homesteads throughout the Price area (UHRSP 1940:7).

Prior to the settlement at Price, the Mormon pioneers were already making use of the resources in Spanish Fork Canyon. A crude territorial road had been established through portions of the canyon some time prior to 1869 and settlers were using the route to harvest timber and to drive their herds to summer ranges near Colton and Soldier Summit (Barber 1949:98; UHRSP 1940:7).

Railroad Building: 1878–1882

Although the shortest period in the history of Spanish Fork and Price canyons, the period of railroad construction had a profound impact on development in these areas. In late 1877, construction began on the Utah and Pleasant Valley Railroad (known as the U&PV, incorporated in 1875) from Springville in Utah County to the Winter Quarters Mines in Carbon County (Carr and Edwards 1989:174). By 1878, 26 miles of track had been laid in Spanish Fork Canyon to a point south of the future town of Tucker, where it headed west toward the mines.  

The U&PV operated until 1882, when it was sold to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway Company (D&RGW) (Robertson 1986:296). By the following year, 1883, the D&RGW had extended the rail line from the junction at Clear Creek (Tucker) over Soldier Summit Pass and down the canyon to Castle Gate and on to Helper and Price (Robertson 1986:267). The town of Helper was named for the “helper” locomotive engines that would aid trains in climbing the steep grade to Soldier Summit. The coming of the railroad provided a faster and more efficient means of conveying freight to settlers in the canyon. In addition, it allowed for the transport of coal and ores being discovered throughout the area to processing facilities and commercial markets in Salt Lake City and elsewhere.

Canyon Settlement and Mining:  1883–1944

With the system of railroad transportation in place, the Castle Gate, Helper and Price areas now had access to the resources and materials necessary to support increased mining activity and a larger population. Not only could building materials be delivered easily to Carbon County, but food, clothing, and domestic supplies necessary to survive the harsh winters could also be obtained with a reasonable expenditure of money and effort. In addition, the railroad required workers and constructs to operate and maintain the rail lines and equipment. The steam engines of the time could not negotiate the steep climb to Soldier Summit without assistance. Additional engines known as “helper engines” were stationed along the way to help pull the trains over the pass. Several towns along the canyon were established to house the crews, and their families, which operated and maintained these helper engines. These towns included the towns of Tucker, Colton, Soldier Summit, and Helper.

In addition to the towns established to service the railroad, numerous settlements arose during the same time period as a result of the burgeoning coal industry. Towns such as Castle Gate, Royal, Heiner and New Peerless came into existence as coal camps and mining towns. The relationship between coal mining and the railroad industry is well known in the history of the United States. The necessity for coal and coal products during the latter portion of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century made coal exploration a national priority. In addition to providing coal fuel and coal gas, coal and products derived from coal were important to the iron, steel industries, synthetic rubber, and dye industries (Mottana et al. 1978:347). The railroad was the most efficient means of transporting coal, but it was also the largest consumer of coal. In order to facilitate the transportation of coal from the mines, which were often owned by the railroad companies, rail lines were rapidly laid through coal country to connect previously isolated communities with the main lines.

The growth of Carbon County was spurred on by the continued growth of the railroad and coal industries. Another critical event that hastened the settlement of Carbon County and the surrounding canyons was the construction of a paved road, the Midland Trail, between 1913 and 1914. When the road was completed, it provided a direct route from Ely, Nevada, through Utah to the Colorado line by way of Spanish Fork, Colton, Soldier Summit, and Price (Knowlton n.d.:155-157).

Post-war Abandonment Period: 1945–present

Growth in Carbon County slowed rapidly in the mid 1900s with the development of more powerful diesel locomotive engines that made the helper engines obsolete. The new engines could negotiate the steep grade to Soldier Summit without assistance. It was no longer necessary to maintain the helper engines and their associated facilities once the diesel engine made it possible to move fueling and maintenance points to locations along the Wasatch Front. Many of the towns that had been established around and had relied upon the activities of the railroad (helper engine) industry were abandoned and their buildings moved to other locations.

At the same time, the closing of several coal mines along the canyon led to the decline and abandonment of several towns centered in the waning coal industry. Towns such as Royal, Nolen, and New Peerless all saw their demise in the 1950s as the post-war demand for coal decreased sharply (Carr 1972:72; Thompson 1982:99-101; Zehnder 1984:10-14).

With the mechanization in mining as well as the downswing in the need for coal, county officials saw the need to diversify and revitalize the economy. In the 1960s the county attempted to bring in more industry to the region, and had some success with one clothing manufacturer moving to Price in the 1960s (Watt 1997:91). Since that time, Carbon County has become a transportation hub with access to the energy industries in the county, as well as access to US Interstate 15, US Interstate 17, and rail access. Also located in Price is Utah State University Eastern (formerly College of Eastern Utah). This University focuses on vocational orientation, providing a well-trained workforce for the county, as well as counties along the Wasatch Front. The area is also starting to be known for its recreation opportunities such as ATV riding, snowmobiling, hiking and horseback riding.

In 1855 members of the Huntington Exploration Party, attempting to establish the Elk Mountain Mission settlement at Moab, traveled through Emery County. Oliver Huntington led the expedition which included his two brothers, William and Dimmick. A year or two later, after passing through Castle Valley again and exploring Huntington Creek, they named the stream and the canyon after themselves (Howell et al. 1986:8). Prior to 1875, most explorers and travelers had the same impression of Castle Valley, describing it with words like “bare . . . forlorn . . . desolate . . . awful . . . unpromising . . . rough . . . and repulsive” (Geary 1998:198).

Colonization of the Huntington area did not begin until 1874, when several stockmen from Tooele County visited Castle Valley in search of winter rangeland. The following spring, James McHadden and Leander Lemmon returned with Bill Gentry and Alfred Starr. They lived in dugouts and began to irrigate the area along Huntington Creek. The following year, more stockmen arrived in Castle Valley with their families and herds of sheep and horses (Geary 1996:52). Their establishments attracted attention, and in the years to follow, many people began taking up homesteads in what would become the settlements of Huntington, Castle Dale, Ferron, and Orangeville.

A major impetus to the colonization of the Castle Valley area was a directive issued by Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), to his congregation. Previously, the Castle Valley region had not been settled, in part, due in part to its inaccessibility. With the Wasatch Range to the east, high plateaus to the west, Uinta Range to the north, and Arizona Mountains to the south, the valley is quite isolated. Initially, reports of infertile soils and insufficient water sources limited the area’s settlement, as did the presence of renegade Indians. However, a population increase, coupled with the church’s desire to establish a Mormon presence in the valley, resulted in a formal request from the church. On August 22, 1877, Brigham Young requested that at least 50 families relocate to the Castle Valley area (Geary 1996:58-62). This was Brigham Young’s final directive. The next day he became ill, and one week later, on August 29, he died (Geary 1998:200).

Responding to that call, Mormon settlers in Sanpete County prepared for their journey to Castle Valley. One group, under the leadership of Orange Seely, bishop of the Mount Pleasant North Ward, arrived in November of 1877. A second group of settlers, arriving the next month, included William Avery, John and Elias H. Cox, and Heber and Benjamin Jones, among others (Beckstead 1990:8; Geary 1998:200).

Realizing the potential of Huntington Creek and the overwhelming need for water for the new community, these initial settlers dug the first irrigation ditches, which would water the Huntington town site. According to the Emery County Water Conservancy District [ECWCD] records, the first ditch (McHadden Ditch) was completed in 1875. The second ditch bore the name Avery Ditch, while the third was known as Wakefield Ditch. In 1884 these three ditches were widened, deepened, and connected to form the Huntington Canal. Together with three extensions, Field Ditch, Town Ditch, and Starvation Ditch, the irrigation problems of Huntington were somewhat alleviated (ECWCD 2006). Agriculture and farming became the early foundation for the economy of Emery County, a foundation that would be dependable throughout most of the area’s history.

By 1883 the D&RGW had created a route passing through Emery County (Robertson 1986:251). The county residents, who had been struggling for economic security, were now offered a break. The recently established coal mines of Carbon County became accessible employment opportunities, with many men commuting to work in Scofield, Castle Gate, and Sunnyside via the train. The railroad provided an efficient route for transporting the coal and ores to outside markets, and increasing numbers of miners were needed to meet the demands of consumers. Miners and their families who immigrated into the region desired commodities such as fruits, vegetables, meats, butter, eggs, and honey, creating a market where local farmers could sell their goods. Ranchers were now able to transport their livestock with more efficiency. In addition, the construction of the railroad itself created much needed employment for locals.

With the railroad transportation in place, central Utah became a more hospitable place to live. Not only could building materials be delivered easily up and over the mountains, but food, clothing, and domestic supplies necessary to survive the harsh winters could also be affordably obtained. From the years 1880 to 1890, the population of Huntington grew from 126 to 738 residents, making it the settlement with the highest population in Emery County (Geary 1994:264).

Coal mining continued to boom into the 1920s; however, the onset of the Great Depression, coupled with over-development and inflation, led to the slowdown and closure of many small mines in the area. In addition, severe drought hit the area in the early 1930s. With impacts to both agriculture and mining, population growth in Emery County came to a virtual standstill for the next two decades. World War II saw a resurgence in the demand for coal, but the industry in Carbon and Emery counties never fully recovered (Watts 1997:122).

Emery County continued to go through more economic ups and downs throughout the 20th century. A uranium boom in the 1950s found the county prospering due to deposits located in the San Rafael Swell. Again, when the demand dwindled in the 1960s, the county was left with a struggling economy. Limited employment during the 1960s resulted from the construction of US Interstate 70 from Green River through Emery County; however, this opportunity ceased once the project ended (Geary 1998:216-217). For the greater part of its history, the economy of Emery County has wavered, as has its population and the average family income.

In the 1970s, Utah Power and Light (UP&L) constructed the area’s first coal-fired electric generating plant in Huntington Canyon, as well as several large coal mines to fuel the power plant. A reservoir located in upper Huntington Canyon, named Electric Lake, was completed by 1973 to supply water to run the steam-powered plant (Murphy 1988:11). All of this activity created a plethora of employment opportunities for engineers, mine workers, plant operators, and construction workers. As a result, the population in Emery County grew by 155 percent between 1970 and 1983 (Geary 1998:220).

The boom of the 1970s and early 1980s awakened the county from economic slumber, only to find almost itself unprepared for drastic changes that were about to occur. The smaller communities were most affected as they began scrambling to accommodate the population influx. There were housing shortages, inadequate water supply and delivery systems, as well as inefficient sewage needs and waste disposal facilities. Health care and law enforcement facilities, school systems, fire stations, churches, and even jails were all in need of expansions and upgrades. As city officials felt the overwhelming pressure, there were numerous resignations during the boom years (Geary 1996:374-389).

During the early 1980s the boom ended, almost as abruptly as it began. Demands for industrial energy were on the decline, leading to massive layoffs. Residents of Emery County were once again moving away, and economic security was vacillating. By the end of the 1980s, the population and the economy had stabilized.

The changes that the county has seen since its inception have resulted in a workforce that has been spread relatively evenly over several categories. In 1990 the service industry incorporated approximately 24% of the workforce; the transportation, public utilities, and communication sectors together employed roughly 15%; while the mining and retail/wholesale industries each employed approximately 16% of the workforce. Surprisingly, only 3% claimed their primary source of income as agriculture (Geary 1996:411).

The population of Emery County has had drastic fluctuations over time, reflecting the economic situation of the day. Railroad and mining opportunities produced a steady population increase from 2,866 in 1890 to 7,411 in 1920. The county population leveled off at 6,304 in 1950, and then declined at the end of the uranium boom to 5,137 in 1970. The boom in the 1970s, facilitated by the UP&L Huntington Canyon plant, resulted in a population increase to 13,100 in 1983. With the end of the last boom, the population again decreased. As of 2010, the population of Emery County numbered 10,976 (Geary 1996:1, 260, 316, and 366; US Census 2010).

The Navajo Nation, in the southern part of the county, has played a big role in the county history. Currently, the Navajo Nation has a population of over 250,000 members. The government is working to sustain a viable economy for the members of the Nation. Although the reservation is set in a desolate section of the Southwestern United States, the land itself has provided wealth for the tribe with the discovery of oil on the reservation in the early 1920s. A new form of government was established on the Nation in 1923 in order to meet the increasing demands for oil leases. The government was reorganized in 1991 into a three-part system; executive, legislative and judicial. The Navajo Nation Council has developed into the largest government among Native Americans in the United States.

The first officially sanctioned exploration to enter southern Utah consisted of Spanish explorers led by Juan Maria Antonio de Rivera in 1765, in search of trading and perspective routes throughout the southwest. This expedition apparently reached the Colorado River at Moab (Barnes 1991). In 1776 the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition entered portions of Western Colorado and Utah, coming into contact with numerous Ute groups. The Spanish Trail was a long, meandering route with a major loop to the north, which crossed Grand County and extended well into the central portion of Utah. In the 1820s, trappers such as Antoine Robidoux and the French-Canadian Etienne Provost began to frequent the region. Government exploration and surveying parties in the area included John C. Fremont who successfully completed two expeditions in 1843 and 1845 for the U.S. Army Corps Topographical Engineers (Horn et al. 1994:149). He led another private expedition in late 1853, following the route taken earlier that year by the Gunnison Expedition (Horn et al. 1994:150).

The first Mormon Colony in Grand County, the Elk Mountain Mission, was established in 1855 at present-day Moab, by settlers from Manti, Utah (Firmage 1996:79). The missionaries constructed a fort of adobe and stone and planted crops. Although relations with the Utes were initially good, conflict had erupted by September of that same year, and the Mormons abandoned the settlement (Tanner 1976:60-61).

During the 1870s a number of settlers and ranchers attempted to establish homesteads in the area, including a few who chose to occupy the abandoned Elk Mountain Mission Fort. This new, disparate group of settlers were variously engaged in prospecting, ranching, and limited agriculture. By the early 1880s, a settlement had been established in Spanish Valley. The community went through a several name changes, such as Mormon Fort and Grand Valley (Horn et al. 1994:152). The name Moab was the name given to the post office established there on March 23, 1880 (Daughters of Utah Pioneers 1972:17).

During the 19th century, ranching was widespread in southeastern Utah. In 1874 or 1875, George and Silas Green bought a herd of 400 cattle into the Moab area and lived in the then-abandoned Elk Mountain Mission Fort. The fort was their home until they were both killed by Indians in the winter of 1876–77 (Peterson 1975). During the 1880s there were reportedly thousands of cattle on the range between Grand Junction and Green River (Horn et al. 1994:154).

In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad narrow gauge line, built between Denver and Salt Lake City, established a railhead at Thompson Springs, Utah. This location soon became an important transportation and shipping point for the stockmen of Grand and San Juan Counties because cattle could be shipped from here to the stockyards in Kansas City. Access to the railroad made it possible for ranchers to make a living on the uncultivable desert (Barnes 1991).

One of the last areas to be filled with cattle was the rugged territory west of Moab between the Green and Colorado rivers. The Murphy Cattle Company of Moab was one of the earliest companies to graze cattle in this area (Horn et al.1994:155). In order for their cattle to survive, they improved the range by building reservoirs.

Gradually, sheep became the preferred livestock on grazing lands in the western United States during the latter part of the 1800s. However, while the cattlemen kept their livestock near their holdings, the sheepmen were more migratory. Most of the cattle operations had begun running at least a few sheep by the middle 1890s; by 1897, sheep were the dominant livestock on the range. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad began catering to the sheepmen by providing corrals and wood warehouses at Thompson, Cisco, and other locations along its line (Peterson 1975).

In 1939 the Grazing Service (predecessor of the US Bureau of Land Management) and the Soil Conservation Service purchased easements across properties on the western edge of Moab to establish an official livestock driveway to bypass Moab (Barnes 1991:26). By 1956, when most livestock animals were being transported by truck, the livestock driveway ceased being used (Barnes 1991:26).

Many of the local communities were heavily influenced economically by mining activities throughout the region. Mining began with the discovery of small amounts of gold along the Colorado and Little Dolores rivers, though most of the larger projects were located near the head of Westwater Canyon. Most of the mining took place between the 1880s and 1920s, with some sporadic attempts in later years (Horn et al.1994:187). In the early 1900s, uranium and radium mining had become profitable and there was a surge of prospecting and claim filing south of Moab. In 1915 Charles Snell found the Yellow Circle Mine near Upper Kane Springs, and the initial uranium ore shipments were used in coloring agents for ceramics (Tanner 1976; Balsley 1991).

World War II prodded mining activities on the Colorado Plateau because vanadium was essential to the hardening of steels. Shortly thereafter, the final boom occurred when uranium was sought after for the production of atomic weaponry. In 1957 the US Atomic Energy Commission announced that the supply of the mineral had reached a saturation point (Tanner 1976:221). The federal program to assist in the development of new mines ceased in the late 1950s, but the government continued to purchase uranium through the 1960s (Horn et al. 1994:190). The Uranium Reduction Mill (later called Atlas Minerals), built in 1956 by Charlie Steen, was a major employer for Moab residents into the 1980s.

Limited potash mining was conducted during World War I and was further developed after 1940 (Nelson 1963). According to land records, numerous potassium permits were issued between 1926 and 1936 for portions of the Arches National Park area and for areas immediately south of Moab (Horn et al. 1994:188). An intensive and successful drilling campaign began in 1956 in the Seven Mile area just north of Moab (Tanner 1976:22).

A number of permits for oil and gas exploration were issued between Moab and US Interstate 70, starting in the 1920s. Large oil-producing fields were discovered in the late 1940s and 1950s in both the northern and southern parts of Grand County, increasing oil production in the area (Horn et al. 1994:191).

One of the first roads in the region was built by the Elk Mountain missionaries in 1855, when they made the dugway for their wagons around the “Jump” in Moab Canyon (Huntington 1855). They followed the route of the Old Spanish Trail from the Green River crossing, which went past Brink and Upper Courthouse Springs, down a sandy hill at the mouth of Corral Canyon, crossed Seven Mile Wash and finally followed the bed of the stream in Moab Canyon to the river crossing (Pierson 1981:96). Later, another branch of the road was established, which split off the Old Spanish Trail route just north of the upper Courthouse Spring. It continued across Klondyke Flats to the railroad station at Thompson (Pierson 1981:96). Railroad passengers rode in buggies from Thompson to Moab and points south, stopping along the way at halfway houses in Courthouse Wash and at Kane Springs (Daughter of Utah Pioneers 1972).

Kelsey (1992:147-149) has reconstructed the history of the Upper and Lower Courthouse Wash stage stations from local newspaper articles and oral histories. The Lower Courthouse Wash Stage Station (also known as the Courthouse Stage Station) was the worst part of the original Moab-to-Thompson route, due to the deep sand and frequent washouts there. In August 1897, M.E. Moreland is reported to have been operating stage station facilities either at the Upper or Lower Courthouse Wash. These facilities probably would have included a corral, water troughs, and one or more buildings in which to feed and house travelers. A stage line operated by Jeremiah Hatch, Jr., was in place by October 1898, and by December of 1899, Jasper W. Hays was the proprietor for stage accommodations at the Lower Courthouse Station.

According to Kelsey’s (1992) research, the Moab-to-Thompson road was rebuilt in 1902 and rerouted high on the west bank of Courthouse Wash, south of the Lower Courthouse Station. This eliminated the need for the Upper Courthouse Station (also known as the Halfway Stage Station), and that caused its closure. By December 1903 “Aunt Sally” Thompson, who ran the eating house at the Upper Courthouse Station, had moved to Moab. Meanwhile, the Lower Courthouse Station changed hands several times. “Raggedy Ann” Trout served 35-cent meals there into the 1920s, living in a small room behind the kitchen. (However, Firmage [1996:134] reports that an unknown English couple operated the station for a number of years, offering little more to eat than salt pork.)  The Lower Courthouse Station closed sometime in the late 1920s, as increased vehicular traffic lessened the need for stagecoaches and stage stations.

The Federal Highway Act of 1916 provided funding to rural counties for the development of their primary US Mail routes or “Post Roads” (Montgomery 1993:6). Thus, in 1919, the first vehicular highway was initiated in the Moab area. Under the provisions of the Federal Aide Act, the route from Thompson to Moab was designated project No. 5. Labor was provided by a crew of 25 Utah State prisoners and two guards from the Wasatch Front. This road gang resided in a camp in Moab Canyon and constructed the route with bridges along the east side of the canyon (Montgomery 1993:6). Construction of the post road continued into 1920, when funding for the project ran low. Shortly thereafter, a bond issue was brought before the voters of Grand County, which asked for $78,500 to gravel the road and construct a road along the Grand (Colorado) River (Montgomery 1993:7).

The Federal Highway Act of 1921 gave authority to the Utah Road Commission to assign highway numbers and designate routes. During the early 1920s, the Moab to Thompson Post Road was designated US Route 450 and was considered a “trunk route” (Montgomery 1993:7). In the late 1920s and 1930s the road was surfaced with the pave-in-place method of adding oil to the existing gravel base and grading a smooth and level surface (Montgomery 1993:7). Historic photos from the mid-1930s show the highway as a narrow, graded road (Louthan et al. 1994:1). Because of the uranium boom and the subsequent increased traffic to Moab the highway was under construction into the late 1950s.

The first automobile road into what is now the area of Arches National Park  was blazed by Harry Goulding of Monument Valley in 1936 (Horn et al. 1994:170). His route followed the current route of US Route 191 and continued along the Willow Springs road to Balanced Rock. This road was used until 1958 when the present road was completed (Eardley 1991).

Norman Taylor established ferries that crossed the Colorado River to Moab in 1884. The ferries were later replaced by a bridge in 1911–1912 (Tanner 1976:103). A steel-truss bridge constructed over Courthouse Wash in 1916 was replaced by a concrete structure in 1934. When the new highway was completed through the area in the 1950s, a new multi-span concrete bridge was constructed across the Colorado River. During the 1990s, both the Courthouse Wash Bridge and the Colorado River Bridge were rebuilt.

During the Great Depression, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps were established in Dry Valley, Dalton Wells and Indian Creek (Pierson 1981:100). The Moab Lions Club lobbied for CCC support to work on the Arches National Monument, flood control improvements, and road and bridge construction (Horn et al. 1994:195). On July 10, 1935, a CCC camp was established at Dalton Wells and was designated Camp DG-32 (Baldridge 1971). The camp was constructed by Camp F-37 from Moon Lake, Utah, and the first enrollees arrived in October, 1935 (Horn et al. 1994:195). The purpose of the camp was to improve grazing conditions on public lands through the construction of water developments, corrals, fences, roads and trails and through rodent control (Allred 1936).  Architecture of the Dalton Wells CCC camp was typical of other camps during this period. Buildings were gable-roofed, wooden structures. These included a barracks and headquarters, as well as buildings for storage and supplies (Allred 1936:2).

In 1943 the abandoned Dalton Wells CCC camp was used to detain Japanese-American citizens who had been labeled as troublemakers moving from the internment camps at Tule Lake, California, and from Gila, Arizona (Louthan et al. 1994:4). At peak occupancy the relocation center held 49 men. Shortly thereafter, all the inmates were moved to an abandoned Native American boarding school at Leupp in northwestern Arizona (Louthan et al. 1994:5).

In addition to Moab there have been two primary historic settlements in the region, Valley City and Crescent Junction. In 1905 the Grand Valley Land and Mineral Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, constructed a dam to create a reservoir for farming. By 1908 20 people had settled at the dam site, known as Valley City, and planted 60 acres of orchards (Daughter of Utah Pioneers 1972:155). The project ended in 1910 when a severe flood breached the dam and washed away most of the orchards and fields. Left intact was a large, two-story house which, on occasion, also served as a stopping place for freighters and stage traffic (Sturgis 1980:1).

Valley City stood abandoned until 1919, when the extended family of Moses L. Burdick moved to the area began ranching (Firmage 1996:236). M.L. Burdick and his wife, Melissa Hitchcock, lived in the original two-story house with their 11 children. In 1927, a single story framed house was built nearby to the west of the main house. Hugh (Burdick=s son) and Zella Ewell Burdick moved in the new house and raised nine children there. Other structures erected in the 1920s included Mabel (Burdick=s daughter) and Paul “Charley” Oliver’s house, a one-story gabled school house (1928–1935) and a service station. The reservoir provided drinking water for the livestock, and two stone cisterns held water for the family. The dam broke again in 1928 and the Burdicks, Braces and Olivers repaired it. Following another failure of the dam, the families left the area for Colorado in 1936. Most of the structures, except for the two-story house, were purchased and moved either to Green River or Moab. From 1936 to 1944, Valley City was used on a limited basis for raising alfalfa and sheep. In the 1950s Frank Paxton traded the property to the BLM, and in 1967 the State of Utah took the title to the Valley City property.

Crescent Junction had been a stop on the railroad line and seen flurry of coal mining activity in the 1900s and limited mining in the 1940s (Firmage 1996:302). Also, manganese mining was later undertaken about 10 miles southwest of Crescent. Locally, two homesteads were patented in 1927 by Thomas Wimmer (Horn et al. 1994:175). In 1947 the land was developed for an automobile service station by county residents Charles and Erma Wimmer (Firmage 1996:302).

Exploration of southeastern Utah, and San Juan County, specifically, initially came in the form of trappers and traders from New Mexico. In 1765, Juan Maria de Rivera led the first known trading expedition into southeastern Utah, reaching the Colorado River near present day Moab, Utah (Pierson 1980:75-79). As trapping and trade networks spread northwest out of New Mexico, a series of trails were established that later became uniformly known as the Old Spanish Trail (Pierson 1980:75-79).

The Spanish Trail was not a single route, but had various branches. The main route, which followed the Dolores River Canyon in present day Colorado, was established by the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition in 1776 (Pierson 1980:79). The primary route is long and meandering, with a major loop through southeastern Utah, extending north into the central portion of the state (Horn, Reed, and Chandler 1994:149). Minor variations to the primary route consisted of short cuts or diversions to fresh water (Pierson 1980:79). One of these branches traversed through Dry Valley to the location of what is now known as Harts Spring (Hafen and Hafen 1954:2-7; Pierson 1980:79).

By the 1820s, Euro-American trappers and traders began to frequent the region. Trappers Antoine Robidoux and Etienne Provost were among the first in the area (Horn, Reed, and Chandler 1994:149). Over time, trade grew and expanded in Utah (Pierson 1980:75-79). During the mid-1800s, the United States Government became interested in exploring the newly acquired territory of Utah. The first government-sponsored exploration parties were led by John C. Fremont for the U.S. Army Corps Topographical Engineers in 1843 and 1845 (Horn, Reed, and Chandler 1994:149). In 1859, Captain John M. Macomb left Santa Fe, New Mexico, to seek the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Macomb followed the Old Spanish Trail to Dry Valley and camped at the location of Harts Spring. On his return to Santa Fe, Macomb traveled through Peters Canyon and on to the San Juan River (Pierson 1980:78-79). Between 1830 and 1860, the Spanish Trail served as a primary immigration route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California (Hafen and Hafen 1954; Pierson 1980:79).

The Elk Mountain Mission, the first attempt at Mormon (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) settlement in southeastern Utah, was established in 1855 at present day Moab (Firmage 1996:79). Mormon leader John Taylor encouraged Mormon settlement in southeastern Utah as a means to “deprive a white outlaw element of a refuge from the law, and expand Mormon control into the area” (McPherson 1995:97). The missionaries constructed an adobe and stone fort, and planted crops. Although relations with the Utes were initially good, conflict had erupted by September of that same year and the Mormons abandoned the settlement (Tanner 1976:60-61).

In 1868, the “Navajo Indian Reservation” was established in the southern portion of San Juan County as well as in Arizona and New Mexico. The reservation was based on a treaty with the United States; however, the first allotment for the reservation lands was only half of what was promised in the treaty. Between 1878 and 1934 the boundaries were expanded 13 times more times through acts of Congress as well as executive order.

During the 1870s, a number of settlers and ranchers attempted to establish homesteads in the area, including a few who chose to occupy the abandoned Elk Mountain Mission Fort. This new disparate group of settlers was variously engaged in prospecting, ranching, and limited agriculture. The ranchers were attracted to the area’s unrestricted grazing and the fact that their cattle would be tax free (Perkins et al. 1968:279). Starting in 1877, several small cattle and homesteading outfits were using the resources of the La Sal Mountains, however, by 1880, the truly large cattle companies arrived, buying out many of the smaller herds and dominating the resources. The Pittsburgh Cattle Company, after buying out the herds belonging to the earlier ranchers on the La Sals, ran thousands of cattle in the mountains and in Dry Valley, a favored winter range (McPherson1995:172).

Although the first cattle raised in the area grazed unrestricted and tax free, the laws concerning grazing and tax exemption changed in 1880 when the boundaries of San Juan County were established (McPherson 1995:172). Cattle ranching was the first profitable industry in the area, followed closely by sheepherding, while the few farming homesteaders supplied food for the ranches and their hired help (Perkins et al. 1968:279). In 1883, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (D&RGW) established a railhead at Thompson Springs, just north of Moab, Utah. The railhead at Thompson quickly became an important transportation and shipping point for the stockmen of Grand and San Juan Counties. Cattle could be shipped by rail from Thompson directly to the stockyards in Kansas City. Ready access to the railroad made it feasible for ranchers to make a living on this otherwise desolate desert (Barnes 1991:24).

Gradually, sheep became the preferred livestock on Western grazing lands during the latter part of the 1800’s. However, while the cattlemen kept their livestock near their holdings, sheep men were more migratory. Most of the cattle operations had begun running at least a few sheep by the mid-1890s. By 1897, sheep had become the dominant livestock on the range. The D&RGW began catering to the sheep men by providing corrals and wood warehouses at Thompson, Cisco, and other locations along its line (Peterson 1975).

During the early years, stockmen politically controlled San Juan County until the mid-1890s. According to Perkins et al. (1968:280), cattle and sheep roamed everywhere across the county. In 1892, natural predators were killing so many cattle and sheep that the county placed a 5-dollar bounty on bears and mountain lions and a one dollar bounty on lynx, grey wolves, bobcats, and coyotes. A five cent bounty was placed on prairie dogs to insure safety for grazing and farming. Trappers were the most helpful in ridding the county of its predators. Also starting in 1892, as cattle and sheep ranching expanded in the west, the county began to require the purchase of grazing permits. Drought and various other factors (i.e. changes in the market, introduction of drought resistant crops, and increases in size of homesteader land grants) led to an exodus of cattle ranchers and cattle from the area during the late 1890s, thereby ending the dominance of ranching in the county. It was at this time that homesteading predominated (Perkins et al. 1968:280-281).

Monticello, the San Juan County seat, was established by Mormon settlers beginning in 1887. Despite tensions over water rights with cattle ranchers, the Mormons established the town of Monticello, named in honor of the estate of Thomas Jefferson (McPherson 1994:373). Homesteading in the area went through four periods of activity. From 1880 to 1909 homesteads were restricted to 160 acres; these homesteads were very isolated and primarily served as centers of operation for cattlemen (Frost 1991:3). After 1909, the size of land granted to a homesteader was increased to 320 acres through the Enlarged Homestead Act (McPherson 1994:373-373; Frost 1991:3). This increase in available acreage encouraged farmers to settle and attempt to raise wheat on the marginal desert lands. From 1910 to 1920 homesteading boomed in San Juan County. Government published reports described the area as having a favorable climate for farming in hopes that homesteaders would be encouraged, despite the fact that the area remained isolated due to a lack of roads (Roring 1991:6).

In 1916, the Stockraising Homestead Act “increased the size of the homestead to 640 acres for grazing of livestock in those arid western areas where farming could not support the homesteader” (Osborn 1995:8). This increase in land, available to those raising livestock, encouraged continued use of large tracts of land in San Juan County as winter range. Between 1921 and 1937, as wheat prices dropped during the Great Depression, farmers were unable to make a living in San Juan County, and many homesteads were abandoned (Frost 1991:3). Following the end of the Great Depression, and the beginning of World War II (WWII), the price of wheat was on the rise; and the introduction of mechanized farming and new farming techniques led to re-occupancy of many abandoned homesteads and the ability to farm larger areas with the same expenditure of labor. Since 1960, many homesteads have been once again abandoned due to lack of precipitation and “restrictions caused by wheat allotment” (Frost 1991:4).

Mining eventually replaced farming as the major industry in San Juan County. In 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie isolated the radioactive element radium. At that time, the mineral carnotite was found to contain radium, uranium, and vanadium (Ringholz 1994:582). Carnotite naturally occurs in southeastern Utah and was used as a body paint by early Navajo and Ute peoples on the Colorado Plateau. The discovery of carnotite deposits led to a small pre-WWI radium mining boom in southeastern Utah. With the discovery of the value of vanadium in the manufacture of steel, the number of mining claims in San Juan County increased rapidly (Osborn 1995:13). Vanadium was used as a hardening agent during the manufacture of steel. By adding vanadium to the alloy, elasticity and tensile strength were greatly increased, making stronger steel (Ringholz 1994:583). The demand for steel during WWI made the vanadium mining an extremely profitable venture. With the end of WWI, and the beginning of the Great Depression, the mining boom in southeastern Utah came to an end.   

In the late 1930s, a second mining boom occurred in the four corners region. With the beginning of WWII, the worldwide need for vanadium steel in the war effort resuscitated the dying mining industry of the Colorado Plateau (Osborn 1995:13). The Vanadium Corporation of American (VCA) opened a vanadium processing mill in Monticello during WWII. Following the end of WWII, the second vanadium boom came to an end. In 1946, after the end of WWII, the VCA plant closed (McPherson 1994:373).

During WWII uranium became the “most strategically important mineral in the world” (Osborn 1995:13). With the development of the atomic bomb the world had taken its first step into the atomic age. As a result, uranium ore, previously ignored by miners, was in high demand. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was created to oversee the production and distribution of uranium in the United States. During the Cold War the manufacture of nuclear weaponry required production of large quantities of refined uranium (Osborn 1995:14). Charles Steen built the Uranium Reduction Mill (later Atlas Minerals) in 1956 just southeast of Moab, and by 1959, Moab had become known as the “Uranium Capital of the World” (Ringholz 1994:583). In 1957, the AEC announced that the supply of the mineral had reached a saturation point (Tanner 1976:221). The federal program to assist in the development of new mines ceased in the late 1950s, but the government continued to purchase uranium through the 1960s (Horn, Reed, and Chandler 1994:190). The uranium mining boom abruptly ended in 1970 when the government stockpile exceeded projected need (Ringholz 1994:583).

From 1933 to 1942 San Juan County enjoyed the benefits of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal policy. The CCC brought hundreds of people to San Juan County. “Building roads, fences, corrals, flood-control projects, and emplacing culverts, telephone lines, and campgrounds were just some of the tasks performed by the men stationed in Dry Valley, Indian Creek, Blanding, and Monticello and on the La Sals” (McPherson 1995:224).     

San Juan County still relies heavily on the livestock and farming industry. Although the days of open range and homesteading are long past, “the county is still dependent on land for its economic survival” (McPherson 1995:189). In addition, ever increasing tourism and recreational use plays an important role in the economy of the county (McPherson 1994:373).

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