Cedar Creek, Utah
Encyclopedia
Cedar Creek is a ghost town
in Box Elder County
, Utah
, United States
. Founded in the 1860s, Cedar Creek was a farming town. Businesses included a school, an inn, and a store. The interstate highway system built through Cedar Creek and the nearby communities of Snowville
and Park Valley
. Cedar Creek was abandoned when weather conditions made farming difficult.
community and was named after a creek that ran north of the town. By the early 20th century, about 20 families lived in Cedar Creek. A school that also served as a church was constructed in town, as was an inn, a service station, and a store. Activities that included dances, theater performances, and talent shows were held in the school. The town's mail was delivered to a home rather than to a post office. When the interstate highway system
was developed, it ran from Snowville
to Cedar Creek, then to nearby Park Valley
. Native Americans
were often seen near town, collecting nuts and hunting rabbit
s. The town's schoolmarm was considered one of the smartest people in town, and the residents of Cedar Creek often came to her for farming advice. In the 1920s, dry summers and cold winters made farming difficult. People then left town, and by the end of the decade, Cedar Creek was abandoned. Only a few buildings remain today.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in Box Elder County
Box Elder County, Utah
Box Elder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It lies on the north end of the Great Salt Lake, covering a large area north to the Idaho border and west to the Nevada border. Included in this area are large tracts of barren desert, contrasted by high, forested mountains. The...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in the 1860s, Cedar Creek was a farming town. Businesses included a school, an inn, and a store. The interstate highway system built through Cedar Creek and the nearby communities of Snowville
Snowville, Utah
Snowville is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 167 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Snowville is located at , at in elevation....
and Park Valley
Park Valley, Utah
Park Valley is an unincorporated community in Box Elder County, Utah, United States.Park Valley lies in the northwestern part of the state, northwest of the state capital at Salt Lake City, and west of the county seat at Brigham City. Utah State Route 30 runs through the center of the valley,...
. Cedar Creek was abandoned when weather conditions made farming difficult.
History
Cedar Creek was established in the 1860s as a farmingAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
community and was named after a creek that ran north of the town. By the early 20th century, about 20 families lived in Cedar Creek. A school that also served as a church was constructed in town, as was an inn, a service station, and a store. Activities that included dances, theater performances, and talent shows were held in the school. The town's mail was delivered to a home rather than to a post office. When the interstate highway system
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
was developed, it ran from Snowville
Snowville, Utah
Snowville is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 167 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Snowville is located at , at in elevation....
to Cedar Creek, then to nearby Park Valley
Park Valley, Utah
Park Valley is an unincorporated community in Box Elder County, Utah, United States.Park Valley lies in the northwestern part of the state, northwest of the state capital at Salt Lake City, and west of the county seat at Brigham City. Utah State Route 30 runs through the center of the valley,...
. Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
were often seen near town, collecting nuts and hunting rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s. The town's schoolmarm was considered one of the smartest people in town, and the residents of Cedar Creek often came to her for farming advice. In the 1920s, dry summers and cold winters made farming difficult. People then left town, and by the end of the decade, Cedar Creek was abandoned. Only a few buildings remain today.