Eagle City, Utah
Encyclopedia
Eagle City is a ghost town
located in Garfield County
, Utah
, United States
. Nestled in Bromide Basin high in the remote Henry Mountains
of southern Utah, it was a gold mining
camp. Eagle City was settled about 1890, but was almost abandoned by the start of World War I
. A single resident remained until the 1970s.
discovered gold
deposits in the Bromide Basin area, setting off a small gold rush
. Owners of the Bromide and Oro mines built mills on Crescent Creek, where a small town grew up. Eagle City soon had a store, hotel, doctor's office, and saloon. As many as 100 people lived here at one point. Eagle City had a rough reputation, and members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
were known to visit.
As the mine shafts reached the 300 feet (91.4 m) depth, the mines began to fill with water. A 3000 feet (914.4 m) drain tunnel was planned, but never completed due to lack of capital. In 1911 the Bromide Mill burned down. Soon World War I took most of the remaining young men. Only Frank Lawler stayed behind at Eagle City. He lived there alone for the next 60 years, searching for the legendary Lost Josephine Mine.
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...
located in Garfield County
Garfield County, Utah
Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 4,735. It was named for James A. Garfield, President of the United States in 1881. Its county seat and largest city is Panguitch.-Geography:...
, 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...
. Nestled in Bromide Basin high in the remote Henry Mountains
Henry Mountains
The Henry Mountains are located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah and run in a generally north-south direction, extending over a distance of about 30 miles . They were named by John Wesley Powell in honour of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The...
of southern Utah, it was a gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
camp. Eagle City was settled about 1890, but was almost abandoned by the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. A single resident remained until the 1970s.
History
In 1889 a pair of prospectorsProspecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
discovered gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
deposits in the Bromide Basin area, setting off a small gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
. Owners of the Bromide and Oro mines built mills on Crescent Creek, where a small town grew up. Eagle City soon had a store, hotel, doctor's office, and saloon. As many as 100 people lived here at one point. Eagle City had a rough reputation, and members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...
were known to visit.
As the mine shafts reached the 300 feet (91.4 m) depth, the mines began to fill with water. A 3000 feet (914.4 m) drain tunnel was planned, but never completed due to lack of capital. In 1911 the Bromide Mill burned down. Soon World War I took most of the remaining young men. Only Frank Lawler stayed behind at Eagle City. He lived there alone for the next 60 years, searching for the legendary Lost Josephine Mine.
External links
- Eagle City at GhostTowns.com