Connellsville, Utah
Encyclopedia
Connellsville is a ghost town
located high in the mountains of Coal Canyon, near the head of Huntington Canyon in the northwestern corner of Emery County
, Utah
, United States
. A coal mining
and coke
manufacturing center, Connellsville was the first settlement in what is now Emery County, inhabited from 1874 to 1878. The town now lies beneath the waters of Electric Lake.
built in the mining area was named Connellsville for the large coking center of Connellsville, Pennsylvania
, but its population was small, only a few dozen miners and coke-oven workers. This was the first commercial coal mining operation in the Wasatch Plateau, pre-dating the coal mining boomtown
s of Carbon County
. The Connellsville coal made poor coke, however, and transportation facilities were lacking. By 1878 the project was deemed a failure, and the town was abandoned. Most of the miners moved over the mountain to Winter Quarters
.
After the closure of Connellsville, its coal was mined only occasionally, to meet residential heating needs in the Sanpete Valley. Several remnants of the ghost town, including cabins and coke ovens, still stood until the construction of the Electric Lake reservoir in 1973. Before the water covered Connellsville, Utah Power funded an archaeological survey of the area and reconstructed one of the coke ovens on a new site above the water line. The rest of the ghost town is underwater.
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 high in the mountains of Coal Canyon, near the head of Huntington Canyon in the northwestern corner of Emery County
Emery County, Utah
Emery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 10,860, and by 2009 had been estimated to decrease to 10,629. It was named for George W. Emery, governor of the Utah Territory in 1875...
, 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...
. A coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
manufacturing center, Connellsville was the first settlement in what is now Emery County, inhabited from 1874 to 1878. The town now lies beneath the waters of Electric Lake.
History
In May 1874, the Fairview Coal Mining and Coke Company began mining in Coal Canyon to meet the demand for coke by Salt Lake City-area smelters. The company townCompany town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
built in the mining area was named Connellsville for the large coking center of Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...
, but its population was small, only a few dozen miners and coke-oven workers. This was the first commercial coal mining operation in the Wasatch Plateau, pre-dating the coal mining boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
s of Carbon County
Carbon County, Utah
Carbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for the major coal deposits in the area, the county seat and largest city, is Price. Carbon County is the second largest natural gas producer in Utah , with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008. As of 2010 the population was...
. The Connellsville coal made poor coke, however, and transportation facilities were lacking. By 1878 the project was deemed a failure, and the town was abandoned. Most of the miners moved over the mountain to Winter Quarters
Winter Quarters, Utah
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...
.
After the closure of Connellsville, its coal was mined only occasionally, to meet residential heating needs in the Sanpete Valley. Several remnants of the ghost town, including cabins and coke ovens, still stood until the construction of the Electric Lake reservoir in 1973. Before the water covered Connellsville, Utah Power funded an archaeological survey of the area and reconstructed one of the coke ovens on a new site above the water line. The rest of the ghost town is underwater.