Dragon, Utah
Encyclopedia
Dragon is a ghost town
located in Uintah County
, at the extreme eastern edge of Utah
, United States
. Founded in about 1888 as a Gilsonite
mining camp, Dragon boomed in the first decade of the 20th century as the end-of-line town for the Uintah Railway
. Although it declined when the terminus moved further north in 1911, Dragon survived as the largest of the Gilsonite towns. It was abandoned after its mining operations stopped in 1938 and the Uintah Railway went out of business in 1939.
state line and 65 miles (104.6 km) southeast of Vernal
, the area's main city. This part of the Uinta Basin has been isolated and barren throughout modern times. The reason for the town's existence was the veins
of natural asphalt
called Gilsonite
, found nowhere else in the world, that run southeast to northwest through this region.
The present-day center of Gilsonite mining, Bonanza
, is about 25 miles (40.2 km) to the north of Dragon.
The mine and town developed slowly at first, because of the difficulty of transporting the Gilsonite out of the area. The town received its first telegraph line, to Fort Duchesne, in 1901. In 1902, subsidiaries of the Gilson Asphaltum Company took over the Black Dragon Mine and began work on a narrow gauge railway to serve the mine. In 1904 the Uintah Railway
reached Dragon, where it stopped. The company also built toll road
s to Vernal and Fort Duchesne, ferries
on the Green River
, and a toll bridge
over the White River
at Ignatio, making Dragon the regional transportation hub.
As the terminal station on the only railroad ever to enter the Uinta Basin, Dragon began to boom. At the completion of the railroad, the town had a depot, warehouse, locomotive shops, store, boarding house, homes, two saloons, and a barber shop. The railroad company built the Uintah Railway Hotel in Dragon to lodge passengers. A school was established in 1904.
Gilsonite is a flammable hydrocarbon
mixture, and Dragon experienced a number of mining accident
s. In 1908, a fire started in one section of Dragon's Gilsonite vein. A nearly inextinguishable fire similar to a coal seam fire, it was still burning two years later. Also in 1908, an explosion in the Black Dragon Mine killed two miners. In 1910, a costly fire sparked in stored Gilsonite completely destroyed the Uintah Railway warehouse, along with hundreds of tons of freight.
In 1910 a public library
was established in Dragon, with an unusual arrangement. The Uintah Railway would transport library books free of charge to and from any borrower along its route.
At the 1910 census, the population of "Dragon Precinct" (the town and surrounding area) was 287. The output of the Black Dragon Mine was declining, however, and other rich Gilsonite deposits had been discovered to the north. In 1911 the Uintah Railway extended its line northward, establishing a new end-of-line town called Watson 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Dragon, with a spur line 4 miles (6.4 km) to the southwest of Watson to Rainbow, the new mining center. The loss of the railroad terminus caused a moderate decline in Dragon, but because the railroad's shops and roundhouse
were still here, Dragon remained the stable population center in the Gilsonite mining area. The railroad saw the need to encourage the shipping of diverse products, and in 1912 they built large sheep shearing
pens at Dragon. Enough people remained in 1917 to support a renovation of the Dragon schoolhouse. The census precinct, greatly expanded but still named for Dragon, reported populations of 487 in 1920 and 452 in 1930.
By 1938, all of the Gilsonite mining activity moved still further north, to the Bonanza
area. The Dragon and Rainbow mines closed down. Trucks to Vernal and Craig, Colorado
replaced trains for hauling Gilsonite. People started to abandon Dragon, Rainbow, and Watson. In 1939 Dragon's population was just 72, mostly railroad workers. Having lost the majority of its freight business, the Uintah Railway ceased operation in 1939. The 1940 census recorded a "South Dragon precinct" population of 10.
Only ruins remain at the Dragon site. There is a rubble pile where the hotel stood, a sidewalk that ran to the old schoolhouse, some foundations, and a small cemetery.
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 Uintah County
Uintah County, Utah
This page deals with the Utah County. For the Wyoming County, see Uinta County, Wyoming.Uintah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 25,224 and by 2009 was estimated at 31,536. It was named for the Ute Indians, the tribe that lives in the basin. Its...
, at the extreme eastern edge of 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 about 1888 as a Gilsonite
Gilsonite
Gilsonite is the registered trademark for a form of natural asphalt found only in the Uintah Basin of Utah; the non-trademarked mineral name is uintaite or uintahite. It is mined in underground shafts and resembles shiny black obsidian...
mining camp, Dragon boomed in the first decade of the 20th century as the end-of-line town for the Uintah Railway
Uintah Railway
The Uintah Railway was a small railroad company in Utah and Colorado in the United States. It operated from 1902 to 1939.-History:The company was founded in 1902 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Gilson Asphaltum Co. with the sole purpose of building a railroad into the isolated Uintah basin...
. Although it declined when the terminus moved further north in 1911, Dragon survived as the largest of the Gilsonite towns. It was abandoned after its mining operations stopped in 1938 and the Uintah Railway went out of business in 1939.
Geography
Dragon lies on the tiny Evacuation Creek at the mouth of Dragon Canyon, approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) west of the ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
state line and 65 miles (104.6 km) southeast of Vernal
Vernal, Utah
Vernal, Uintah County's largest city, is located in eastern Utah near the Colorado State Line, and 175 miles east of Salt Lake City. It is bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the few mountains ranges in the world which lie in an east-west rather than the usual north to south...
, the area's main city. This part of the Uinta Basin has been isolated and barren throughout modern times. The reason for the town's existence was the veins
Vein (geology)
In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation...
of natural asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
called Gilsonite
Gilsonite
Gilsonite is the registered trademark for a form of natural asphalt found only in the Uintah Basin of Utah; the non-trademarked mineral name is uintaite or uintahite. It is mined in underground shafts and resembles shiny black obsidian...
, found nowhere else in the world, that run southeast to northwest through this region.
The present-day center of Gilsonite mining, Bonanza
Bonanza, Utah
Bonanza is a census-designated place in southeastern Uintah County, in eastern Utah, United States. The name refers to a rich mineral strike.Near the community is a coal fired power plant owned by Deseret Power Electric Cooperative. Bonanza is also in the area of the Colorado Plateau where oil...
, is about 25 miles (40.2 km) to the north of Dragon.
History
As the commercial mining of Gilsonite began in 1888, a significant deposit was discovered some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) up Dragon Canyon. Observers said that the vein of the black substance formed the shape of a dragon along the surface of the ground, and the operation was named the Black Dragon Mine. The name Dragon was soon given to both the canyon and the mining camp that grew up in the flat area at the canyon's mouth.The mine and town developed slowly at first, because of the difficulty of transporting the Gilsonite out of the area. The town received its first telegraph line, to Fort Duchesne, in 1901. In 1902, subsidiaries of the Gilson Asphaltum Company took over the Black Dragon Mine and began work on a narrow gauge railway to serve the mine. In 1904 the Uintah Railway
Uintah Railway
The Uintah Railway was a small railroad company in Utah and Colorado in the United States. It operated from 1902 to 1939.-History:The company was founded in 1902 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Gilson Asphaltum Co. with the sole purpose of building a railroad into the isolated Uintah basin...
reached Dragon, where it stopped. The company also built toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
s to Vernal and Fort Duchesne, ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
on the Green River
Green River (Utah)
The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...
, and a toll bridge
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
over the White River
White River (Utah)
The White River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. Flows vary from 450 ft³/s late summers in dry years to well over 12,000 ft³/s in spring....
at Ignatio, making Dragon the regional transportation hub.
As the terminal station on the only railroad ever to enter the Uinta Basin, Dragon began to boom. At the completion of the railroad, the town had a depot, warehouse, locomotive shops, store, boarding house, homes, two saloons, and a barber shop. The railroad company built the Uintah Railway Hotel in Dragon to lodge passengers. A school was established in 1904.
Gilsonite is a flammable hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
mixture, and Dragon experienced a number of mining accident
Mining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
s. In 1908, a fire started in one section of Dragon's Gilsonite vein. A nearly inextinguishable fire similar to a coal seam fire, it was still burning two years later. Also in 1908, an explosion in the Black Dragon Mine killed two miners. In 1910, a costly fire sparked in stored Gilsonite completely destroyed the Uintah Railway warehouse, along with hundreds of tons of freight.
In 1910 a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
was established in Dragon, with an unusual arrangement. The Uintah Railway would transport library books free of charge to and from any borrower along its route.
At the 1910 census, the population of "Dragon Precinct" (the town and surrounding area) was 287. The output of the Black Dragon Mine was declining, however, and other rich Gilsonite deposits had been discovered to the north. In 1911 the Uintah Railway extended its line northward, establishing a new end-of-line town called Watson 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Dragon, with a spur line 4 miles (6.4 km) to the southwest of Watson to Rainbow, the new mining center. The loss of the railroad terminus caused a moderate decline in Dragon, but because the railroad's shops and roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
were still here, Dragon remained the stable population center in the Gilsonite mining area. The railroad saw the need to encourage the shipping of diverse products, and in 1912 they built large sheep shearing
Sheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
pens at Dragon. Enough people remained in 1917 to support a renovation of the Dragon schoolhouse. The census precinct, greatly expanded but still named for Dragon, reported populations of 487 in 1920 and 452 in 1930.
By 1938, all of the Gilsonite mining activity moved still further north, to the Bonanza
Bonanza, Utah
Bonanza is a census-designated place in southeastern Uintah County, in eastern Utah, United States. The name refers to a rich mineral strike.Near the community is a coal fired power plant owned by Deseret Power Electric Cooperative. Bonanza is also in the area of the Colorado Plateau where oil...
area. The Dragon and Rainbow mines closed down. Trucks to Vernal and Craig, Colorado
Craig, Colorado
The City of Craig is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
replaced trains for hauling Gilsonite. People started to abandon Dragon, Rainbow, and Watson. In 1939 Dragon's population was just 72, mostly railroad workers. Having lost the majority of its freight business, the Uintah Railway ceased operation in 1939. The 1940 census recorded a "South Dragon precinct" population of 10.
Only ruins remain at the Dragon site. There is a rubble pile where the hotel stood, a sidewalk that ran to the old schoolhouse, some foundations, and a small cemetery.
External links
- Dragon at GhostTowns.com