Woodside, Utah
Encyclopedia
Woodside is a ghost town
located on the west bank of the Price River
in the nearly uninhabited eastern part of Emery County
, Utah
, United States
. Its fenced-in filling station
is one of the only signs of human activity along the lonely stretch of U.S. Route 6 between Wellington
and Green River
.
bridge and water stop
. The area's first resident was a local prospector
named Henry H. Hutchinson, who settled here in 1881. Other homesteaders
arrived the next year and started digging an irrigation
canal. Attracted by relatively abundant water and an extensive growth of cottonwood trees, they founded a settlement known as Lower Crossing. As the town grew, adding a few stores and a blacksmith
shop, it was renamed Woodside for the cottonwood groves.
One of Woodside's biggest challenges was the Price River itself. Before the construction of Scofield Reservoir
the streamflow was highly variable, peaking early and nearly drying up by late summer. The river's large drainage basin
also meant that even a distant cloudburst
could bring a destructive flash flood
. Despite these problems the town continued growing. A hotel and stockyards were built adjacent to the railroad station, and Woodside became a supply point for neighboring ranches. A schoolhouse built in 1892 served as a town gathering place. By 1900 the population stood at 114 and it peaked around 300 in the next 20 years.
In the late 1920s Woodside's livestock shipping facilities and railroad station were taken away when the railroad consolidated much of its operations in Helper
. This blow was followed by severe drought
s in the 1930s, and by 1940 the population dropped to 30.
In the 1940s Woodside became a minor tourist attraction. In the 1880s the railroad had dug a large water well
here, which had later turned into a cold bubbling mudpot
driven by naturally-occurring pressurized carbon dioxide
gas. The hole was developed into a cold water geyser
, along with a filling station, store, and cafe. The cafe and store burned down around 1970, and the geyser and filling station are the only remnants of Woodside. The geyser formerly spouted as high as 75 feet (22.9 m), but is much lower now. A historical marker
telling the town's story sits just inside the fenced area, where the reclusive owner keeps a small herd of llama
s.
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 on the west bank of the Price River
Price River
The Price River is a river in the state of Utah, in the United States. The river originates in the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah and flows southeastward through Price Canyon, alongside U.S. Route 6, to the cities of Helper and Price...
in the nearly uninhabited eastern part 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...
. Its fenced-in filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
is one of the only signs of human activity along the lonely stretch of U.S. Route 6 between Wellington
Wellington, Utah
Wellington is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,666 at the 2000 census. The community was settled in 1878 by a band of thirteen Mormons led by Jefferson Tidwell. The town was named for Justus Wellington Seeley, Jr., of the Emery County Court...
and Green River
Green River, Utah
Green River is a city in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 973 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Green River is located at , on the banks of the Green River, after which the city is named. The San Rafael Swell region is to the west of Green River, while Canyonlands National Park...
.
History
Construction on the site began with a Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
bridge and water stop
Water stop
A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines, when large amounts of water were essential...
. The area's first resident was a local prospector
Prospecting
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...
named Henry H. Hutchinson, who settled here in 1881. Other homesteaders
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
arrived the next year and started digging an irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
canal. Attracted by relatively abundant water and an extensive growth of cottonwood trees, they founded a settlement known as Lower Crossing. As the town grew, adding a few stores and a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop, it was renamed Woodside for the cottonwood groves.
One of Woodside's biggest challenges was the Price River itself. Before the construction of Scofield Reservoir
Scofield Reservoir
Scofield Reservoir is a reservoir in Carbon County, Utah, United States. Located on the Price River, a tributary of the Green River, Scofield Reservoir is adjacent to northernmost boundary of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. The reservoir sits at an elevation of , on the northern edge of the...
the streamflow was highly variable, peaking early and nearly drying up by late summer. The river's large drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
also meant that even a distant cloudburst
Cloudburst
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation, sometimes with hail and thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.-Etymology:There are similar names for such events in other languages...
could bring a destructive flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
. Despite these problems the town continued growing. A hotel and stockyards were built adjacent to the railroad station, and Woodside became a supply point for neighboring ranches. A schoolhouse built in 1892 served as a town gathering place. By 1900 the population stood at 114 and it peaked around 300 in the next 20 years.
In the late 1920s Woodside's livestock shipping facilities and railroad station were taken away when the railroad consolidated much of its operations in Helper
Helper, Utah
Helper is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and northwest of the city of Price. It is also known as the "Hub of Carbon County". The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census....
. This blow was followed by severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
s in the 1930s, and by 1940 the population dropped to 30.
In the 1940s Woodside became a minor tourist attraction. In the 1880s the railroad had dug a large water well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
here, which had later turned into a cold bubbling mudpot
Mudpot
A mudpot, mud pool or paint pot is a sort of hot spring or fumarole consisting of a pool of usually bubbling mud. The mud is generally of white to greyish color, but is sometimes stained with reddish or pink spots from iron compounds...
driven by naturally-occurring pressurized carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
gas. The hole was developed into a cold water geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
, along with a filling station, store, and cafe. The cafe and store burned down around 1970, and the geyser and filling station are the only remnants of Woodside. The geyser formerly spouted as high as 75 feet (22.9 m), but is much lower now. A historical marker
Historical marker
A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...
telling the town's story sits just inside the fenced area, where the reclusive owner keeps a small herd of llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s.
External links
- Cold Water Geysers (Woodside Geyser, Utah)
- Woodside Utah at GhostDepot.com