Carbon County Utah - info, facts, communities, links on Key to the City

The first settlements in the county were along the Price River in the late 1870s. The high Wasatch Plateau had precluded settlers until that time. Routes included the Old Spanish Trail and a pass over Soldier Summit. In the early years, farmers and ranchers were mainstays of the industry there, but the Cowboys and Outlaws, such as Butch Cassidy, became infamous here. The Nine Mile Canyon freight road reaching from Price to the Uinta Basin gave the county an important transportation link. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, in its searches for a new route to Denver from Salt Lake City, discovered the huge coal resources of the county. Coal mining was the spark in development of Carbon Canyon. Many of the coal companies came into an area, built a town and opened the mines. Then they imported in the people for both the mines and the towns. Along with the Europeans, they brought in Japanese laborers. Because of the cultural diversity of the area, some towns, such as Helper, was called the town of "57 Varieties." Several tragic mine explosions in the early 1900's brought trouble to the area. Eventually the mines were unionized which brought in structure and more safety for the workers. The industry remains a force in the economy today. Utah Power and Light built a large electric generating plant in the county. 98 percent of the power for the company comes from thermal steam plants which burn coal.

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Organizations & Groups:

Castle Country Travel Region
90 N. 100 East #2
Price, UT 84501
435-637-3009
800-842-0789
Fax: 435-637-7010
Email

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This page was last updated on 9 May 2009 at 8:43 am

This page was created 31 July 1999