Argyle is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

located in Rich County,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, United States. Lying some southwest of

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

on Big Creek, it was inhabited from approximately 1875–1915.

History

''Circa'' 1875, John Kennedy, Sr. (the great-grandfather of David M. Kennedy) settled the area with his three sons (one of whom, John Kennedy, Jr. later served in the Utah State legislature), who built homes and ranches along the various branches of Big Creek. Within a few years several other

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

families moved in and established a local church group. The town became known as ''Kennedyville''. In 1885 the community organized a school system, and the mostly Scottish American residents voted to rename the town ''Argyle'' in honor of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. School was originally held in Kennedy's home until a one-room brick schoolhouse was built in 1895. The cold climate made farming difficult, and the population grew slowly. There were 111 inhabitants in 1900, and just over 125 in 1910 when a second room was built onto the schoolhouse. Argyle declined as transportation improved and farmers no longer had to live as close to their fields. The school was considered inferior to the education available in nearby Randolph, and Argyle had no stores or other services of its own. In 1913 the local church organization was discontinued, and in 1915 the school itself closed and merged with the one in Randolph. Most of the residents moved to Randolph and kept their farms in the Argyle area. Although the town is deserted, numerous buildings and walls still stand at Argyle. It is surrounded by

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

fields and closed to the public, but the ruins can easily be seen from the road.

References

External links

Argyle
at GhostTowns.com {{Rich County, Utah Ghost towns in Rich County, Utah Ghost towns in Utah Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Utah Territory