Hamblin, now a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, was a

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 ...

pioneer

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

along the

Mormon Road Mormon Road, also known to the 49ers as the Southern Route, of the California Trail in the Western United States, was a seasonal wagon road pioneered by a Mormon party from Salt Lake City, Utah led by Jefferson Hunt, that followed the route of S ...

, from 1856 to 1905. It was located at an elevation of 5,832 feet in Mountain Meadow in western

Washington County, Utah Washington County is a county in the southwestern corner of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 180,279, making it the fifth-most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is St. Geor ...

, United States.

History

Jacob Hamblin Jacob Hamblin (April 2, 1819 – August 31, 1886) was a Western pioneer, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a diplomat to various Native American tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. He a ...

started a ranch and built a house for his family in 1856 overlooking Mountain Meadow soon after the building of the 1855 Leach Cutoff of the Mormon Road, a wagon road that passed from Mountain Meadow to

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India (especially in Mangalore, Karnata ...

, through Leach Canyon to

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. Located south of Salt Lake City, it is north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Utah, Interstate 15. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City. It is the home of the Ut ...

was built nearby. This saved 15 miles from the older route from Cedar City through Iron Springs, Antelope Springs, Pinto Creek (at modern

Newcastle, Utah Newcastle (also New Castle) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Iron County, Utah, United States. It lies along State Route 56, west of Cedar City. Newcastle has a post office with the ZIP code of ...

), to the north end of Mountain Meadow, in Holt Canyon. Other settlers soon came to ranch or farm, forming a settlement with homes that were built along a street with the church and school at the far end. It was called Fort Hamblin, later shortened to Hamblin. Drinking water for the town came from Hamblin Spring, a clear spring near the village at . Farms were irrigated springs in the Meadow. These settlers sold food and supplies to drovers of herds using the meadow, and immigrants, and teamsters passing along the wagon road. At the time of the 1857

Mountain Meadows Massacre A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, the seventeen children who survived, were brought to the town and were cared for there before they were returned to their relatives in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. In 1869, Jacob Hamblin received a call from

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

to establish an Indian mission at Fort Kanab and left with his family. After the railroads came to Utah in 1869 the Mormon Road ceased to be a major thoroughfare and Hamblin became a backwater. Over the decades since 1847 when the wagon road was established, the 16 mile long, lush spring fed meadow Fremont described was overgrazed by the passing herds, pack and wagon teams, causing increasing floods and consequent erosion, that also lowered the water table and dried up the springs that watered the meadow. Eventually this caused the people of Hamblin to relocate, many going to

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

, and the site became mostly deserted by 1890.

The Site Today

Hamblin Cemetery and a few foundations of homes are all that remains of this town, in the Hamblin Historical Site. The site is off Pinto Road, a dirt road heading east off of State Highway 18 around Mile Marker 34. There are signs leading to the Hamblin Cemetery on FR010 and FR732. The town site is about a mile northeast of the cemetery. HAMBLIN, UTAH (aka Fort Hamblin)
from wchsutah.org, WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah) accessed December 8, 2015

References

External links

photo by Kevin Delaney 2006-10-01 {{Washington County, Utah Ghost towns in Washington County, Utah Populated places established in 1856 Ghost towns in Utah 1856 establishments in Utah Territory Mormon Road