Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes 24 and 95. The population was 219 at the 2010 census. Situated in the Colorado Plateau's cold desert ecological region, the town is just south of the confluence of the

Fremont River The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy Creek near Ha ...

and Muddy Creek, which together form the

Dirty Devil River The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Cours ...

, which then flows southeast to the Colorado River. The

Hanksville-Burpee Quarry Hanksville-Burpee Quarry is the name given a paleontological excavation site approximately wide by long near Hanksville, Utah, USA, where scientists have found a large mix of remains of sauropods, trees, freshwater clams and other species dating ...

is located nearby, and the Mars Desert Research Station is northwest of town. The

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

's Henry Mountains field station is located in Hanksville.

History

The town was settled in 1882 and known for a time for the name given to the surrounding area, Graves Valley. It took the name of Hanksville in 1885, after Ebenezer Hanks, an early settler. It was not incorporated until January 6, 1999. The

REA REA or Rea may refer to: Places * Rea, Lombardy, in Italy * Rea, Missouri, United States * River Rea, a river in Birmingham, England * River Rea, Shropshire, a river in Shropshire, England * Rea, Hungarian name of Reea village in Totești Commun ...

brought electricity to the community in 1960. Today agriculture, mining, and tourism are the main drivers to the local economy. Tourism is particularly important with people coming for recreation at

Lake Powell Lake Powell is an artificial reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It is the second largest artificial reservoir by maximum ...

, Capitol Reef National Park, the Henry Mountains, the

San Rafael Swell The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. The San Rafael Swell, measuring approximately , consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limeston ...

, Goblin Valley State Park, and the solitude of the surrounding deserts and slot canyons. Hanksville was a supply post for

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West. Parker engaged in crimina ...

and the Wild Bunch, who would hide out at

Robbers Roost The Robbers Roost was an outlaw hideout in southeastern Utah used mostly by Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang in the closing years of the Old West. The hideout was considered ideal because of the rough terrain. It was easily defended, dif ...

in the desert southeast of town. During the uranium mining frenzy following World War II, Hanksville became a supply center for the prospectors and miners scouring the deserts of the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...

. Many abandoned mines can be found in the deserts surrounding the town.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, 219 people lived in the town. There were 94 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 98.2% White, 0.5% Asian, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Hanksville has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. It has a mean annual temperature of 52.88 °F (11.6 °C) and an annual mean rainfall of 5.76 in (146.3 mm).

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Utah Towns in Wayne County, Utah Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Utah Territory

History

Demographics

Climate

See also

References

External links