Mohrland 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

Emery County Emery County is a county in east-central Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,976. Its county seat is Castle Dale, and the largest city is Huntington. History Prehistory Occupation of the San Rafael ...

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 ...

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. Lying in Cedar Creek Canyon near the Carbon County line, Mohrland was Emery County's largest

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

town, with a history more typical of Carbon County's coal camps than of most Emery County communities.

History

Coal mining in Cedar Creek Canyon began on a small scale sometime before 1896, producing coal mainly for local home heating use. In 1907 an investment group bought the mine and surrounding land. They incorporated as the Castle Valley Fuel Company and surveyed a townsite called ''Mohrland''. The name was formed as an

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from the initials of the surnames of the company's principal investors: Mays, Orem, Heiner, and Rice. Coal started shipping by April 1910, and despite Castle Valley Fuel's financial problems, the town continued growing. A business district was soon established in Mohrland, including a hospital, company boarding house, Errol Charlestrom's Wasatch Store, a post office, and several

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. In 1915 ownership of the mine was transferred to the United States Fuel Company, which also ran the town of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...

just to the north. By 1920 Mohrland had over 200 houses, a large amusement hall, and a school. The population was about 1000. Mohrland was a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

throughout its history; the mine owners essentially ran the town. The company worked to make it a pleasant place to live, despite its location at the edge of the desert. The streets were lined with shade trees, and a small stream ran along the canyon bottom. Mine employees'

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included medical services, as well as regularly scheduled dances, films, and other social events. Mohrland's company

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team was particularly popular and successful. In the spring of 1915, as champions of the Carbon County league, they played an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

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against the

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, drawing an audience of over 10,000, but losing by a score of 17 to 1. The most successful years were the early 1920s, but by 1925 coal prices and profits were down. On March 1, 1925, U.S. Fuel closed down the mine without warning, leaving Mohrland's residents without jobs and without credit at the

company store A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

. Many people had no money or food. The company reopened Mohrland just as suddenly in September 1926, and the town struggled back to its feet. In 1930 the population was 620. Coal production continued to become less profitable during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1938 U.S. Fuel announced a decision to close Mohrland and consolidate mining operations at Hiawatha, which had a slightly shorter shipping route and more room to build a new preparation plant. The buildings were sold to a salvage company for $50 each, and very little of the town was left behind.

References

External links

*
Mohrland
at GhostTowns.com {{authority control Company towns in Utah Ghost towns in Emery County, Utah Mining communities in Utah Populated places established in 1907 Ghost towns in Utah

History

See also

References

External links