Connellsville, Utah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Connellsville, Utah
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 Connellsville, Utah
Location in Utah
Connellsville, Utah
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Emery |
| Established | 1874 |
| Abandoned | 1878 |
| Named for | Connellsville, Pennsylvania |
Connellsville is a fascinating ghost town in Emery County, Utah. It was once a busy place where people mined coal and made a special fuel called coke. This town was located high in the mountains of Coal Canyon, near Huntington Canyon. It was the very first settlement in what is now Emery County. Connellsville only existed for a short time, from 1874 to 1878. Today, this old town is completely hidden underwater, beneath Electric Lake.
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What Was Connellsville?
Connellsville was a small town built for workers. It was called a "company town" because one company owned most of it. The main job here was coal mining and making coke. Coke is a special type of fuel made from coal. It burns very hot and was used in places called smelters. Smelters are factories where metal is melted down.
Why Was Connellsville Built?
In May 1874, a company called the Fairview Coal Mining and Coke Company started mining coal in Coal Canyon. They needed to make coke for the smelters in Salt Lake City. The town was named Connellsville after a big coke-making center in Connellsville, Pennsylvania.
Life in Connellsville
Connellsville was a small town. Only a few dozen miners and coke-oven workers lived there. This was the first time anyone had mined coal for business in the Wasatch Plateau area. It happened even before the big coal mining towns in Carbon County became popular.
Why Did Connellsville Disappear?
Connellsville didn't last long. The coal found there wasn't very good for making coke. Also, it was hard to transport the coal and coke from the remote mountain location. By 1878, the company decided the project wasn't working. The town was abandoned, and most of the miners moved to another town called Winter Quarters.
What Happened After?
After Connellsville closed, people only mined its coal sometimes. They used it mostly to heat homes in the Sanpete Valley. For many years, you could still see parts of the old ghost town. There were cabins and the remains of the coke ovens.
Connellsville Under Water
In 1973, a new lake called Electric Lake was built. This lake covered the area where Connellsville once stood. Before the water rose, a company called Utah Power paid for a special study. This study was an archaeological survey of the area. Archaeologists are like history detectives. They look for clues about how people lived in the past. They even rebuilt one of the old coke ovens on higher ground. This way, it would not be covered by the water. Today, the rest of the old town of Connellsville is completely underwater.
