Golden, Utah facts for kids

Golden is a ghost town located in Box Elder County, Utah, in the United States. It sits about 6 miles (10 km) west of Park Valley. You can find it near the southern part of the Raft River Mountains. A ghost town is a place that used to be a busy community but is now mostly empty.

The Start of Golden: A Mining Town

Golden began around 1900. This happened after people found lots of gold in the Raft River Mountains. The main camp that grew around these gold discoveries was named Golden.

As miners dug deeper, they started finding more silver than gold. Some of the silver ore was very rich. It could contain up to 1,000 ounces (about 28 kilograms) of silver per ton! Because of these rich mines, Golden grew quickly. About 500 people lived there at its busiest time.

Why Golden Became a Ghost Town

In 1907, a big money problem hit America. It was called the panic of 1907. This crisis hurt the mining business badly. Regular money became hard to find. Instead, people had to use special paper called scrip, which was almost worthless.

Because of this, many miners left Golden. The town's general store even moved its goods to nearby towns like Park Valley and Rosette. Soon after, the town of Golden was completely empty.

Golden's Brief Comeback

Golden had a short return to life a few years later. In 1910, some mines opened again. Then, in 1920, the town saw a small boom. This happened when a new, very rich silver deposit was found in a place called Vipont.

To process the silver, a special track called a tramway was built. It went from the Vipont Mine to a concentrating mill. This mill helped separate the valuable silver from the rock. About 300 workers were hired, and they were paid well. People continued to ship ore from the Golden area until the 1940s.