St. Thomas, Nevada facts for kids

St. Thomas, Nevada, is a ghost town in Nevada, USA. It's located near where the Muddy River meets the Colorado River. This town was bought by the U.S. government and left empty in the 1930s. Why? Because the waters of Lake Mead were rising and covered the town!

Old buildings of St. Thomas appearing again as Lake Mead's water level dropped in February 2007.

A crew floats by an abandoned building as Lake Mead fills with water in June 1938.

But guess what? In the 2000s, the water level in Lake Mead went down. This meant the old buildings of St. Thomas started to appear again! Today, you can find these ruins inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

History of St. Thomas

How the Town Started

The town of St. Thomas was founded in 1865. It was started by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called the LDS Church. A man named Thomas Smith led this group.

At its busiest time, about 500 people lived in St. Thomas. It became a real town with farms and businesses. For a while, it was even the main government center, or "county seat," for Pah-Ute County.

Famous Visitors and Early Challenges

A famous explorer named John Wesley Powell ended his first trip down the Colorado River here in 1869.

In February 1871, the LDS Church members left St. Thomas. This happened because a new land survey changed the border of Nevada. Suddenly, all the LDS towns in the area, including St. Thomas, were in Nevada instead of Arizona or Utah.

The state of Nevada then tried to collect taxes from the people for past years. These taxes had to be paid in gold. So, in 1871, many people chose to leave instead of paying. They moved to Utah and started new towns like Glendale and Orderville.

New Settlers Arrive

When the first settlers left in 1871, other people moved in and claimed the empty properties. One person who stayed was Daniel Bonelli. He farmed, mined, and owned a boat service called Bonelli's Ferry on the Colorado River.

Later, in the 1880s, new LDS settlers came back to St. Thomas and other nearby places.

The Town Goes Under Water

The building of the Hoover Dam changed everything for St. Thomas. As the dam was built, the water level in the Colorado River began to rise. This rising water created Lake Mead.

The town of St. Thomas was slowly covered by the lake. The last person to leave was Hugh Lord, who moved out on June 11, 1938.

St. Thomas Today

The old buildings of St. Thomas became visible again when the water level in Lake Mead dropped. The National Park Service now protects these ruins as a historic site.

The town's old cemetery was moved to Overton, Nevada. In Overton, there's a special center about St. Thomas. It has a staff archaeologist who studies the history of the area.

St. Thomas in Books

The story of St. Thomas has inspired several books:

• The novel Lords of St. Thomas (2018) by Jackson Ellis is about the last family to leave the town in 1938. The main character, Henry Lord, is based on Hugh Lord.
• The book Muddy: Where Faith and Polygamy Collide (2019) by Dean Hughes tells the story of the early LDS pioneers in the settlement.
• The Desert Between Us (2020) by Phyllis Barber also shares stories of early LDS pioneers and the history of the area.

Images for kids

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  A building foundation in St. Thomas, February 2009.