Castleton, Utah

Castleton is a ghost town located on the La Sal Mountain Loop Road some convert|18|mi northeast of Moab in Grand County, Utah, United States. The nearest inhabited town is Castle Valley.

History

A short-lived gold placer mining camp existed here in the 1860s,cite book | last = Thompson | first = George A. | title = Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures | year = 1982 | month = November | publisher = Dream Garden Press | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-942688-01-5 | pages = p.122] but the area was first settled by a prospector named Doby Brown in the late 1870s or early 1880s. By 1882 enough settlers had gathered to establish a post office.cite book | last = Firmage | first = Richard A. | title = A History of Grand County | series = Utah Centennial County History Series | year = 1996 | month = January | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-913738-03-4 | pages = p.137] In 1888 when a local gold rush began at nearby Miners Basin, Castleton became important as a supply town. It had a general store, hotel, two saloons, and several other businesses. At its peak in 1895, the population exceeded that of Moab.cite book | last = Carr | first = Stephen L. | title = The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns | edition = 3rd edition | origyear = 1972 | origmonth = June | year = 1986 | publisher = Western Epics | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-914740-30-X | pages = p.155] In fact, when Grand County was organized in 1890, Castleton vied with Moab for the chance to be county seat.Firmage, p.267.]

The Panic of 1907 closed down the area's mines, and soon ranchers were Castleton's only residents. By 1910 the businesses were gone, leaving only the post office, and the population had dropped to fifty. In 1930 there were six residents. A few people stayed in the dead town for decades, but in 1967 the county commission officially vacated Castleton as an occupied town. [Firmage, p.350.]

References