Watson, Utah

Ghost town in Utah

Ghost town in Utah, United States

39°52′54.8″N 109°09′30.6″W / 39.881889°N 109.158500°W / 39.881889; -109.158500CountryUnited StatesStateUtahCountyUintahEstablished1911Abandonedc. 1939Named forWallace G. WatsonElevation

5,378 ft (1,639 m)

Watson is a ghost town in Uintah County, at the extreme eastern edge of Utah, United States. Watson was founded November 19, 1911,^[1] when an extension to the Uintah Railway moved the terminus of the line to Watson from Dragon.^[2]

Geography

Watson is located south of the White River along Evacuation Creek, just North of the ghost town Dragon and the Black Dragon Gilsonite mine. The present-day center of Gilsonite mining, Bonanza, is about 20 miles (32 km) to the north of Watson.

History

The Town was named after Wallace G. Watson, the Civil Engineer who designed the Uintah Railroad that ran from Dragon to Watson along Evacuation Creek. The town was made up of a rail depot, a few houses, a hotel, a post office, a school, a telephone office, and a warehouse. Without a railway north into Vernal, sending items through the mail was often cheaper, so many items came through the post office. The town once had around 750 people living there.^[3] The Hotel, named the Watson Hotel was owned by the Railway company.

Notable people

Wallace G. Watson^[4]

References

^ Wright, Christian L. (January 11, 2012). Ghost Towns and Gilsonite of the Uinta Basin (PDF) (Report). Buried Electric Records. p. 15. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ Carr, Stephen L.; Edwards, Robert W. (1989). Utah Ghost Rails. Western Epics. p. 197. ISBN 0914740342.
^ "Dragon or Watson - Utah Ghost Town". www.ghosttowns.com. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
^ Carr, Stephen L. (1986). The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns (3rd [rev. and enl.] ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics. ISBN 0-914740-30-X. OCLC 14255125.