Soldier Summit, Utah
Soldier Summit, Utah | |
---|---|
Unincorporated community | |
Country | United States |
State | Utah |
County | Wasatch |
Founded | 1919 |
Incorporated | 1921 |
Disincorporated | 1984 |
Founded by | H.C. Mears |
Time zone | Mountain (MST) |
• Summer (DST) | MDT |
Soldier Summit | |
---|---|
Wasatch Mountains | |
Coordinates | 39°55′43″N 111°04′59″W / 39.92861°N 111.08306°W |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1920 | 270 | — | |
1930 | 319 | 18.1% | |
1940 | 97 | −69.6% | |
1950 | 93 | −4.1% | |
1960 | 33 | −64.5% | |
1970 | 13 | −60.6% | |
1980 | 12 | −7.7% |
Soldier Summit is the name of both a
At one time both the state highway department and the railroad had operations at the summit, but with the exception of a gas station that is sometimes open, the town site is now abandoned. Today it is a popular rest stop and photo spot for railfans. Many railfans also take pictures of the Gilluly loops, a series of horseshoe curves on the western approach to the summit. The California Zephyr Amtrak passenger train uses this route.
History
Spanish Friars
In 1919, a real estate promoter named H.C. Mears surveyed a townsite at Soldier Summit and began to sell building lots. The town was incorporated in 1921. There were stores, hotels, saloons, restaurants, two churches, and a school.
Over the next few decades, the town dwindled away. In 1948 there were 47 students at the Soldier Summit school. The next year enrollment dropped to 11, but the school stayed open. It was not until 1973 that the school was closed and the last few students sent to schools in Carbon County.[4]
By 1979 there were only about a dozen adult residents left, but Soldier Summit still had four part-time police officers enforcing a community speed limit on the stretch of highway passing through town. When motorists complained of a
The town was finally disincorporated in 1984. Other than the gas station and two or three occupied houses, Soldier Summit is uninhabited. An old two-room jail, a few deserted houses, and several acres of foundations and crumbling walls are all that remains of the former town.[6]
Railroad
Helper derives its name from Soldier Summit. During the
References
- ISBN 0-942688-01-5.
- ^ "Soldier Summit". Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- Deseret Book. pp. 807–808.
- ISBN 0-913738-08-5. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ Embry, pp.306–307.
- ISBN 0-914740-30-X.
- ^ "Union Pacific - Route Elevations". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
- ^ "BNSF - Route Elevations". BNSF Railway. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.