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383:, the population of "Dragon Precinct" (the town and surrounding area) was 287. The output of the Black Dragon Mine was declining, however, and other rich Gilsonite deposits had been discovered to the north. In 1911 the Uintah Railway extended its line northward, establishing a new end-of-line town called
294:
As the commercial mining of
Gilsonite began in 1888, a significant deposit was discovered some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) up Dragon Canyon. Observers said that the vein of the black substance formed the shape of a dragon along the surface of the ground, and the operation was named the Black Dragon Mine.
422:
replaced trains for hauling
Gilsonite. People started to abandon Dragon, Rainbow, and Watson. In 1939 Dragon's population was just 72, mostly railroad workers. Having lost the majority of its freight business, the Uintah Railway ceased operation in 1939. The
365:, it was still burning two years later. Also in 1908, an explosion in the Black Dragon Mine killed two miners. In 1910, a costly fire sparked in stored Gilsonite completely destroyed the Uintah Railway warehouse, along with hundreds of tons of
250:. Although it declined when the terminus moved farther north in 1911, Dragon survived as the largest of the Gilsonite towns. It was abandoned after its mining operations stopped in 1938 and the Uintah Railway went out of business in 1939.
345:
As the terminal station on the only railroad ever to enter the Uinta Basin, Dragon began to boom. At the completion of the railroad, the town had a depot, warehouse, locomotive shops, store, boarding house, homes, two
403:
pens at Dragon. Enough people remained in 1917 to support a renovation of the Dragon schoolhouse. The census precinct, greatly expanded but still named for Dragon, reported populations of 487 in
399:
were still here, Dragon remained the stable population center in the
Gilsonite mining area. The railroad saw the need to encourage the shipping of diverse products, and in 1912 they built large
430:
Only ruins remain at the Dragon site. There is a rubble pile where the hotel stood, a sidewalk that ran to the old schoolhouse, some foundations, and a small cemetery.
376:
was established in Dragon, with an unusual arrangement. The Uintah
Railway would transport library books free of charge to and from any borrower along its route.
707:
960:
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The mine and town developed slowly at first, because of the difficulty of transporting the
Gilsonite out of the area. The town received its first
282:, found nowhere else in the world at the time, that run southeast to northwest through this region. The present-day center of Gilsonite mining,
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Dragon lies on the tiny
Evacuation Creek at the mouth of Dragon Canyon, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the
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310:, in 1901. In 1902, subsidiaries of the Gilson Asphaltum Company took over the Black Dragon Mine and began work on a
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361:. In 1908, a fire started in one section of Dragon's Gilsonite vein. A nearly inextinguishable fire similar to a
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was soon given to both the canyon and the mining camp that grew up in the flat area at the canyon's mouth.
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mining camp, Dragon boomed in the first decade of the 20th century as the end-of-line town for the
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has been isolated and barren throughout modern times. The reason for the town's existence was the
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588:. Utah Centennial County History Series. Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society.
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By 1938, all of the
Gilsonite mining activity moved still further north, to the
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911:‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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area. The Dragon and
Rainbow mines closed down. Trucks to Vernal and
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Dragon
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547:(3rd ed.). Salt Lake City: Western Epics. pp. 64–65.
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654:. Utah Department of Community and Culture. Archived from
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reached Dragon, where it stopped. The company also built
286:, is about 25 miles (40 km) to the north of Dragon.
505:. Salt Lake City: Dream Garden Press. pp. 107–108.
503:
Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost
Treasures
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recorded a "South Dragon precinct" population of 10.
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4 miles (6.4 km) to the southwest of Watson to
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262:state line and 65 miles (105 km) southeast of
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582:A History of Uintah County: Scratching the Surface
387:9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Dragon, with a
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357:mixture, and Dragon experienced a number of
242:, United States. Founded in about 1888 as a
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545:The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns
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782:Map of Utah highlighting Uintah County
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579:Burton, Doris Karren (January 1996).
501:Thompson, George A. (November 1982).
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624:. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from
879:Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
961:Ghost towns in Uintah County, Utah
716:Municipalities and communities of
622:"Census of Population and Housing"
14:
238:, at the extreme eastern edge of
18:Ghost town in Utah, United States
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314:to serve the mine. In 1904 the
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322:to Vernal and Fort Duchesne,
102:Show map of the United States
210:5,771 ft (1,759 m)
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956:Mining communities in Utah
543:Carr, Stephen L. (1986) .
99:Dragon (the United States)
66:Location of Dragon in Utah
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353:Gilsonite is a flammable
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131:39.78583°N 109.07333°W
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929:United States portal
312:narrow gauge railway
136:39.78583; -109.07333
951:Ghost towns in Utah
719:Uintah County, Utah
648:"Cemetery Database"
628:on February 8, 2006
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652:Utah State History
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316:Uintah Railway
304:telegraph line
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112:Coordinates:
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660:. Retrieved
656:the original
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630:. Retrieved
626:the original
599:. Retrieved
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922:Utah portal
871:reservation
841:communities
734:County seat
440:Art Pollard
425:1940 census
407:and 452 in
381:1910 census
355:hydrocarbon
336:White River
332:toll bridge
328:Green River
274:of natural
268:Uinta Basin
181:Established
134: /
122:109°04′24″W
945:Categories
890:Ghost town
829:Whiterocks
468:References
397:roundhouse
372:In 1910 a
320:toll roads
232:ghost town
218:feature ID
119:39°47′09″N
33:Ghost town
907:Footnotes
389:spur line
334:over the
295:The name
280:Gilsonite
254:Geography
244:Gilsonite
207:Elevation
198:Named for
189:Abandoned
824:Randlett
601:July 16,
451:See also
330:, and a
260:Colorado
869:Indian
859:Tridell
814:Lapoint
799:Bonanza
759:Ballard
662:June 9,
632:June 7,
446:driver.
416:Bonanza
393:Rainbow
379:At the
367:freight
348:saloons
340:Ignatio
326:on the
324:ferries
290:History
284:Bonanza
278:called
276:asphalt
221:1437547
192:c. 1940
148:Country
898:Dragon
849:Gusher
819:Maeser
809:Jensen
769:Vernal
764:Naples
751:Cities
741:Vernal
680:Dragon
592:
551:
509:
385:Watson
297:Dragon
264:Vernal
228:Dragon
175:Uintah
170:County
93:Dragon
60:Dragon
25:Dragon
854:Ouray
839:Other
586:(PDF)
306:, to
272:veins
230:is a
158:State
791:CDPs
664:2010
634:2010
603:2012
590:ISBN
549:ISBN
507:ISBN
409:1930
405:1920
240:Utah
216:GNIS
184:1888
163:Utah
338:at
234:in
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881:‡
709:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
