Ghost Towns and Graveyards

It’s official—October is here, 
and that means Halloween is just around the corner!

 (Imagine creepy music here)

I’m actually a scaredy cat at heart. Scary movies and blood and gore tend to give me the heebie jeebies, yet I love Halloween. It’s the one time during the year when I can make fun of my fears and face them in a non-threatening way. When else can I dress up as something from my childhood nightmares and have fun?  It’s also a time when I can share with my kids the strange and unusual things of this world. And let’s face it—sometimes it’s just fun to get creeped out.

Fall is interesting to say the least. Summer is gone and the world is changing around us. Plants and trees grow unusual and strange looking seed pods--knobby and gnarled. Leaves change color, and gardens shrivel up and die. It’s the perfect time to take the family out to enjoy the unusual.

Top on my list for fall outings are ghost towns and old graveyards, and this October we are also going to take a tour of a mortuary. Creepy? I can’t wait! Besides satisfying our curiosity, it’s also quite educational. 

And ghost towns and graveyards are a great way to introduce our children to the local history. I suggest taking a tour though Sego canyon just outside of Crescent Junction Utah for a great outing.  

The first thing you’ll notice is the ghost-like pictographs and petroglyphs that seem to haunt the canyon walls. Ute, Fremont, and Barrier styles, among others, have been discovered throughout the canyon.

Then visit the graveyard and ghost town for another excursion through history. The old coal mining town had quite a few buildings and homes, but due to a dwindling water supply and other problems the mine only operated from 1911 to 1947 before it closed completely. Only a few structures remain standing, but you can find several foundations and buried mine shaft entrances if you explore.

October is a great month to take the family out for some "creepy" fun, so get out there and do some exploring of your own. 

If you want to visit Sego Canyon here are the directions:

East from Green River going towards Grand Juction--Take Exit 185 off I-70, proceed on State Highway 94 through Thompson, and continue driving approximately three miles to Sego Canyon. Major rock art panels are visible from the road. To reach the ghost town of Sego, drive approximately 0.5 mile further up canyon until you reach a fork in the road. Turn right at the Sego Canyon sign. Proceed for about a mile, and you will see a cemetery and other historic structures.

My Facination With Graveyards

I have what most people would call a strange addiction. I am fascinated with graveyards. The older, the better. There’s just something distinctive about them. When I walk into an old cemetery my skin tingles, my senses seem to move into hyper drive, and I can practically smell the history.

I haven’t always felt this way. While growing up, other than the fun, spooky allure around Halloween time, a cemetery wasn’t top priority on my places to visit. But when I moved to Carbon County I decided to research some of the local history, and with that came some trips to the nearby ghost towns and their cemeteries.

My first experience in a graveyard which made a lasting impression came when I was studying the 1924 Castle Gate Mine disaster. Inadequate watering down of the coal dust and the open flames in the worker’s head lamps sparked an explosion killing everyone (172 men) in the #2 mine owned by the Utah Fuel Company. I was wandering through the old Castle Gate Cemetery, where many of the victims of the mine disaster were laid to rest, when I was drawn to a tall, chalky-white headstone with a commanding presence. A lily was carved into one side with the faith-provoking phrase: “Rock of Ages”. As I looked at the stone pillar I discovered that it was a marker for two graves--a father and son. Both had died in the mine explosion.

 The air around me felt heavy as I thought about the mother who had buried her beloved husband and son there. The somber feeling was compounded as I moved to the other side of the headstone and read this heartfelt inscription:

 “I little thought when they left home, that they would never return. That they in death so soon would sleep, and leave me all alone.” 

 The statement from a bereaved women almost a century ago had reached through time and touched me. Since then, I've been visiting old cemeteries to "feel" the stories left behind.

Castle Gate Cemetery

For me an old cemetery is a quiet place to think about the world. I’m drawn to the rickety fences that enclose the sacred ground, the art and architecture of the tombs and old headstones, and the inscriptions that hint about fascinating stories untold. But most of all I love the feeling—the history and memories that are there, and the sympathy and compassion that I am able to feel for strangers I have never met.      

My most recent graveyard exploration was at the abandoned Woodside Cemetery. 

Woodside Cemetery

A small marker in a bed of rocks signifies the final resting place of "Henry".

Old, rusted barbed wire surrounds these wooden headstones.

 

Antiquated fence encompassing a small family plot.

The hand-carved names in these weather-beaten wood headstones have long since worn away.

 I hope there are a few other people out there that share my appreciation for old graveyards. I plan on visiting several this year, and I'll be posting pictures on my blog, along with any interesting stories I learn along the way.