Matlin, Utah
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Matlin, Utah
| settlement_type = Ghost town
| image_skyline = Matlin,_Utah.jpg
| imagesize =
| image_caption = Looking east at the Matlin siding with the wye in the foreground, unknown date
| pushpin_map = Utah#USA
| pushpin_label = Matlin
| pushpin_label_position = top
| map_caption = Location with in the State of Utah##Location within the United States
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Utah
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = Box Elder
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 1869
| named_for =
| extinct_title = Abandoned
| extinct_date = 1904
| elevation_ft = 4603
| elevation_m = 1403
| coordinates = {{coord|41|33|34|N|113|21|32|W|region:US-UT|display=inline,title}}
| blank_name = GNIS feature ID
}}
Matlin is a ghost town in the northeastern end of the Great Salt Lake Desert in western Box Elder County, Utah, United States.{{gnis|1437996|Matlin}}{{cite map|url=https://www.mytopo.com/maps/?lat=41.559370&lon=-113.358890&z=12|title=Matlin, Matlin, Box Elder, Utah|website=mytopo.com|publisher=Trimble Navigation, Ltd.|accessdate=June 7, 2020}}
Description
{{Historical populations
|align=left
|1870 |15
|1876 |25
|source= Source: Rails East to Promontory{{cite book|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/blm/ut/8/sec2c.htm|title=Rails East to Promontory: The Utah Stations|section=The Promontory Branch Sections: Matlin|last=Raymond|first=Anan S.|last2=Fike|first2=Richard E.|series=Cultural Resource Series|publisher=Bureau of Land Management Utah|date=1994|accessdate=June 7, 2020}}
}}
The former town was established by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) on April 5, 1869. Chinese railroad workers built a small community and facilities to support the track section. The town relied on the railroad through its entire history. In 1904 the site was abandoned when the Lucin Cutoff was finished. Records indicate that the population was 15 people in 1870 and 25 in 1876. These numbers most likely did not include Chinese residents.
All that is left of the town is the profile in the rail grade of a wye built in 1900.
In June 2020, the Matlin Fire (a lightning caused wildfire, which started June 4) eventually burned about {{convert|8000|acre|ha}} in the area surrounding Matlin. The fire damaged some, and destroyed many other, significant artifacts that had previously remained at the site. In describing the area after the fire, Chris Merritt (a historic preservation officer for the Utah Division of State History) stated, "It just looked like this giant shadow across the land, like driving into Mordor."{{cite news|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/46761824/utah-wildfire-destroyed-nearly-150-year-old-pieces-of-transcontinental-railroad-history|title=Utah wildfire destroyed nearly 150-year-old pieces of transcontinental railroad history|last=Williams|first=Carter|work=ksl.com|publisher=Deseret Digital Media|date=June 6, 2020|accessdate=June 7, 2020}}
See also
{{stack|{{portal|Utah}}}}
References
{{reflist|22em}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Matlin, Utah}}
{{Box Elder County, Utah}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Ghost towns in Box Elder County, Utah
Category:Populated places established in 1869
Category:1869 establishments in Utah Territory
{{Utah-geo-stub}}