Watson, Utah

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Watson

| settlement_type = Ghost town

| image_skyline =

| imagesize =

| image_caption =

| pushpin_map = Utah#USA

| pushpin_label_position = left

| map_caption = Location of Watson in Utah

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = United States

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = Utah

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name2 = Uintah

| established_title = Established

| established_date = 19 November 1911

| named_for = Wallace G. Watson

| extinct_title = Abandoned

| extinct_date = {{circa|1939}}

| elevation_ft = 5378

| elevation_m = 1639

| coordinates = {{coord|39|52|54.8|N|109|09|30.6|W|region:US-UT|display=inline,title}}

}}

Watson is a ghost town in Uintah County, at the extreme eastern edge of Utah, United States. Watson was founded on 19 November 1911,{{cite report |url=http://ghosts.noisenobodys.com/ghost_towns_and_gilsonite.pdf |page=15 |title=Ghost Towns and Gilsonite of the Uinta Basin |first=Christian L. |last=Wright

|date=January 11, 2012 |access-date=April 21, 2023 |publisher=Buried Electric Records}} when an extension to the Uintah Railway moved the terminus of the line to Watson from Dragon.{{cite book |isbn=0914740342 |title=Utah Ghost Rails |last1= Carr |first1=Stephen L. |page=197 |publisher=Western Epics |year=1989 |first2=Robert W. |last2=Edwards}}

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 {{convert|20|mi|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.{{Cite web |title=Dragon or Watson - Utah Ghost Town |url=https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/dragon.html |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=www.ghosttowns.com}} The Hotel, named the Watson Hotel was owned by the Railway company.

Notable people

Wallace G. Watson{{Cite book |last=Carr |first=Stephen L. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14255125 |title=The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns |date=1986 |publisher=Western Epics |isbn=0-914740-30-X |edition=3rd [rev. and enl.] |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |oclc=14255125}}

References

External links

Category:Ghost towns in Utah

Category:Mining communities in Utah

Category:Ghost towns in Uintah County, Utah