Thompson Springs | |
|---|---|
 Thompson Springs, September 2007 | |
 Location inGrand County and the state ofUtah | |
| Coordinates:38°57′49″N109°42′13″W / 38.96361°N 109.70361°W /38.96361; -109.70361 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Grand |
| Founded | 1880s |
| Named after | E.W. Thompson |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.19 sq mi (8.25 km2) |
| • Land | 3.19 sq mi (8.25 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 5,082 ft (1,549 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 34 |
| • Density | 11/sq mi (4.1/km2) |
| ZIP code | 84540 |
| Area code | 435 |
| FIPS code | 49-76180 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2584780[1] |
Thompson Springs, also officially known for a time as justThompson, is a smallcensus-designated place in centralGrand County,Utah, United States. The population was 39 at the2010 census.[3] The town is just north of the east–west highway route shared byInterstate 70,U.S. Route 6 andU.S. Route 50, between Crescent Junction andCisco.Moab, thecounty seat, is 37 miles (60 km) to the south. Thompson Springs is located in high desert country with theBook Cliffs just to the north.
Evidence of human habitation or use of the Thompson Springs area can be dated back to theArchaic Period, when beautifulpictographs were left inThompson Canyon. SubsequentAnasazi,Fremont, andUte tribes have also left their mark upon the area. The site of this rock art in Thompson Canyon has been designated as theThompson Wash Rock Art District.
Thompson Springs was named for E.W. Thompson, who lived near the springs and operated asawmill to the north near the Book Cliffs.[4][5] The town began life in the late nineteenth century as astation stop on theDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), which had been completed through the area in 1883. A post office at the site was established in 1890, under the name "Thompson's". (The official designation by theUnited States Postal Service is still "Thompson".)[6] The town was a community center for the small number of farmers and ranchers living in the inhospitable region, and it was also a prominent shipping point forcattle that were run in the Book Cliffs area.Stockmen from bothSan Juan and Grand counties used Thompson.
Thompson gained importance in the early twentieth century due to the development ofcoal mines in Sego Canyon, north of town. Commercial mining in Sego Canyon began in 1911, and that year theBallard and Thompson Railroad was constructed to connect the mines with the railhead at Thompson. The railroad branch line and mines continued operating until about 1950.
For many years the city was served by various D&RGW passenger trains, including theScenic Limited, theExposition Flyer, theProspector, theCalifornia Zephyr (where it was a flag stop, though the timetable for 1969 shows it as a regular stop), and theRio Grande Zephyr. AlthoughAmtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) took over nearly all passenger rail service in the United States in 1971, the D&RGW continued service through the area until 1983. Subsequently, for the next fourteen years, the city was served by various Amtrak trains, including theCalifornia Zephyr, theDesert Wind, and thePioneer.
Construction of I-70 two miles south of Thompson Springs drew traffic away from the city as the former Old Cisco Highway (US 6 and US-50)[7] (now named Frontage Road) was no longer used. The later movement of the passenger train stop about 25 miles (40 km) to the west inGreen River (Green River station) in 1997 led to further economic hardship for Thompson Springs.[Note 1]
The original name for this settlement was "Thompson Springs", a name that was reinstated in 1985.[8] Much of the town is uninhabited today, although there are still some operating businesses in the immediate vicinity of I-70.[11]
The MoabUranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project is auraniumtailings removal and relocation project that promises to bring jobs to the area as tailings from the Atlas Mineral Company's tailings ponds outside of Moab will be moved to Crescent Junction, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Thompson Springs.[12]
As of the census[2] of 2020, there were 34 people living in the CDP (down from 39 in 2010). There were 23 housing units. Theracial makeup of the town was 85.3% White, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.
While the community is situated just north ofInterstate 70/U.S. Route 6/U.S. Route 50 (I‑70/US‑6/US‑50), the community is connected to that transportation corridor byState Route 94, which runs south from the center of town to an interchange with I‑70/US‑6/US‑50. Prior to the construction of I‑70, US‑6/US‑50 ran through the center of town. The Union Pacific Railroad runs through Thompson Springs, but Amtrak service via a flag stop was discontinued in 1994.
TheThompson Wash Rock Art District (which is also referred to as the Sego Canyon Rock Art Interpretive Site by theBureau of Land Management) is an archeological site located inThompson Canyon (about 3.5 miles [5.6 km] north of Thompson Springs) that was named afterThompson Wash and is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. The district includes several well-preserved groupspetroglyphs (images etched into the rock surface) andpictographs (images painted onto the rock surface) left by earlyNative Americans in three different styles (each with their own panel):Fremont,Ute andBarrier Canyon.[13][14] As such it provides fairly rare opportunity to compare all three the styles in one location,[15] particularly a site that is easily accessible.[16] TheFremont culture thrived from A.D. 600 to 1250 and was contemporary with theAnasazi culture of theFour Corners area. TheArchaic period dated from 7000 B.C., while theBarrier Canyon period from around 400 A.D., and theUte tribe dating from A.D. 1300.
Though the railroad still runs through Thompson today, the final death knell occurred when Thompson'sflag stop station, which provided service for Amtrak travelers, was finally closed in 1994.
Media related toThompson Springs, Utah at Wikimedia Commons
Municipalities and communities ofGrand County, Utah,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDP | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
