Winter Quarters, Carbon County, Utah Genealogy

Quick History


Winter Quarters is a class 4 mining ghost town, in Carbon County. The first commercial coal town in Utah originally called Peaceful Valley, where a few pioneers lived and grazed their cattle. The community changed in 1875 with the discovery of coal. By 1877, hundreds of miners moved in and a town suddenly emerged. The winter of 1877 came early and was very severe, keeping the miners snowbound until the following February. The town was renamed Winter Quarters.

By 1900, there were 2000 families living in Winter Quarters. On May 1, 1900, while the town was celebrating Dewey Day, an explosion occurred in mine #4, caused by coal dust. One hundred men were killed by the explosion and intense heat. Carbon monoxide spread to mine #1, killing 99 more men. After the extinguishing of the mine fires, the mine was eventually reopened and produced coal for another 28 years. It was determined the coal was of poor quality, so the mine was closed forever in 1928.

Many of the homes and families moved to Scofield or Castle Gate, when Castle Gate closed, they moved to Helper.

Location

 * Coordinates: 39°43′14″N 111°11′16″W.

Maps

 * 1895 Map of Carbon County

Neighboring Communities
Scofield | Clear Creek | Electric Lake

Time Line

 * 1870: Agricultural community begun
 * 1875: Coal discovered
 * 1877: Miners arrived and town booms
 * 1900: Two thousands families lived in Winter Quarters
 * 1900, May 1: One hundred ninetynine men were killed in mine explosion and subsequent gas release.
 * 1928: Mine closed, miners relocated to Scofield and Castle Gate

Biographies

 * Memorial to those who lost their lives in coal mines in Utah in the 19th &amp; 20th centuries Lists name, date of accident, and mine.

Cemeteries

 * Winter Quarters Findagrave.com
 * Scofield Cemetery Findagrave.com

Check cemeteries in neighboring communities.


 * Carbon County Gravestone Photo Project
 * Carbon County Cemeteries Findagrave.com

Historical Newspapers

 * Carbon County News 1908 - 1915
 * Eastern Utah Advocate 1891 - 1916
 * News Advocate 1915 - 1932
 * Carbon County Newspaper Articles

Societies, Museums and Libraries

 * The Western Mining and Railroad Museum

294 South Main Helper, Utah 84526 Phone: (435) 472-3009

Marriages

 * Marriage information may be located at the Western States Marriage Database searchable by bride or groom.

Death

 * Winter Quarters Mine Disaster

A total of 199 men died in the May 1, 1900 explosion and gas release. 150 were buried in the Scofield Cemetery. Two funeral trains took the rest of the bodies to outlying communities and states for burial. The disaster left 107 widows and 270 fatherless children. For a list, see Miners Killed in the Winter Quarters Mine Explosion May 1, 1900 at UTGenWeb - free.


 * Utah Department of Archives 1903 to 50 years ago Choices of search types - name, date of death (year, month, day, or any combination) and county. Images of actual death certificates.


 * 1904-1956 - Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed on the Family Search Historical Records. Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed.  A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.  For information on death prior to 1904 you can search the Utah State Burial Index.


 * 1921-1937 - Scofield and Winter Quarters Death Certificates Index at UTGenWeb - free.

Suggested Reading

 * Connecting the West : historic railroad stops and stage stations of Elko County, Nevada 
 * The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns.
 * Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures
 * Pioneers of Carbon County

Websites

 * Ghost Town of Winter Quarters
 * Legends of America Winter Quarters
 * List of Mines in Carbon County
 * Prairieghosts.com
 * Silver Mining in the Beehive State
 * Utah Ghost Towns
 * Utah Mining
 * Winter Quarters History at onlineutah.com
 * Winter Quarters photographs
 * Winter Quarters Mining Disaster
 * Winter Quarters Photos