Kelton, Box Elder, Utah Genealogy

Quick History
Kelton is a class 3 ghost town, just north of the Great Salt Lake, in the Park Valley area of Box Elder County. Also known at Indian Creek, it was the center for stage coach and freight lines running between Utah and into Idaho and Oregon. The town was inhabited during the period 1869–1942. A large Chinese population lived in Kelton and with the completion of the railroad a few stayed. Once an important section station on the First Transcontinental Railroad, Kelton was dependent on the railroad and the stage coach routes.

At it's peek, Kelton had the population of 700. There were weekly, if not daily, hold-ups on the stage coach. The town suffered serious setbacks in the 1880s when its busy stagecoach route to Boise, Idaho was discontinued, and in the 1903 when the Lucin Cutoff left it off the main rail line. The strongest earthquake in Utah history caused severe damage in 1934, but Kelton didn't actually cease to exist until the rails were completely removed in in 1942 during World War II.


 * Kelton History and genealogies
 * Kelton History

Location

 * GPS Location: 41° 44′ 46″ N, 113° 6′ 23″ W Google

Maps

 * 1895 Map of Box Elder County

Time Line

 * 1869: Established
 * 1903: Population decreased when Kelton was settled
 * 1936: Shipping center with population of 47
 * 1942: Railroad tracks removed for WWII war effort

Neighboring Communities
Snowville

Cemeteries

 * Kenton Cemetery
 * Burial Transcriptions

Check cemeteries in neighboring communities.


 * Box Elder County Cemeteries
 * Box Elder Utah Gravestone Photo Project
 * Findagrave.com
 * Picture of Kelton Cemetery

Historical Newspapers

 * Box Elder News
 * Corinne Reporter

Marriages

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

Death

 * 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.
 * 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.

Suggested Reading

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

Websites

 * Kelton Ghost Town
 * Kelton Online Utah
 * Kelton Markers
 * Utah Ghost Towns
 * China Emigration and Immigration
 * Central Pacific Transcontinental RR Grade
 * First Transcontinental Railroad