SueAnn Martell

Nestled between the Wasatch Plateau and the Book Cliff Mountains, hundreds of feet underground, vast coal deposits make up the heart of Utah's coal country. This high-grade bituminous coal attracted the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to the area, and small, company-owned towns sprang up everywhere coal could be accessed. Life in these camps was difficult at best, as the mines were dangerous and the threat of disaster was never far away. In spite of these hardships though, the residents, many of whom were foreign-born, enjoyed recreational activities at the local baseball diamonds, amusement halls, and confectioneries. Their lives were shaped by coal, but the coal camps shaped their souls. Eastern Utah's coal mining legacy continues today, and while most of these camps have disappeared, many of the people who lived there still call them home.

Founded by Mormons and settled by immigrants, Price, Utah, is a city of contradictions. Settled in the late 1870s, it was not until the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad discovered coal in the surrounding mountains that the town bloomed. Nearly overnight, trainloads of coal and other merchandise made Price into the commercial center of eastern Utah. As one of the safe havens for Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, it was their outlaw gold that funded the city's continued growth. With one of the most outspoken mayors the city ever had, Price fought the State of Utah for the right to maintain its saloons, gambling halls, and bawdy houses.

In 1880, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad was hard-pressed to find a suitable rail route from Grand Junction to Salt Lake City. With the coal deposits of eastern Utah luring them on, railroad officials chose a difficult route over Soldier Summit. The railroad established the town where "helper" engines were attached to the heavy trains, and Helper grew into a division point with branch operations that reached into the nearby canyons to serve the blossoming coal industry. Numerous smaller towns sprang up to service the railroad, and in 1912, the newly incorporated Utah Railway laid tracks to share the right-of-way with the Denver and Rio Grande. The
town of Helper is still a mecca for rail fans, and the story of its past lives on.