Entering Widtsoe Junction
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by Paul Heath
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Donna [Pence] and I stumbled across Widtsoe while actually looking for property to purchase near Highway 12 in southern Utah. Widtsoe is located north of Bryce on Johns Valley Road which goes on to Antimony...
Ghost Bungalow
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by Paul Heath
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It is near a canyon road which can take you to Escalante if the roads are passable. We had room reservations in Escalante and we were tempted to try to navigate it, but it was near sunset and the roads were snowy. We opted to be safe, so we turned to get back to Johns Valley Road.
Interior
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by Paul Heath
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It was late December and the temperature was cold, but the evening light was warm and inviting. Our eyes were attracted to an abandoned stucco home. The eerie thing about the home, is the interior walls were all exposed lathe, with very little plaster. It had arched doorways and room dividers, giving the home a mission style feel, which you can imagine was quite beautiful in its heyday.
Evidence of Ghosts
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by Paul Heath
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We snapped several pictures while stumbling over random piles of rusted tin and aluminum cans. With the notion of purchasing property, I couldn’t help but think of this home as a massive fixer-upper. The amber evening light faded quickly and we were soon back on the road in the warmth of Donna’s Forester.
Evidence of Ghosts
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by Paul Heath
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Looking the town up on
Wikipedia, I have learned that it was established in 1908 as Adairville, then became Winder when they got a post office in 1912 and eventually was named Widtsoe after John A. Widtsoe, then president of the University of Utah and an agricultural scientist whose expertise in dry farming had been very helpful to area farmers.
Cross Over the Threshold
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by Paul Heath
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It was a thriving agricultural community until stricken by drought in the 20’s and 30’s. At its height, there were 1,100 people living there. By 1936, it was abandoned with the government buying back property and homes from impoverished landowners under the Resettlement Act.
Widtsoe Junction Sunset
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by Paul Heath
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Government workers tore down most of the buildings and only a few houses and an old community building still stand on the site. Thoughts go out to the communities in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah who are experiencing drought conditions today.