Submerged

by David Hogan

Thistle is permeated with a peculiar sadness. Most ghost towns are abandoned suddenly when the mine stops producing or the wells run dry over the span of a few years...maybe a decade. In 1983, Thistle's demise came suddenly in the form of a massive landslide that dammed the Spanish Fork River just south of town. The water, with nowhere to go, rose steadily and one can almost feel the evacuated residents watching helplessly as their town slowly vanished beneath the surface.

Thistle School House

by David Hogan

With each passing year, there is less of Thistle remaining. Until recently, the red stone early 20th century schoolhouse still bore its distinctive archway entry and wooden sign reading "THISTLE". Both are now gone. Although still distinctive, little of this once charming structure remains.

Thistle School House Detail

by David Hogan

Thistle's decay seems accelerated by its easy access, with Highway 89 passing through the middle of what was once Thistle's bustling train yard. It's difficult to tell what things are still as they were left or have been altered by post-flood visitors to the site.

Abandoned Building

by David Hogan

The life arc of Thistle spanned just over a century. Originally settled in the 1870s, Thistle boomed as the narrow canyon was crossed by a small-gauge local railroad, and shortly after by the Denver and Rio Grande.

Debris

by David Hogan

The population peaked around 1917, but Thistle remained an important service and rest facility for the steam engines climbing the punishing grade. In the mid 1950s, steam engines gave way to diesel electric locomotives, which weren't dependent on Thistle's helper engines, water, and maintenance yards.

Abandoned House

by David Hogan

Over the next 30 years, the town shrank as railroad jobs and passenger traffic declined. A few families stayed, including a fifth-generation of area ranchers. After the massive lake was drained, the railroad line was relocated to a higher grade leaving the already remote town even more isolated.

Time Stopped

by David Hogan

Today, traces of a few buildings remain as the stillness of the canyon is broken only by a gust of wind, occasional automobile traffic, and trains laden with coal passing above the town on the new railroad alignment.

Abandoned Building Detail

by David Hogan

The crumbling buildings stand in mute defiance under the still visible high water marks on the canyon walls, but Thistle is no more.

Submerged Trees

by David Hogan

Buildings, trees, and telephone poles are partially submerged in huge pools that are the remains of the short-lived "Lake Thistle", a chilling reminder of the implacable, rising floodwaters.

Rails

by David Hogan

Thistle's history is inextricably entwined with railroads. Railroads brought the town into existence but then abandoned the town a few decades later. Thistle clung to life for a few decades more, but the landslide and resulting flood were the final blow.

Rooftop

by David Hogan

Some buildings survived the flood in that they remained in place. Others were moved, whole or in part, and deposited hundreds of yards from their original location, including a rooftop sprawled in a narrow canyon high above the valley floor.

Remnants

by David Hogan

With the highway and railroad realigned, Thistle is a town literally washed clean of its lifeblood. Only rapidly deteriorating traces remain.