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Lund, a
Living Ghost and
Thermo, Gone but Not Forgotten
(page one of two)
Iron County, Utah
Inspired by correspondence with Alexa Robinson,
Modesto, CA
From
Surweb.org:
"The town of Lund in Western Iron County has less
than twenty residents today. Eighty years ago it was an important
and bustling community for the region since it was a terminal for
the Union Pacific Railroad. From 1904 until 1923, most goods came
to Iron County by rail through the terminal at Lund. In 1923 a railroad
spur was built from Lund into Cedar City. When U.S. Highway 91 was
built during the 1920's, goods came to the region by the highway and
Lund's importance for most people decreased. The iron industry used
the spur for seventy years but people at Lund were not needed for
the transfer to the main line. Lund may soon be a ghost town."
Then...
The following photographs are donated by Alexa Robinson. Alexa contacted us regarding Lund and nearby Thermo Siding in Iron and Beaver Counties. We are short on information as yet but, thanks to Alexa, we are sharing these treasured photographs taken in and around Lund in the early 1920's when the community was at its peak in activity. Alexa writes: "The name of the photographer of the Lund Flood pictures is written in my mother's photo album index page; "H. Hobs". He may have been a reporter or could have been one of the other homesteaders. Nothing more written about the photographer."
Lund, Utah 1920
(Alexa Robinson)
In 1922, floodwaters swept through Lund, causing massive destruction and disrupting the lives of its residents. As more historical documentation is located, it will be posted. According to Ann Nelson, Cedar City Public Library, "There had been a thaw and the water came from the moutains south of Newcastle. There were not culverts on the railroad so the right-of-way acted as a ditch for the water on its way to the low spot a few miles north of Lund. It actually flowed for several days and the town-site had to be evacuated." We are currently researching microfilm from the Iron County Record to find more information and will post it as soon as possible.
On the horizon you can see the floodwaters approaching the community.
(Alexa Robinson)
(Alexa Robinson)
(Alexa Robinson)
Lund Flood 1922 (Alexa Robinson)
View north, Lund Flood 1922 (Alexa Robinson)
Lund Flood 1922 (Alexa Robinson)
Lund Flood 1922 (Alexa Robinson)
Lund Flood 1922 (Alexa Robinson)
Lund Garage, "The older man is my grandfather, Thomas Jones Norris.
He helped his son, Ollie Norris, build the garage." Left to right,
Ollie Norris, my grandfather; Thomas Norris, my grandmother; Telitha
Pepper Norris; and hard to see by the sign, Bill Norris. (Alexa Robinson)
(Alexa Robinson)
Lund (Alexa Robinson)
Now...
One of the remaining structures in Lund, 2001
View of Lund
from the west
The Holyoak
Store--one of the original buildings in Lund.
Thermo, Utah
A few miles north of the community of Lund is the site that was once known as Thermo. Alexa Robinson writes: "...This is Thermo, nothing else here when my grandparents arrived in June, 1913. They came to homestead, under the enlarged homestead act each homestead was 360 acres. They had four homesteads because each son or daughter age 21 or over could have a homestead. My mother, age 21, had her own 360 acres. My mother wrote they were the first family to homestead in this area. It wasn't long until many others came."
Then...
(Alexa Robinson)
Alexa continues, "The two buildings near the railroad tracks at Thermo were used by the railroad crew. When the schoolhouse was built, it was used by the community as a classroom, meeting house, dance hall and Sunday school. My mother played the guitar and her brother played the violin for the dances. I suppose there were others who played too."
(Alexa Robinson)
"Thomas
and Telitha Pepper Norris and the new Ford bought with money from
the sale of the first hay crop."
(Alexa Robinson)
"Each homestead had to have a building, at least 12 ft.x 16 ft,
and a required number of acres cleared and farmed each year for three
years in order to prove up on the homestead."
(Alexa Robinson)
"'Success!'
Ollie Norris, Thomas Norris and Bill Norris"
(Alexa
Robinson)
This picture probably is
the owner of the well drilling equipment.
(Alexa
Robinson)
Thermo School,
1914
Alexa Robinson has painstakingly restored these photographs from her family's collection. We are grateful to Alexa for her willingness to share her treasures with us. These are indeed treaures, both to Alexa's family, and to local Iron County historians. We solicit any historical insight available on the communities of Lund and Thermo. The information will be helpful to Alexa and her family history work, as well as to others interested in the lives of these communities and the hardworking homesteaders who built them. --Dave Crockett
Now...
All that remains
of Thermo
Thermo Hot Springs,
about three miles north of the town site, is a series of very hot,
small springs flowing from a slight rise in the desert. A tub was
placed here to capture the water from one of the springs. It is too
hot for bathing, but one can remove the pipe that fills the tub to
let the water cool down. The water smells of sulphur. It didn't appear
too inviting to us, but one could possibly make it a viable bathing
area with considerable work.
Another one
of the hot springs. There are likely over a hundred of these in the
area.
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