Area:
4,439 square miles;
population:
10,332; county
seat: Castle Dale;
origin of county
name: after territorial
governor George W.
Emery; principal
cities/towns:
Huntington (1,875),
Castle Dale (1,704),
Ferron (1,606), Orangeville
(1,459),
Green River (866)
economy: electric
power generating,
coal mining, livestock;
points of interest:
Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur
Quarry, The
Green River, Green
River State Park,
Goblin
Valley State Park,
Huntington
State Park, San
Rafael Swell,
Joes Valley Reservoir,
Emery County Museum
in Castle Dale.
Emery County in southeastern
Utah is bordered on
the north by Carbon
County (which was
created from Emery
in l894), on the west
by the Wasatch Plateau
and the original settlements
in Sanpete and Sevier
counties from which
most Emery County
settlers came, on
the south by the remote
artificial boundary
with Wayne County,
and on the east by
the Green River--the
natural boundary with
Grand County (which
was created from Emery
county in l890). Emery
County includes three
geographical areas:
the mountains of the
Wasatch Plateau; Castle
Valley, where the
major settlements
are located; and the
desert of the San
Rafael Swell, the
San Rafael Reef, Cedar
Mountain, and the
remote stretches of
land west of the Green
River.
The San Rafael River,
the life blood of
the county, originates
in the Wasatch Plateau
where the headwaters
are stored in several
reservoirs for agricultural
and industrial use.
It flows into Castle
Valley in three branches--Huntington
Creek, Cottonwood
Creek, and Ferron
Creek--which unite
to form the San Rafael
River after they pass
the communities and
adjacent farm land.
It then twists its
way through the rock
and desert to its
junction with the
Green River.
Occupation of the
San Rafael region
dates back thousands
of years to include
people of the Desert
Archaic Culture who
were followed by those
of the Fremont Culture
who inhabited present-day
Emery County from
about A.D. 500 to
about A.D. l300. Evidence
of these people can
still be found in
numerous pictograph
and petroglyph panels,
such as those in Temple
Mountain Wash, Muddy
Creek, Ferron Box,
Black Dragon Canyon,
and Buckhorn Wash-all
sites listed in the
National Register
of Historic Places.
In historic times
Ute Indians occupied
sites in Castle Valley,
and travelers along
the Old Spanish trail
also passed through
the present county.
In l875 livestock
growers from Sanpete
County brought cattle
and sheep into Castle
Valley to graze, and
several recognized
the settlement potential
of the region. With
a shortage of sufficient
land and water in
Sanpete County and
a strong desire by
Mormon church leaders
to acquire unoccupied
land in the region
before non-Mormons
did, young families
began moving into
Castle Valley in the
fall of l877 to take
up homesteads in what
would become the settlements
of Huntington, Ferron,
Castle Dale, and Orangeville.
Although livestock
and farming remained
the mainstay of the
county's economy throughout
most of its history,
two related events
affected the region's
economic stability:
the completion of
the Denver and Rio
Grande Railroad through
Emery County in l883,
and the development
of the coal mines
at Scofield, Castle
Gate, and Sunnyside
in Carbon County by
l895. The railroad
provided transportation
for produce and livestock,
while the mines provided
a nearby market for
animals and vegetables
and an opportunity
for some Emery residents
to work in the mines
during the winter
and farm during the
summer. The D&RG
also led to the establishment
of the town of Green
River, although the
site had been an important
part of the Old Spanish
Trail and a mail station
had been established
there before completion
of the railroad. During
the l970s Emery County's
population grew significantly
because of the construction
by Utah Power and
Light Company of large
power plants in Castle
Dale and Huntington
and the opening of
large coal mines to
fuel the power plants.
Allan Kent Powell
