Thistle, Utah
Thistle is a ghost town in Spanish Fork Canyon in southeastern Utah County, Utah, United States. During the era of steam locomotives, the town's primary industry was servicing trains for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (often shortened to D&RG, D&RGW, or Rio Grande). The fortunes of the town were closely linked with those of the railroad until the changeover to diesel locomotives, when the town started to decline.
Thistle, Utah | |
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Remnants of the Thistle schoolhouse, September 2006 | |
Thistle Location of Thistle within the State of Utah Thistle Thistle (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 39°59′29″N 111°29′54″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Utah |
| Established | 1878 |
| Destroyed | 1983 |
| Named for | Thistle |
| Elevation | 5,043 ft (1,537 m) |
| Zip code | 84629 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1439662 |
In April 1983, a massive landslide (specifically a complex earthflow) dammed the Spanish Fork River. The residents were evacuated as nearly 65,000 acre-feet (80,000,000 m3) of water backed up, flooding the town. Thistle was destroyed; only a few structures were left partially standing. Federal and state government agencies have said this was the most costly landslide in United States history, the economic consequences of which affected the entire region. The landslide resulted in the first presidentially declared disaster area in Utah.
U.S. Route 6 (US‑6), U.S. Route 89 (US‑89) and the railroad (now part of Union Pacific Railroad's Central Corridor) were closed for several months, until they were rebuilt on a higher alignment overlooking the area. The remains of Thistle are visible from a view area along US‑89 or from the California Zephyr passenger train.