Where The White Ghost Goes
Near the small town of Helper, Utah in Carbon County is the most prolific, historic coal mining area. Several mines dot the nearby area, however, Spring Canyon is home to many old mines and historic towns. A trip up this canyon is well worth the effort!
During WWII, coal mining peaked in the area. With so many mines, many towns popped up as well. With the increase in population came crime, scandal and death.
In 1924 the Town of Storrs changed its name to Spring Canyon, perhaps because its first superintendent, George Storrs, who had moved on and started his own company, had been indicted on mail fraud charges in connection with promotion of his Great Western Coal Company in Gordon Creek Canyon. Though Storrs would later be cleared of the charges, the town would forever be known as Spring Canyon.
Of course, like any place with history comes the ghost stories! One such story is about a lady that is shrouded in white and seen from time to time. Rumor has it that her husband died in a mining accident but she was never able to collect on his death from the mine owner. She ended up killing her baby and then hanging herself on the mine office's steps. The steps are still there.
The weather was tough in this neck of the woods! What I found totally cool was how people made these really neat "homes" right into the rock walls.
Can you see the door to a miner's humble abode? You can hardly tell there is a little house there!
The photo below shows what his view was from inside his cabin.
What I didn't find cool was the graffiti that some people insisted on leaving behind at the Standardville General Store. It makes it tough to photograph!
All in all, this is a cool place with tons of history that I would love to go check out again!
DIRECTIONS:
From Highway 6 get off at the Helper exit. Take North Main Street, passing a Shell gas station on your right. Hang a left a couple streets down at Bryner Street. Go two blocks down to Spring Canyon Rd. and hang a right.
Just keep following this road!