Place names, known as toponyms, can give us a fascinating insight on the history, geology, and culture of a particular location. For instance, the name of Utah means “land of the Utes,” with Ute meaning “mountain dwellers” or “highlanders.” Our county has another unique Native American name. It is a common occurrence for people unfamiliar with Juab County to try a Spanish pronunciation, “Hwab” instead of “JU-ab.” But where did the word Juab come from in the first place? The name reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning “thirsty valley,” which makes a lot of sense. Juab is most certainly a dry place for the most part, but beautiful nonetheless.
Here is a mostly complete list of the name origins of the cities, towns, unincorporated settlements, and ghost towns of Juab County, as far as I could find out. Sources for the information and photos are listed below.
Callao
This small community was part of the original Pony Express overland route as Willow Springs in 1860. Later it was decided that Willow Springs was too common a name, so a new one was chosen. The name Callao (KAL-ee-oh) was chosen because of a resemblance to Callao, Peru, suggested by an old grizzled 1890s prospector in the region who was working out of Gold Hill to the north. It is unknown how the pronunciation changed from the Spanish (Kai-YA-o). There is still a handful of people who live in this small farming community.
Chicken Creek
This ghost town was established in 1860 and abandoned in about 15 years later, most of its residents moving to nearby Levan. At one point it even had a post office.
Diamond
Another ghost town, this community was named after the quartz crystals found in the vicinity that were originally thought to be diamonds. It was first settled in 1870, and the last house was moved away in 1923. A small cemetery still remains.
Eureka
This mining town was named after the the Greek word meaning "I have found it!" This was the reputed exclamation of Archimedes when, after long study, he discovered a method of detecting the amount of alloy mixed with the gold in the crown of the king of Syracuse, and the expression is now used to express delight and triumph of discovery. See the previous post for more information about the history of Eureka. https://www.zirbesforcountyrecorder.com/post/eureka-the-wild-west-lives-on
Fish Springs
Now a ghost town near the present-day Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Fish Springs started as a Pony Express and Overland Stage station. It got its name from the fish that populated the nearby wetlands left over from ancient Lake Bonneville.
Goshute
Goshute is an unincorporated community near Nevada on the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation. It is named for the Goshute Indian tribe. According to the Utah American Indian Digital Archive, “The word Goshute (Gosuite) is derived from the native word Kutsipiuti (Gutsipiuti), which means ‘desert people’.”
Jericho
Located near the Little Sahara Recreation Area, Jericho is a small unincorporated community named after the Biblical city of Jericho, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth.
Joy
Settled in 1879 near the Millard County border, this abandoned mining town in the Drum Mountains was named after Harry Joy. He and Charles Howard reorganized and renamed the mining district Detroit, after their home town. The town was a supply post for the mines, and the bording house/saloon/store was famously run by Mary Laird, known as No-nose Maggie. A beer bottle thrown at her broke the bridge of her nose, disfiguring her for life. She and her faithful dog were the last two inhabitants of Joy.
Juab
About 5 miles outside of present-day Levan, there was a settlement called Juab (which, as previously mentioned, means “thirsty valley”). Juab was a railroad station at the end of the line of the Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary, the Utah Southern Railroad in 1879. It was completely abandoned around the turn of the 20th century when the railway had continued onward.
Knightsville
This town was named for mining magnate Jesse Knight, on whose property Knightsville was founded in 1891. The town was completely abandoned in 1932. Today, there is very little visible remains of the bustling mining town, famous for having no saloons by the orders of "Uncle Jesse."
Levan
Levan was settled in 1868, with its residents coming from the abandoned town of Chicken Creek three miles away. According to Levan Town’s website, “The name of the settlement was changed from Chicken Creek to Levan, a name chosen by Church President Brigham Young.” The name of Levan has several suggested origins, including from the Latin word “Levant” and it's French equivalent, which designates the point in the East where the sun rises. Folk legend also has it that the town was so named because it is located in the exact center of Utah, and Levan is “navel” spelled backwards.
Mammoth
Settled in 1870, Mammoth received its name from a nearby mine with rich ore deposits. It had its heyday back in the first decade of the 20th century, but today only a few people still live in this semi-ghost town.
Mills
Originally settled as a railroad town, it was known as Wellington in the mid-to-late 1800s. Mills was named for Henry Mills, one of the first group of settlers who worked for the railroad. There is a handful of families that still thrive in Mills.
Mona
Mona was settled in 1852, when it was originally named Clover Creek for patches of wild clover that grew along the creek in the area. It was later renamed Willow Creek for its water source, then Starr for a local settler, before receiving its present name. The origins of the name of Mona are unclear, but one theory suggests that Mona is a contraction of the Italian word “Madonna.” Dr. Matthew McCune, a former surgeon in the British Army, suggested to rename the town Mona, because it was the name of his former home on the Isle of Mann.
Nephi
The county seat of Juab County was settled in 1851 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was originally called Salt Creek for the salty stream that flowed past nearby salt deposits and down through the original Salt Creek Fort. Nephi was named for one or more personages named Nephi in the Book of Mormon.
Nortonville
This small community is about 4 miles north of Nephi. It was named for the brothers Wesley, Isaac, and John Norton, who homesteaded the ranching community. Nortonville originally had a one-room schoolhouse, but by 1911 the population had declined enough that the few remaining students were sent to Nephi.
Partoun
Located in the Snake Valley near the Nevada border, Partoun is an unincorporated community in Juab County. It was founded in 1949 by the religious group called the Aaronic Order, and named after a town in Scotland.
Pleasant Valley
Straddling the border of Nevada, the town originally known as Uvada was founded in 1851 as part of the establishment of a mail route to California, but after the Pony Express was discontinued, the settlement was abandoned for nearly a decade. In 1870, two men named Dooley and White were driving cattle to California when they stumbled across the beautiful, peaceful valley. They named it Pleasant Valley and settled there for several years, and a few people have occupied this ranching community ever since.
Rocky Ridge
This area was once known as York and was the terminus of the Utah Southern Railroad starting in 1875. When the railroad continued south a few years later, the tiny town of York was abandoned. Nearly a century later in 1971, Allred Ranch was settled by Marvin J. Allred. It was later incorporated as Rocky Ridge in 1997 (though there was an unsuccessful petition to name the town York). Rocky Ridge is named after the rocks that are strewn abundantly across the area.
Silver City
Silver City, settled in 1870, was a mining town that was abandoned when the mines began to flood. It was so named because of its proximity to large deposits of silver ore.
Starr
Starr was a small, scattered agricultural settlement three miles north of Mona, in the viscinity of present-day Young Living Farms. In 1858 the soldiers of Johnston's Army established a ranch for holding government livestock. When it became available to the public in 1880, Albert W. Starr and his son William A. Starr purchased the property. Starr's name was used for the settlement that has been absorbed into nearby Mona.
Tintic
Another mining ghost town, this one was settled in 1905 but was abandoned early in the 20th century. Tintic was named for an Indian chief.
Trout Creek
The community is located along the old Pony Express/Overland route in northern Snake Valley, north of Partoun and south of Callao. It is named for the nearby creek. Fun fact: The West Desert High School of the Tintic School District is the smallest secondary school in Utah. Trout Creek has one of the most remote LDS Church chapels in Utah. The church has a short section of paved road, which is the only paved road for over 50 miles.
I hope you found this information as interesting as I did! If so, please share. :)
Sources:
Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Utah State Dep’t of Public Instruction (1941). Origins of Utah Place Names, Third Edition. Salt Lake City.
Wilson, Pearl D., June McNulty, and David Hampshire (1999). A History of Juab County. Utah State Historical Society and Juab County Commission, Salt Lake City.
rockyridgetown.com/about-us/
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