Sego
The old store.
The boarding house.
Indian petroglyphs and pictographs are
found on approach to the town.
Sego is located in a very beautiful canyon. It was founded upon the discovery of coal in the early 1890's. The discovery was made by a rancher named Harry Ballard. Ballard bought the land surrounding his find and started operations on a small scale. In 1911, Ballard sold the mine to a group of Salt Lake City investors. Production started with grand plans for a long and prosperous run of coal production. The new owners built a store, a boarding house and other buildings all with their own water supply. Trouble started almost immediately when the water supply started to dry up. The problem contributed to little or no profit for the investors. On November 1, 1947, the mine was closed and the property sold at auction held at Moab, Utah.
<>A word of warning - The canyon is a perfect location for flash floods. While I was visiting the canyon with a buddy, the clouds moved in and the rain came down in a bursting thunder storm. This is no exaggeration - 20 minutes after the rain started, a huge wall of water rushed down the canyon, which sounded like a freight train. What was a completely dry river bed turned into a 6 feet deep raging river in seconds. Below are shown the before and after photos. In the one on the left, the skies were clear and not a drop of water was running down the bed. In the photo on the right, you can see how deep the river became. It covered the road and trapped us in. We ended up staying the night, because the only road into the area was completely washed out - pavement and all. It was quite the sight. It would be a good idea to stay out of the canyon during heavy storms. |
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Before |
After |
Sego is located up a road going toward Thompson Canyon. Head north from Thompson. About 3.5 miles up the canyon are the cliffs with the Indian petroglyphs. Another 1/2 mile, the road will fork off to the right and head up Sego Canyon. The cemetery is seen immediately to the right. Keep heading up the road about another mile, and the ruins come into view. The site is on private property - however, you're welcome to drive up and see the ruins. Just respect the land and structures.
3 stars.
