New Town of Scofield

The Town of Scofield by this instrument was made a town and the organization of the Town Board was at once begun and A. H. Earll was chosen President of the Town Board with Messrs Kimball, Wright, Lewis and Krebs as Trustees. M. P. Braffet was appointed Town Clerk and Thomas Lloyd, Town Marshal.

Everyone was then allowed the homes they were then occupying and improvement was the order of the day. Where the log cabin was predominant the lumber house nicely finished quietly took its place and from a town of shanties it rapidly became a town of neat cottages.

On account of the altitude, being over eight thousand feet above sea level it was impossible to make gardens of any pretentions or to adorn the lots with lawns as would have been the case did nature allow.

We venture to say without fear of contradiction that there was not a town in the State of Utah that was doing as much building as was being dune in this town, situated among the clouds with nothing but the mines to depend upon for support.

The town was well supplied with stores that carried everything in stock that the miners were likely to need, and in fact there are few stores in cities of the second class that carry as complete a stock as is carried by Mr. A. H. Earll, John E. Ingles. S. A. Henrichsen and the Company Store.

Photograph Gallery of Bedington E. Lewis

Besides the Odd Fellows hall that was in course of construction the Knights of Pythias had their Articles of Incorporation filed and would have started their hall in a few days as bids for the construction of the same were under advisement. Many of the miners had built during the winter, it being quite mild for this altitude, and as soon as the first warm days of spring arrived cottages were being built upon every side. Mrs. J. B. Trevier had just finished a commodious hotel and Mrs. Ella Broyles was building a hotel to cost nearly three thousand dollars.

Heretofore it had been next to impossible to secure rooms in the town and many commercial travelers were compelled to sleep in the coach, but by the building of these new hotels all of this had changed and the traveling public could not ask for better accommodations. Mrs. Walton who had been running a miners boarding house at Winter Quarters had been prevailed upon to cast her lot with us and had built a cottage where she has catered to transient trade, a favor that has been much appreciated.

At the last election H. H. Earll was elected Mayor, with Andrew Smith, William Forrester. Lars Jensen and James P. Curtin as Councilmen. James W. Dilley was appointed clerk of the Board, John L. Price, Marshal, Lars Jensen, Treasurer.

When the late smallpox scare pervaded this section of the country James P. Curtin was chosen as Chairman of the joint County and Town Board of Quarantine, Dr. E. B. Isgreen was appointed Quarantine Physician and it was owing to the hard conscientious work of this board that the dread disease was held at bay after one case had developed.

While it is true that "For Sale" signs now adorn many of the pretty cottages it is not because the houses will not be needed but because of the sad fact that in nearly, and I might add, every house some of the Bread Winners have passed away during the explosion that took place here May 1, 1900.

The relatives and friends realizing that there is nothing here outside of mine work have advised the Widows of their dead friends to go somewhere that nature favors more than she does Scofield and there upon a small farm try to raise their families so that they may be independent of charity. For this reason many are disposing of their property and hope by this method to raise sufficient means to buy small homes at a lower altitude.

Index

Source: History of the Scofield Mine Disaster, by J. W. Dilley, The Skelton Pub. Co., Provo, Utah, 1900.

Editors Note: The I.. O. O. F. were very active in raising money for the benefit of the widows and children along with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This information is included for historical value, it does not mean the people of this project support these institutions.