Utah Ghost Towns: Knightville

Not being among those who are stopped by cold and windy days, we decided to take a trip out the West Desert of Utah to visit some ghost towns. The first was the most difficult to find. It is called Knightsville and was a mining town in the late 1800s. This image shows the remains of the large schoolhouse that are located on a hill above the rest of the town. Quoting from Wikipedia:

Knightsville is a ghost town located in the East Tintic Mountains on the northern slope of Godiva Mountain, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Eureka, in the northeastern corner of Juab County in central Utah, United States. A silver mining camp, Knightsville was established and operated as a company town by local mining entrepreneur Jesse Knight. The town was inhabited from 1896 until approximately 1940.

It is interesting how quickly the desert takes over and even the cement ruins start to disappear. Here is a little bit of the history of Knightsville.

Jesse Knight came to the Tintic Mining District in 1896, with little money and no previous mining knowledge or experience.[2] Against the advice of experienced geologists, he sank a mine shaft that quickly reached a rich body of ore. In response to those who had doubted, he named it the Humbug Mine. Opening about a half dozen mines in the east Tintic area, Knight became one of the region's richest mine owners. His membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was conspicuous in an industry dominated by non-Mormons, and his successes brought him the nickname "the Mormon Mining Wizard".[3] 

Knight disapproved of the drunkenness and other vices of the typical mining camp lifestyle. He decided to build his own model town to house the miners near the Humbug Mine.[4] He started Knightsville by having 20 houses built on Godiva Mountain.[2] He soon expanded to 65 homes[3] and two boarding houses.[2] There were stores, churches, hotels, and a post office.[4] But Knightsville became known as "the only mining camp in the United States without a saloon"; as the landowner Knight would not permit a saloon to operate in town.[3]