Jeffrey City, Wyoming
Posted by: 
DavidMac
N 42° 29.786 W 107° 50.095
13T E 267044 N 4708791
Jeffrey City, Wyoming isn't your usual ghost town. What sets it apart is its age- the town was founded in 1931, grew to 4,500 people by 1978, and by 1993 had nearly been abandoned.
Waymark Code: WM7F1
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 02/11/2006
Views: 55
The town was founded in 1931, and was originally little more than a crossroads called "Home on the Range." In 1955, the Lost Creek Oil and Uranium Company obtained mineral rights in the area, at about the same time that a company called Pathfinder began uranium mining operations in Wyoming. Attracted by good wages, workers began moving to this remote crossroads, which was renamed after Dr. Charles W. Jeffrey, a man who promoted mining operations in this remote part of the state. By 1960, the town had grown to include several houses, stores, and restaurants. Its lifeblood was the uranium industry, and the rise of nuclear energy led the town to reach a population of 4,500 by 1978.
At its peak, the town boasted several restaurants, a bowling alley, more than one bank, and a motel. The town even had schools, and a $2 million gymnasium was completed in 1980.
But the new facility would barely see any use. That same year, things began to go downhill. Nuclear energy was no longer as glamorous as it had once been, and demand for low-grade Wyoming uranium dropped sharply. Beginning in April, Pathfinder announced the first round of layoffs. By the end of the year, hundreds of jobs had been lost, and people had started moving away. The same year, problems such as radioactivity were discovered within the town limits, and mines faced numerous issues with environmental problems and contamination. Through the 1980's, the population continued to shrink. Schools and businesses closed, and the town newspaper moved elsewhere.
Within 2 years, fewer than 100 people in the town were employed by either Western Nuclear or Pathfinder. By 1993, only about 100 people remained in the vicinity of town, and this number continues to drop every year. With no remaining industry, and with virtually all businesses and schools having closed, Jeffrey City could be considered a ghost town by 1997, when reclamation and cleanup of one of the former mines was completed and the last of the jobs left town.
For more information:
Jeffrey City- Wyoming Ghost Town
Home on the Range No More: Boom and Bust in Jeffrey City