Coordinates: Mosida is a ghost town located on the southwestern shore of Utah Lake, in Utah County, Utah, USA. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A ghost town is a Town or City that has been abandoned usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed or due to natural or human-caused Utah Lake, at, is the largest natural Freshwater Lake in the state of Utah and a remnant of the Prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which Utah County is a County located in the US state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 368536 and by 2007 was estimated at 483702 The nearest inhabited town is Elberta, some 12 miles (19 km) to the south. Elberta is a Census-designated place (CDP in Utah County, Utah, United States. A heavily promoted planned community in the 1910s, Mosida was ultimately a failure. A new town, planned community or planned city is a City, Town, or Community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically
History
The land was purchased from the Utah State Land Board in 1909 by a group of three men: R. E. Morrison, Joseph Simpson, and J. E. Davis. They planned to divide the land and sell it in tracts for peach orchards. An orchard is an intentional planting of Trees or Shrubs maintained for Food production. They named their project Mosida, an acronym formed from the first two letters of each of their surnames. Acronyms, initialisms, and alphabetisms are Abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name [1] Within months they sold out to a group of promoters from Denver, Colorado who incorporated as the Mosida Fruit Lands Company. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States Incorporation (abbreviated Inc in US and Canadian business names is the forming of a new Corporation (a corporation being a legal entity
The company began to improve the property and advertise to prospective investors and buyers. Since the land west of Utah Lake lacks any major streams,[1] they built a pumphouse at the lake's edge, dug irrigation ditches, and installed a series of pumps to water the farmland. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops [2] A large boarding house was constructed to house up to 250 workers. A boarding house, also known as a "rooming house" (mainly in the United States) or a "lodging house" is a House (often a family home In 1911 the boarding house filled with workmen from surrounding towns, recruited to clear and plow the land and plant apple and peach seedlings. [3] A steam tractor pulling a massive gang plow was used to break up the soil. This article refers to the steam-powered agricultural tractor for other types of steam tractor see Traction engine A steam tractor is a vehicle The plough ( American spelling plow; both plaʊ is a Tool used in Farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed [4]
By 1912, 8,000 acres (32 km²) of land had been plowed,[2] 50,000 fruit trees planted, and 50,000 U.S. bushels (1,800 m³) of grain harvested. US customary units, also known in the United States as English units or Imperial units (in reference to the British Empire) (but see English A bushel is a unit of dry volume, usually subdivided into eight local Gallons in the systems of Imperial units and U [3] The company built a 25-room luxury hotel[4] which became the town landmark, used to house tourists and prospective investors. Those who came to consider purchasing tracts of land or shares of stock were given a grand tour and a powerful sales pitch about Mosida's natural advantages and bright future. [3] No expense was spared to impress the guests; a fine passenger boat ferried them across the lake to and from Provo. Provo is a city in and the County seat [2] Locals sometimes used the boat as a dance floor for parties. [4] The Mosida Fruit Lands Company soon added more houses, a store, a post office, and even a school. They imported two French cooks to provide their workers the best of meals at the boarding house. [2] The company's salesmanship was effective; by 1913 some 400 people had moved to Mosida and were working the farms and orchards. [3]
The new residents quickly found that life in Mosida did not live up to the promotional literature's glowing descriptions. The fruit trees began to die; it transpired that the soil was too salty and mineralized for them. Other crops such as wheat and peanuts did better,[2] but swarms of grasshoppers damaged the surviving crops, especially the alfalfa. Grasshoppers are Insects of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa) is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop [4] Transportation to and from the isolated site was a challenge, and became even harder when the Mosida boat was destroyed in a fire on April 17, 1913. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common [1] The pumping and irrigation operations also proved more expensive than planned,[2] despite a second pumping plant installed in 1914. [1] The lake level fluctuated widely from year to year, dropping so low in 1915 that the water could no longer be pumped. [3] Individual landowners and the company itself found themselves increasingly in debt, and in 1915 the Mosida Fruit Lands Company was placed under court-ordered receivership. Administrative receivership is a procedure in the United Kingdom whereby a creditor can enforce security against a company's assets in an effort to obtain [1] Creditors tried to keep the project going for a few more years, but by 1917 most people had left. [3] The population dropped to 67 by 1920, and with no more water or power available Mosida died.
Some ruins of Mosida still stand, including the foundations of the hotel and schoolhouse, and the concrete pumphouse walls.
References
- ^ a b c d e Hansen, Roger D. ; Bret Berger, Richard Beatty. Beautiful Mosida-by-the-Lake. Spanish Fork River Drainage in Utah. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good
- ^ a b c d e f Thompson, George A. (November 1982). Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures. Salt Lake City: Dream Garden Press, p. 183. ISBN 0-942688-01-5.
- ^ a b c d e f Carr, Stephen L. [June 1972] (1986). The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns, 3rd edition, Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, p. 97. ISBN 0-914740-30-X.
- ^ a b c d Prestwich, Kelly. "Ghost town used to be green oasis", Provo Daily Herald, 2001-05-16, p. The Provo Daily Herald is a daily local Newspaper that reports on events and happenings within the Provo and Orem Utah municipal area located in Utah Valley Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. A14. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good
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