Promontory, Box Elder County, Utah Genealogy

Utah

Box Elder

Promontory

Quick History

Promontory is a class 2 railroad ghost town in Box Elder County that has never had permanent residents. It was a construction camp tent town. Promontory is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869. Promontory served as the terminus for both the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads handling many tons of freight and transferring passengers. For several weeks Promontory continued to be a town of tents and crude shacks. A group of shady characters followed these camps, when the camps disbanded so did the following entourage. But, unlike many of these camps on wheels, Promontory didn't became the site of a permanent city. Promontory Summit remained in use for 35 years.

Location

• GPS Location: 41.6179818, -112.5505266

Maps

• 1895 Map of Box Elder County

Neighboring Communities

Park Valley | Snowville |Bear River City | Corinne | Deweyville | Fielding | Garland

Suggested Reading

• The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns.
• Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures
• Backcountry Adventures Utah -Google Books

Websites

• Central Pacific Railroad on Internet Archive Wayback Machine
• OnlineUtah Golden Spike History
• Utah Outdoor Activities Golden Spike National Park
• The Fill Wiki, History of Promontory
• National Park Service Promontory Summit

FamilySearch Research Wiki Articles

• Utah Ghost Towns
• Early Utah History