Chris Lange, FISM News
Remains of a 19th-century town, which was submerged for over half a century beneath Utah’s Rockport Reservoir, have been exposed amid persistent drought conditions in the state.
While receding waters have provided tantalizing glimpses of the abandoned town of Rockport in the past, this year’s drought has reduced the reservoir’s capacity to 26 percent, exposing the foundations of entire buildings, including one that appears to be a former schoolhouse.
“The first building you can see usually is exposed every year. The other foundations, you don’t see nearly as often,” said Rockport State Park Manager Eric Bradshaw in an interview with Salt Lake City-based KSL TV.
The location is part of the Weber Valley located at the mouth of Three Mile Canyon in Summit County. Prior to the establishment of the town of Rockport, the site was home to a 17th-century European settlement.
According to Jon Parry, assistant general manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, Rockport was built atop the ruins of Rock Fort, named for a rock wall early colonists constructed around the settlement in response to ongoing conflicts with local natives.
Following the Black Hawk War of 1832, the fort was abandoned. Stone and other materials among its ruins were later used in the construction of new structures in what would eventually become the town of Rockport, which, at its peak, housed around 100 families. That number would dwindle to fewer than 30 by the 1950s. The town was abandoned altogether following the construction of the Wanship Dam in 1952.
Drought conditions in Utah have resulted in significantly-reduced capacity at the state’s reservoirs. In July, the Gunnison Reservoir in Sanpete Country dried up, exposing portions of pioneer-era buildings. Low water levels have forced state officials to pull water from emergency storage and close boat ramps throughout the state.