Promontory, Box Elder County, Utah Genealogy

Box Elder County United States Utah  Box Elder  Promontory

Quick History
Promontory is a ghost town in Box Elder County that has never had permanent residents. It was a construction camp town made up of tents. 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. The land speculators, petty merchants, saloon keepers, and gamblers, who had followed these tent cities stayed only as long as there were workers to entice. But, unlike many of these camps on wheels, Promontory never became the site of a permanent city. Promontory Summit remained in use for 35 years.

Location

 * GPS Location:

Neighboring Communities
Park Valley | Snowville |


 * The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns.
 * Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures

Websites

 * Golden Spike History
 * Promontory Summit
 * Utah Ghost Towns