Castleton, Utah

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Castleton, Utah | settlement_type = Ghost town | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = Utah#USA | pushpin_label = Castleton | pushpin_label_position = left | map_caption = Location of Castleton with the State of Utah | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Utah | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Grand | established_title = Established | established_date = {{circa}} 1880 | named_for = | extinct_title = Vacated | extinct_date = 1967 | elevation_footnotes = <ref name=usgs/> | elevation_ft = 5896 | elevation_m = 1797 | coordinates = {{coord|38|36|12|N|109|19|4|W|region:US-UT|display=inline,title}} | blank_name = GNIS feature ID | blank_info = 1439525<ref name=usgs/> }}

'''Castleton''' is a ghost town in the Castle Valley in southeastern Grand County, Utah, United States.

==Description== The community located on the La Sal Mountain Loop Road, some {{convert|18|mi|km}} northeast of Moab. The nearest inhabited town is Castle Valley, approximately {{convert|6|mi|km}} to the northwest.

==History== A short-lived gold placer mining camp existed here in the 1860s,<ref name=dreams/> but the area was first settled by a prospector named Doby Brown in the late 1870s or early 1880s. By 1882 enough settlers had gathered to establish a post office.<ref name=grand/> In 1888 when a local gold rush began at nearby Miners Basin, Castleton became important as a supply town.<ref name=dreams/> It had a general store, hotel, two saloons, and several other businesses. At its peak in 1895, the population exceeded that of Moab.<ref name=guide/> In fact, when Grand County was organized in 1890, Castleton vied with Moab for the chance to be county seat.<ref name=grand2/>

The Panic of 1907 closed down the area's mines, and soon ranchers were Castleton's only residents.<ref name="van cott">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3Pqk9tazU4C&pg=PA70|title=Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation|last=Van Cott|first=John W.|publisher=University of Utah Press|location=Salt Lake City|page=70|year=1990|accessdate=7 May 2018|isbn=978-0-87480-345-7|oclc=797284427}}</ref><ref name=dreams/> By 1910 the businesses were gone, leaving only the post office, and the population had dropped to 50.<ref name=guide/> In 1930 there were six residents.<ref name=grand2/> A few people stayed in the dead town for decades, but in 1967 the county commission officially vacated Castleton as an occupied town.<ref name=grand3/>

==Climate== According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Castleton has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=32134&cityname=Castleton%2C+Utah%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Castleton, Utah]</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Utah}} * List of ghost towns in Utah{{clear}}

==References== {{reflist|22em|refs=

<ref name=usgs>{{gnis|1439525|Castleton}}</ref>

<ref name=dreams>{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = George A. | title = Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures |date=November 1982 | publisher = Dream Garden Press | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-942688-01-5 | page = 122}}</ref>

<ref name=grand>{{cite book | last = Firmage | first = Richard A. | title = A History of Grand County | series = Utah Centennial County History Series | date = January 1996 | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-913738-03-4 | page = 137 | url = http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/guest.jsp?smd=1&cl=all_lib&lb_document_id=34305 | format = PDF | accessdate = July 15, 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

<ref name=guide>{{cite book | last = Carr | first = Stephen L. | title = The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns | edition = 3rd | orig-date = June 1972 | year = 1986 | publisher = Western Epics | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-914740-30-X | page = 155}}</ref>

<ref name=grand2>Firmage, p.267.</ref>

<ref name=grand3>Firmage, p.350.</ref>

}}

==External links== {{commons category-inline|Castleton, Utah}}

Category:Ghost towns in Grand County, Utah Category:Populated places in the United States established in 1880 Category:1880 establishments in Utah Territory Category:Ghost towns in Utah