From the hideouts of gun-slinging outlaws to the dangerous and profitable world found beneath the earth’s surface, the Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway takes you on a thrilling ride through several of Utah’s intriguing historical sites. Immerse yourself in the stories and legacy of this 85-mile stretch of road and unravel the mysteries the years have left behind. Prepare yourself for your journey with orientation maps found in Colton, Fairview, and Huntington.
Start your adventure at the byway’s northern terminus in the ghost town of Colton, at the junction of Highway 6 and State Road 96. Although it began as nothing more than a railhead in the late 1800s while the railroad finished the line through Price Canyon, by 1898 Colton had grown considerably, boasting two hotels and a business district near the tracks. A large coal-loading facility provided a backbone for the small town until 1904, when the gunslinger/entrepreneur C.L. “Gunplay” Maxwell discovered large deposits of ozokerite in the nearby Wasatch Plateau. (Ozokerite is a naturally-occurring hydrocarbon with uses similar to paraffin and valued today for its higher melting point.) Unsatisfied with owning and running the largest ozokerite mine in the world, or perhaps unwilling to give up his life as an outlaw, Maxwell was arrested and released several times for robbing banks, shooting up saloons, and robbing stagecoaches until he was gunned down by Deputy Sheriff Edward Johnstone in 1909. Today, little remains of the town’s glory days, although the ruined structures of several buildings still stand in the town site, including the crumbling walls of the old school. Stop at the Hilltop General Store, the one building still in use in the area, and hear a few stories from the owner, Mr. Finch, who has pictures of his grandfather with the renowned outlaw Butch Cassidy.
From Colton, head southwest on the byway past the Scofield Reservoir to Scofield, another town rich in mining history. Settled in 1879, Scofield soon became the largest mining town in Carbon County. Immigrants from England, Japan, China, and Finland came to work in the mines. In 1900, the town’s rapid success was dealt a stunning blow by one of the worst mining disasters in American history. On the morning of May 1, the Number 4 mineshaft exploded, collapsing the entrance to the mine and trapping several hundred men inside. After a heart-stopping 20 minutes, rescuers cleared the entrance to the mine and began pulling the survivors from the shaft. Many of the men survived, but more than 200 miners fell victim to the toxic fumes released by the explosion. During your tour of the town, stop and pay your respects at the Scofield Cemetery, a lasting memorial to the tragedy that befell the area over a century ago. Although the Scofield of today has settled into a quieter existence, many intriguing sites remain. Peruse the historic buildings, many of which are more than 100 years old, and rediscover the charm of this little mountain town. Visit the birthplace of Pulitzer Prize winner Robert David Mullins and mingle with the local townspeople, who’ll be happy to share a story or two from Scofield’s glory days.
Take the byway about three miles south from Scofield to the Skyline Mine and read about modern mining methods and more on roadside pullouts along the way. Then continue west into the beautiful Manti-La Sal National Forest. After several miles, the road intersects with State Road 31 and North Skyline Drive, giving you the option to continue west to Fairview in the Sanpete Valley or follow the byway south past the Mammoth and Cleveland Reservoirs toward Castle Valley, where the byway comes to an end in Huntington.
At the intersection of SR 31 and North Skyline Drive, you can turn west and follow the byway 9 miles to the town of Fairview, an agricultural district dating back to 1859. Several of the original buildings have been preserved over the years, including several stone-walled homes and meetinghouses built by Mormon pioneers. Visit the Fairview Museum of History and Art for an afternoon filled with artifacts dating from recent years back to before the settlement of America, such as a full-scale replica of a Colombian mammoth that was unearthed in 1988 on SR 31 to the south.
Return to the intersection of SR 31 and North Skyline Drive, then head south and you’ll pass the Sanpete Valley Overlook, which yields a beautiful view of the valley below, where prehistoric artifacts dating back to the 1300s have been found in stone and mud-walled structures. Follow the byway as it continues southeast along Highway 31 to the Historic Stuart Guard Station Visitor Center, which was built in the 1930s as a ranger outpost. Today, it serves as a visitor center for the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Meander through the inside of the historic structure and take a look at some of the furniture and other items used by early park rangers as you learn about the duties these men performed and the lives they led. Just outside the visitor center, glance at the informative signs and equipment illustrating the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, who originally built the station and many of the campgrounds and trails you’ll see today.
Complete your byway experience in the town of Huntington, the last stop on the byway. As you enter the town, stop at the Crandall Canyon Memorial at the entrance to remember the miners and rescuers who lost their lives in the August 2007 mining accident. This town dates back to 1877, when it was a settlement founded by a small group from Fairview. Over the next few decades, the town grew from its original 126 residents to nearly 1300 by 1910. Although it began with an agricultural focus, Huntington survived primarily as a small coal-mining community until the Utah Power and Light Company built a power plant just north of town.
Though your byway journey has come to an end, the adventure doesn’t have to. Continue your journey into the history surrounding the Energy Loop and discover more about the exciting prehistoric world and its unsolved mysteries just south of the byway at the Museum of San Rafael in Castle Dale or the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum on the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway to the East. However you choose to step into the past, you’ll find that history is certainly no stranger on the Energy Loop!
