Memories of a company town

From start to finish, Garfield was a company town.

The land for the town was purchased in 1905 by Utah Copper Co., just two years after that company was organized by Daniel C. Jackling . Named for President James A. Garfield, the town was laid out "like the spokes of a wagon wheel cut in half," says Lee Romrell, who was born there. It was located a few miles west of Magna on U-201 at about 10000 West and 2400 South.

The Trading Post was built in 1907. A school soon followed. Six hotels were built to house single men. By 1916, there were more than 100 homes, which rented for $18-$28 a month, including water. The company took care of any paint, wallpaper and repairs.

A library, post office, swimming pool and doctor's office were added. A men's club, a women's club, a Boy Scout building and two churches — an LDS church built on one corner and an Episcopalian on the other — soon joined them. Later came a bank, movie house, a few stores and even a railroad station.

At its height, in the 1940s, about 2,000 people called Garfield home. Most of the men worked at the mills; a few at the smelter, which was at the edge of town.

But by 1955, Kennecott Copper, which had acquired Utah Copper in 1936, decided it wanted to get out of the landlord business and shut the town down. Residents could either buy their homes and move them somewhere else or abandon them for demolition. Either way, the town would be no more.

By 1957 Garfield had joined the ranks of Utah's mining ghost towns. Gone ... but not forgotten.

"Even though the town of Garfield is not even a spot on the map any more," says Romrell, "it will always have a place in the hearts of the people, like myself, who grew up in the small mining town. There is a certain bond that links us together."

Romrell is in the process of writing a book about Garfield, because "it's important that the memories live on, that others will understand why we loved the town so much." He kept waiting for someone else to write the book, but then "I realized that if it was going to get done, I'd have to do it."

Some of the former residents are also planning a centennial celebration of the founding of the town, which will be held Saturday at Holmes Park. Most of the folks with ties to Garfield are getting on in years, says Romrell. The time to remember is now.

Lee Romrell spent the first 10 years of his life in Garfield. "It was a wonderful place to grow up," he says. "It was the neatest town. Everyone who lived there loved it."

Doug Dangerfield, who grew up in the town and lived there after he was married, agrees. "A lot of good memories came from there. A lot of good times. I'm 83, and half the time I can't remember last week. But I can remember Garfield so clearly and vividly."