St Thomas Nevada – Ghost Town Near Lake Mead

St Thomas Nevada

St Thomas Nevada Overview

Located within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, St. Thomas is one of the “newer ones” as the twice-abandoned town was submerged under water when the Hoover Dam was built and then appeared once the water levels started to drop.

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Timeline

• 1865 – Town founded by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was led by Thomas Sassen Smith
• February 1871 – the LDS Church abandoned St. Thomas
• 1938 – The last resident, Hugh Lord left St. Thomas (he supposedly woke up to water up to his bed and burned his house before rowing away)

The Population of St Thomas Nevada

In its day, St. Thomas was a thriving stopping point between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City along the Arrowhead Trail and the peak population was around 500 residents.

Managed By

The National Park Service, the Department of the Interior maintains the site of St. Thomas.

Elevation

1,166 feet

GPS Coordinates

36.466247°, -114.370517°

How to Get to St Thomas Nevada

From I-15 north of Las Vegas, take the Logandale-Overton exit. This is SR 169. Drive south about 29 miles, past Overton to Bluff Road, then Old St. Thomas Road (dirt) about three miles to the town site. There is parking and interpretive signage there. From the parking area, there is a 2.5-mile walk down to where the town once was. One goes at one’s own risk as the trail is not maintained.

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Hours Open

Open seven days a week.

Fees

Depending on how you access the area, you may have to pay a fee to enter the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

St Thomas Memorial Cemetery

The St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery is located on Magnasite Road off Moapa Valley Boulevard in Overton, Nevada, and was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 2005, as NRHP number 04001529.

Covering over 5 acres, the cemetery was associated with the early Mormon settlements in the area, including St. Thomas, Nevada. It was established in the 1860s for the residents of St. Thomas before it was moved to its present location in 1935 to remove it from the area to be covered by Lake Mead following the construction of Hoover Dam.

For a short period, it was referred to as Mead Lake Cemetery before finally acquiring the name of St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery. Residents of St. Thomas and Kaolin, along with their descendants, are buried here.

The cemetery is maintained by the community.

GPS coordinates to the St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery are: 36°31′14″N 114°26′7″W

References Used

• Wikipedia – St. Thomas Nevada
• Wikipedia – St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery
• National Park Service – St. Thomas Nevada

 

St Thomas Nevada