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History · Scofield

Scofield dates to 1879, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1890.

1879founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Scofield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Scofield began

When was Scofield founded?

1879

Scofield dates its founding to 1879 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 680 in 18902020 census: 26147 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓

What stands out about Scofield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19233 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 2001. Watch Scofield change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Scofield on the map, 1923 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Scofield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Scofield on the 1923 USGS mapScofield on the 1979 USGS mapScofield on the 2001 USGS map1923Scofield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Scofield.

The story

How Scofield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Scofield.

Read it all →

The town of Scofield is situated on high ground two miles south of the reservoir of the same name, the oldest and largest of the major impoundments on the Wasatch Plateau. Once the most populous community in Carbon County, Scofield has shrunk to only a few permanent residents. What has slowed the continual decline has become outsiders constructing summer vacation homes. The old brick school stands empty at the upper end of town, and there are abandoned buildings scattered through what was once the business district. Only the cemetery on a hill to the east suggests that this was once a community of some size.

ChaptersSettlementDiscovery of coal and coming of the railroadDisasterDecline

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Scofield in 1900

Passages that mention Scofield, cut from the printed page as they were published.

William Hirst, Justice of the Peace, acted as Coroner. The jury was composed of W. H. Potter, F. H. Mereweather. and A. Greenhalgh, who found a verdict as follows: State of Utah, County of Carbon, Precinct of Scofield. An inquest having been held in Scotield, in Scofield Precinct, Carbon County, St…
History of the Scofield mine disaster1900Read the page →
Read the text

William Hirst, Justice of the Peace, acted as Coroner. The jury was composed of W. H. Potter, F. H. Mereweather. and A. Greenhalgh, who found a verdict as follows: State of Utah, County of Carbon, Precinct of Scofield. An inquest having been held in Scotield, in Scofield Precinct, Carbon County, State of Utah, on the 3rd day of May, 1900, before William Hirst, Justice of the Peace of Scofield Precinct, in said County.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A number of its members had just formed an incorporation, the Fraternal Building Association of Scofield and Winter Quarters, and had completed arrangements to erect a handsome two story building-, half way between the railway station at Scofield and the company store at Winter Quarters, between wh…
History of the Scofield mine disaster1900 · page 150Read the page →
Read the text

A number of its members had just formed an incorporation, the Fraternal Building Association of Scofield and Winter Quarters, and had completed arrangements to erect a handsome two story building-, half way between the railway station at Scofield and the company store at Winter Quarters, between which two points nearly all the cottages of the mine and railway employes are situated.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Scofield, 1879 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingScofield is established
  3. 1881Post officeThe Scofield post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveAerial view of the cemetery in
  6. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1974Post officeThe Scofield post office closes
  8. 1995In the archiveThe Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway - RV by Scofield History Interpre…
By decade

Scofield, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Aerial view of the cemetery in1900Aerial view of the cemetery inAerial view of the cemetery in1900Aerial view of the cemetery inExterior of meeting house at1900Exterior of meeting house atScofieldMineCoffins1900ScofieldMineCoffinsWagons of bread in1900Wagons of bread in
1910s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s2 items
The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway - RV by Scofield History Interpretation1995The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byw…The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway - Scofield Town Cemetery1995The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byw…
Date unknown3 to date
Scofield Mine DisasterDate?Scofield Mine DisasterJones MineDate?Jones MineWinter Quarters MineDate?Winter Quarters Mine
Today3 recent
Southwest on SR-96 at Scofield, Utah, Dec 162016Southwest on SR-96 at Scofield, Utah, Dec 16North on SR-96 entering Scofield, Utah, Dec 162016North on SR-96 entering Scofield, Utah, Dec 16Scofield UT dyeclan.com - panoramio (1)2010Scofield UT dyeclan.com - panoramio (1)
Every building

Scofield, building by building, 1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Scofield fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 21913Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Aerial view of the cemetery in
Retake this viewAerial view of the cemetery in, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Scofield’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Scofield, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 746

Between 22 and 746 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Scofield’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Scofield had its own post office from 1881 to 1974.

Scofield
1881–1974
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Gibson Minemine
1cemetery inside Scofield
Scofield

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Scofield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAerial view of the cemetery in: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Scofield’s history

What year was Scofield founded?

In 1879, according to Wikidata. Scofield’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1890 counted 680 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.