In 1916 W. H. Wattis and his brother from Ogden purchased 160 acres of property from the federal government to begin mining operations in the area southwest of Price near Hiawatha.
Charlie Petitti, who had moved his family into the area in 1915 profited when he sold the railroad a right away across his property. In 1917 electric power came to the area and Charlie made money by allowing the poles to be placed on his property. By the spring of 1918 there were quite a few families now living in the new camp, called Wattis and when they wanted to build a school it was Charlie Petiti who sold them the property. Charlie's brother built a store and pool hall.
The Wattis Coal company merged with the Lion Coal Company and the camp began to really blossom during 1919. Boarding houses were built and frame homes were built for families. In 1938 religions established themselves in the camp. Later a movie theater was eventually built and they moved the chairs and dances were held. A union hall was constructed and used for meetings, dances and other entertainment.
During World War II 250 miners had steady work and new homes were built to house them. During the 1950's the demand for coal dropped the many miners moved out of the camp. In 1965 the coal properties were sold and by 1970 Wattis was a ghost town with most of the houses and buildings gone. The mining camp is now just a memory.
Please keep in mind that these photographs have been reduced in size to approximately 1 1/2" to 2" to save on server space and download time. The original size of the photograph varies. Please see the Introduction page for details on ordering photographs along with the price list.
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Photo #: 90-1-1 Date of origin:
Item Name: Miners on Walk Way
Description: Miners at Lion Coal Co. (1916-1965) on walk way above mine office |
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Photo #: 90-1-2 Date of origin: 1919
Item Name: Mining Camp
Description: Mining Town of Wattis with railroad, mine office of Lion Coal Co., (1916-1965), boarding houses and homes. |
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Photo #: 90-1-3 Date of origin: 1917
Item Name: Miners
Description: Photo of miners at Wattis mine. |
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Photo #: 90-1-5bottom Date of origin: 1952
Item Name: Mining Camp
Description: Wattis Coal Camp |
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Photo #: 90-1-11 Date of origin:
Item Name: Mine Buildings
Description: Buildings at Wattis. |
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Photo #: 90-1-12 Date of origin: 1940's
Item Name: Skateboarding
Description: Skateboarding down the Lion Coal Co. tramway past the old First Aid Station. Photo of Eugene Shaw born 1912. |
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Photo #: 90-1-14 Date of origin: 1952
Item Name: Tipple
Description: Lion coal tipple that has been replaced with a new coal handling facility. |
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Photo #: 90-1-19 Date of origin:
Item Name: Tramway
Description: Lower section of the Lion Coal tramway, Wattis, Utah |
