Show 1 Ji M re J p c x DRAWING OF THE TOWN of Linwood as it was once known The town site ii now under about feet of water backed up by the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam V Memorial to the town that drowned By R. R RAlan Alan Candy Gandy Do you remember the Bucket of Blood Saloon the Smith Smith- Larsen Mercantile Company or orthe orthe orthe the red tin school house that sat on the Wyoming Wyoming Utah Utah state line lineIn lineIn linein in Linwood If you do youve you've been around these parts of the country longer than most of us The town of Linwood came cam into existence in 1903 when Keith Smith an easterner bought the land from George Solomon Solomon had proposed a town in the late and wanted to name it Linwood after the many cottonwood cot cot- trees that tha t were planted along the canals in the area When Smith bought the land he opened the Smith Smith Larsen Larsen Mercantile Company and started a ranch His partner Marius Larsen started a second store of after ter Smith bought out his interest in the original business Later each of them opened up a hotel Soon The Bucket of Blood a around around around round dance hall and a post postoffice postoffice postoffice office were constructed and the town of Linwood was booming As the range lands became overgrazed the sheep business slowed and the thriving once-thriving town became a quiet rural community Then in 1962 the town was burned just before the rising waters contained in inthe inthe inthe the Flaming Gorge Reservoir covered the area Now almost 20 years later the Flaming Gorge Natural History Association in cooperation with the Daggett County Historical Society and the Ashley National Forest is constructing a large slate memorial with inlays containing a sketch of the town as it l looked ked just prior to its destruction The sketch was made by Susan Smith Young daughter of Keith Smith the father of Linwood Mrs Young I now know now in her seventies resides in Green River Wyoming She drew the sketch from a few old photographs and from memory and it is very accurate according according according ac ac- ac- ac cording to Ellen Williams former postmistress of Linwood Linwood Linwood Lin Lin- wood and present postmistress of Dutch John Although the actual townsite was four or five miles west of the Lucerne Campgrounds and under feet of water the monument will be placed at Lucerne The June 1978 installation installation installation in in- of the monument will willbe willbe willbe be the climax of two years year's work on this project by the Natural History Association TilE THE MEMORIAL will cost around 1000 when completed f 1500 of ot this has been donated by the Flaming Gorge Natural Ills History tory Association The labor involved In building the memorial is being donated by bythe bythe bythe the Flaming Gorge Youth Conservation Corps Camp In Dutch John The funds that the Natural History Association donated to this and other interpretive projects In this area come from the sale of ot postcards slides of the area camera film and topographic maps of ot the Flaming laming Gorge National Recreation Area and the Uinta Mountains Association sales personnel work In the visitor centers at the Flaming Gorge Dam and Red Canyon Other association sales outlets are In the Forest Service offices in Green River Manila and Dutch John All profits from these sales go into interpretive interpretive interpretive in in- displays and equipment that is used on the Ashley National Forest Items sold by the association are informative in nature and must be approved by the Visitor Information Service office prior to being placed in iu the centers TilE THE NATURAL History Association was started by the National Park Service in 1965 on the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area It was taken over by the Forest Service in 1969 The Chairman of the board hoard of directors is Bob Simpson of Dutch John Other board members include Adrian Reynolds retired editor of the Green River Star Michael Perry curator of the Vernal Museum of Natural History Janet Adams executive secretary and Pat Gale treasurer Other projects that the the- Natural History Association has sponsored include a geological interpretive display at the Sheep Creek Bay overlook an Interpretive trail at Bootleg Campgrounds projection equipment for the two visitor centers on the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and a plaque for the green ash tree that grows on the lawn of the Forest Service Office in Dutch John This is the only tree that was saved from Linwood before the town was flooded This tree now stands a living memorial to the town that tha t drowned |