In 1856 Mormon settlers established the small town of St. Thomas, Nevada, at the confluence of the Muddy and Virgin Rivers. After the construction of Hoover Dam, the town was inundated by the rising waters of Lake Mead in 1938.

Now a prolonged drought and lower lake levels have once again revealed the site of St. Thomas, and the staff at Lake Mead National Recreation Area is looking for help with expanding interpretive information about the former town.

A Mistake in Geography Lead to the Town's First Demise

The town has a colorful history. According to information from the park, St. Thomas was first established in 1856 by Mormon settlers who mistakenly thought they were in Utah. That was an understandable error in those days of sketchy maps and limited landmarks, but Nevada officials weren't very forgiving, and demanded payment of three years back taxes.

The Mormons refused to pay the bills, and after a vote all but one family decided to abandon the town. The rest of them burned their homes, deserted their crops and moved to Salt Lake City.

Despite this setback, the location had plenty to offer. The confluence of two rivers'”the Virgin and Muddy'”made this a prime spot for farming in an otherwise arid region, and the site was only about 22 miles from the Colorado River.

A Second Chance for St. Thomas

New settlers began to arrive in the area during the 1880'™s and the town grew, reaching a peak population of about 500 people. At its prime, St. Thomas could boast of a school, post office, grocery stores, a church, and ice cream parlor. With the coming of the automobile age, the town also had several garages, and became a stopping point between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City along the old route of U. S. 91. 

The remains of the Hannig Ice Cream Parlor at St. Thomas. NPS photo.

In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill authorizing the building of Boulder (Hoover) Dam, and the waters of the resulting lake would spell a second end to St. Thomas. Residents of the town were told they would have to relocate, and that the government would reimburse them for their property.

Lake Mead began to fill in 1935, and the last resident paddled away from his home when the rising waters reached the building in 1938. Once the lake reached its peak level, the former town was under sixty feet of water, and its presence was unknown by most of the millions of boaters who used the lake for decades.

Time has proven that the flow of water down the Colorado River isn't always as abundant as expected by planners of the big lake, and a prolonged drought has resulted in a dramatic drop in the reservoir. Now the remains of the town are once again exposed to view, and visitors are free to roam the area and imagine the town that once existed here.

Park Staff Hopes To Find New Information To Tell The Town's Story

To help in that experience, the park staff is seeking oral histories, documents or photos of St. Thomas that anyone would be willing to share with the National Park Service. If you have such materials, or know someone who does, please contact Leslie Paige at 702-293-8729 or [email protected] by March 14, 2014.

The information gathered during this effort will help develop displays for the loop trail at the townsite, and it will also be used in brochures which will be distributed to museums and visitor contact areas throughout Southern Nevada. During this project, new details will also be added to the park website.

A 2.5-mile loop trail is already in place, and allows visitors to tour nearly 40 acres containing foundations of buildings, cisterns, canal features and an old rail spur. The park isn't making a major investment in trails or on-site exhibits, in case there's a dramatic change in water levels.

The Townsite Seems Likely To Remain In View For Years To Come

A major rise in the lake would be a welcome relief for the region, which depends heavily on Lake Mead for water, but predictions don't point in that direction; the Bureau of Reclamation estimates that the townsite could continue to be exposed to the desert sun for at least another 50 years.

You can view a video recapping the story of the town, along with historic photos of St. Thomas at this link on the park website, and the following 2-minute video taken by a visitor shows the area as it looked in 2010.

If you'd like to take a virtual tour of St. Thomas, you can also download or view a brochure prepared by the park at this link. Planning to visit in person? The townsite is located on the lake's Overton Arm, in the far northeastern part of the park. You'll find driving directions from Las Vegas or Boulder City, Nevada, on page 4 of this brochure.