2 . 2 7. 2 0 LV W n e w s
LEFT: The remains of what was once a two-story school in St. Thomas, now part of in the Lake Mead Recreation Area near Overton.
RIGHT: Skeletal pieces of a grocery store and an ice cream parlor
Cracked mud lies beneath the remains of a St. Thomas home.
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the town was virtually abandoned. “They were given a certain dollar amount for their homes,” Maughan says. “It basically was, ‘Take it or leave it,’ because their homes were going to be covered up.” The last resident of the town was Hugh Lord, who famously stayed until 1938, when the water came lapping at his door. He escaped by boat after burning his home to the ground, according to Maughan. “He did not want it taken by the lake,” she says. Over the years, the town sometimes became visible again during unusually dry seasons, Maughan says. On those rare occasions, former residents would meet at the site of the town and hold a reunion and ceremony, she says. The most recent one took place in 2012. But unprecedented drought conditions in the early 2000s that continue to this day have brought the site well above the lake level, perhaps permanently. It would take at least 20 years of above-average precipitation for lake levels to exceed the elevation of the town again, Kennedy says. “One day, hopefully it will be [submerged] and the lake will be back to higher levels, but not anytime soon,” she said. Today, Maughan knows of one former St. Thomas resident who’s still alive and living in Hurricane, Utah. Others with ties to the former town frequently stop by the historical society with questions about its history, she says. “People will bring me their family histories and leave me a copy,” Maughan says. “It’s like they want me to know their ancestors.” While she has no direct connection to St. Thomas, Maughan has become fascinated by its history, especially from living in Moapa Valley, where many former St. Thomas families reside. Through the local historical society, she hopes to ensure that the town isn’t lost. “I feel like we don’t have a presence here in Logandale and Overton without St. Thomas,” Maughan says. “We started in St. Thomas, and I don’t want that connection forgotten.”
