Price, Utah

Price is the capital of Carbon County, and the name of the county tells you most of what you need to know. In the early eighteen eighties a railroad geologist following the Denver and Rio Grande Western line through Price River Canyon identified coal seams at the foot of the Book Cliffs capable of fueling locomotives across the West. The Castle Gate Mine opened nearby, and Price became the gateway to one of Utah's richest coal districts.

The railroad brought waves of immigrants, mostly Greeks, Italians, and Slavs, who settled in distinct neighborhoods and built Eastern Orthodox churches that still stand downtown. The college was founded to serve the mining communities. Coal defined Price for more than a century, and the town absorbed the boom-and-bust cycle of the industry across several generations. The College of Eastern Utah, now Utah State University Eastern, remains the town's anchor as the coal economy has contracted.