Ghost Towns and Ancient Art – Sego Canyon

Welcome to Sego Canyon, Utah, a place where history and mystery intertwine beneath the vast Utah skies. Just north of Thompson Springs, this mysterious canyon is both a portal to the ancient civilizations of Utah and the home of an abandoned ghost town that was once home to a thriving coal mining community. Today I will be exploring this mysterious canyon and diving into the history of both the coal mining town that disappeared and the significance of the ancient native art that covers this canyon. Who created these paintings, what did they signify, and what happened to the sego ghost town.

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Timecodes
0:00 – Intro
1:20 – History of the ghost town
3:05 – Problems faced by the town
3:48 – Company scrip payment system
5:44 – The final days of the town
6:58 – Ancient rock paintings in the canyon
7:37 – Barrier canyon style art
9:42 – Other styles of art in the canyon
11:00 – Outro

[Music] n welcome to SEO Canyon Utah a place where history and mystery intertwined beneath the vast Utah Skies an Indescribable vastness softened now by the waning purple and Molen Silver Shadows of a departing day just north of Thompson Springs this mysterious Canyon is both a portal to the ancient civilizations of Utah and the home of an abandoned ghost town that was once home to a thriving coal mining Community today I will be exploring this mysterious Canyon and diving into the history of both the coal mining town that disappeared and the significance of the ancient native art that covers this Canyon who created these paintings what did they signify and what happened to the SEO Ghost Town the story of the SEO Ghost Town begins in the 1890s with a man named Henry Ballard a Rancher whose discovery of coal would shape the destiny of the SEO Canyon unlike most ghost towns of the American West whose Prosperity was tied to gold and silver this town’s Fortune was carved from Rich coal after his discovery of coal he quickly secured rights to the land and initiated smallscale operations that soon caught the attention of larger investors in Salt Lake City in 1911 the land and the mine were sold to investors they constructed essential infrastructure including a store a boarding house and a robust water supply system laying the groundwork for what they believe to be a prosperous future the isolation of SEO created many challenges the transportation of coal required innovative solutions leading to the construction of the Ballard and Thompson railroad which connected SEO directly to the national rail network this rail line was a Lifeline for the town crucial for both the supply of necessities and the export of coal life in SEO was never easy but during its boom years from 1910 to 1947 it was a place of bustling activity the coal resources of Utah are enormous with 1/5th of the state underlaid with this valuable combustible [Music] mineral Utah coal black magic that fires the furnaces of progress coal flowed like black gold and the town’s infr structure grew the population swelled and reached nearly 500 residents at its peak with the growth came more challenges the town’s water supply essential for both household needs and coal processing began to fail the creeks and springs that had once gave the town its water began to dry the coal washer an essential part of the coal mining process often stood idle without enough water in the town necessary for its operation economic inst ability further plagued SEO the fluctuating demand for coal exacerbated by the Great Depression put immense pressure on the town wages were sporadic and miners frequently received payment in company script instead of cash tethering them economically to the company’s store a defining and controversial aspect of life in SEO as in many Mining and logging communities across the United States was the use of company script company script was a substitute for governmen issued currency that was issued by companies as a way to pay their employees this form of payment could only be used within company-owned stores forcing employees to buy Goods at often inflated prices from their employer company script was part of a broader economic system known as the truck system where goods and services were exchanged instead of cash in places like SEO which were often remote and cash poor workers found themselves in a bind they had little choice but to use the script at the company’s store since converting it into Cash was either impossible or costly due to exchange fees this system made workers economically dependent on their employers a strategy that reinforced employee loyalty but at a significant cost to their Financial Freedom and well-being the employer holding a monopoly over both wages and Retail could dictate the economic life of the community in many cases this led to a cycle of debt and dependency that was hard to break in the United States this system was prevalent in coal mining regions with an estimated 75% of all script being used by coal companies in States like Kentucky Virginia and West Virginia the tokens which represented the script currency were often made from metals like brass copper zinc and nickel the exploitative nature of the script system eventually led to its downfall in the United Kingdom the truck system was formerly out lawed under the truck acts similarly in the United States the widespread discontent with this system culminated in legislative action in 1938 the fair labor standards Act made payment and script illegal by 1947 the situation at SEO had worsened production cost soared as the easily accessible coal was exhausted requiring deeper and more expensive mining operations the economic model that once seemed so robust crumbled under its own weight when the Chesterfield Coal Company the town’s last major operator shuttered the mines it was a devastating blow the population dwindled as miners left in search of work elsewhere the final nail in the coffin was the shift from Steam to diesel locomotives by the railroads drastically reducing the demand for seo’s coal the remaining residents a mere 27 by the end pulled their resources in a desperate bid to keep their community alive they formed the Utah Grand Coal Company a Las ditch effort to sustain mining operations yet even this could not withstand the subsequent disasters a fire that destroyed the coal Tipple in 1949 followed by another devastating fire in 1950 as the SEO cold Town slowly began to disappear all that remained were a few buildings eventually all but one would collapse and remain standing as the canyon became silent once again the walls of the canyon begin to take Center Stage within this very Canyon are multiple ancient Rock paintings some dating back thousands of years the oldest paintings in the canyon date back to the Archaic Period spanning from around 7,000 BC to 1,000 BC the people of this era were primarily nomadic hunter gatherers who Moved seasonally to exploit natural resources the rock art from this period typically features abstract patterns which might have been used in rituals to ensure a successful hunt or to commemorate significant events among these paintings one panel stands out with images from the barrier Canyon style a type of native rock art found in this area the barrier Canyon style is characterized by large anthropomorphic figures with missing arms legs and eyes other examples of this art style can be found within the canyon lands National Park about 1 hour from here there have been many theories on what these paintings represent everything from extraterrestrial contact to shamanistic Art many historians believe that the rock paintings here depict Visions experienced during trans-like states by shamans spiritual Journeys induced by rituals and possibly the use of natural hallucinogens the shamans would enter Altered States Of Consciousness seeking insights and messages from the spirit world to guide their people in matters from healing to hunting the Vivid depictions of figures with exaggerated features and enigmatic symbols are thought to represent these mystical experiences in the process of reaching these trans States Shaman engaged in various ritualistic practices this often involved rhythmic drumming fasting and the ingestion of natural substances that would alter their perception facilitating a spiritual voyage that they believed could heal protect and foretell the future the art artwor in SEO Canyon serves as a bridge to understanding the sophisticated spiritual lives of these ancient people the figures often depicted without eyes or mouths symbolize the Shaman’s Journey beyond the physical world where traditional senses are surpassed by spiritual perception the unique Acoustics of SEO Canyon likely played a significant role in these rituals the natural sound isolation helps to intensify the auditory experience making every chant and drum beat resonate both physically and spiritually this sensory amplification aided the shamans in transcending their ordinary mental States active from approximately ad600 to 1250 the Fremont people left behind a more diverse array of rock art that includes both petroglyphs and pictographs their art often features figures in elaborate costumes animals and abstract ideas the Fremont culture is noted for its agricultural advancements and sedentary lifestyle which is reflected in the complexity and thematic variety of their Rock arts and the third style the most recent contributors to the Canyon’s rock art gallery are the UT people whose artwork dates from around ad 1300 onwards the UT’s rock art includes both pictographs and petroglyphs depicting big horn sheep horses after the introduction by the Spanish and figures that likely represent Warriors or leaders within their tribal Society the rock art and the abandoned structures together tell a story of survival and adaptation if you guys are enjoying the video leave a like comment subscribe it’s the best way to support the channel subscriptions go a long way a lot more videos coming so stay tuned here we are SEO Ghost Town YouTube the ancient peoples adapted their spiritual and daily lives to the Canyon’s rhythms leaving behind art that was deeply connected to the land centuries later miners sought to harness the land’s resources building a community that would eventually succumb to the very challenges the ancient artists might have transcended through their spiritual practices meanwhile the remnants of seo’s coal mining Community with its empty buildings speak to the dreams of prosperity and the inevitability of decline the jux deposition of these ghostly remains with the enduring rock art reflects a powerful lesson about The Human Experience while our towns and constructions May crumble into the ground our stories and spiritual Explorations remain edged in the fabric of time [Music] [Music]