Ghost Town Near Bryce Has a Dry Farming Legacy That Changed the World

One of the contributions Utah gave to the world was something called dry farming. The concept was to use land that couldn’t be irrigated to raise crops. Utah invented and refined the technique and now it is used all over the world. 

Former Town Named for Dry Farming Innovator 

In central Utah about 16 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park is the ghost town of Widstoe. Even though there are residents in the area it is no longer a town. It once had 1,100 citizens and was named for John A. Widstoe because of his work with dry farming. 

Way back in 1863 some Scandinavian immigrants to Utah had their crops fail and in desperation, they planted the rest of their seed in ground where they removed sage brush. To their surprise the grain grew, and they were saved from hunger. 

Others began to experiment with this way of dry farming and in the early part of the 1900s the state put money into studying the practice. This is where the town of Widstoe came to be. They practiced dry farming and named it after the man who established the principles it was based on. 

When Water is Scarce to Grow Crops 

Now used around the world in semi-arid climates, dry farming is an important resource. The idea is to preserve moisture by how you work the land and using drought resistant crops. It is usually done at higher elevations where precipitation is high and summers are cooler. 

So, why is Widstoe a ghost town now? Dry farming techniques caused the town to prosper, but in 1920 there was late snowfall that hurt the grain, and the following drought and depression made it unsustainable. 

Read More: Tunnel Under Cedar City Wasn't Built for Humans

You can explore the former houses and even a school in the old town site. Even though this bustling little farm town is gone, its legacy lives on in the dry farming techniques pioneered here in Utah and still used today.