Restless Spirits of Dove Creek Camp - Kelton, Utah

In the late 1800s from 1863 and 1869 to be exact, laborers toiled so that the Eastern and Western United States was joined via railway for the first time.  This culminated at Promontory Point, Utah just north west of Salt Lake City. 

The golden spike ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869 finalized the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Most of the workers that built the transcontinental railroad were Chinese immigrants.  When these workers were not working on the railway, they spent their time at their base camp which was near Kelton, Utah in the Dove Creek Basin which is not far from Promontory Point.  Thousands of Chinese workers died while laboring on the transcontinental railway. Many found their final resting place at what became known as Dove Creek Camp.  There have been numerous reports by visitors to the camp over the years that the spirits of Dove Creek Camp had made themselves known to those wandering through their final resting place.

Chinese railroad workers in the late 1800s

A typical railroad construction camp in the late 1800s

There have been tales of disembodied voices being carried on the wind in the area around Dove Creek.  And those voices were distinctly Chinese.  Some claim to have seen actual apparitions of the Chinese workers wandering through the camp laboring away after all these years.  Other visitors have encountered paranormal phenomenon such as strange lights that appear similar to sparks rising from the ground.

Lithograph of Chinese rail workers at Promontory Point, Utah

One report from a group of overnight campers at the Dove Creek Basin went beyond hearing voices in the night.  They claimed to have awakened to the sound of a phantom steam locomotive chugging through the darkness, a faint lantern seen moving along from a distance.

Dove Creek Basin in Utah

If you visit the Dove Creek Basin, you may want to keep a keen eye or ear open for the phantom railway workers, still toiling in their harsh labors for all eternity.

Location of Dove Creek Camp in Utah