Jeffrey City, Wyoming

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Jeffrey City Is a former uranium mining boomtown located in Fremont County, in central Wyoming. The town is famous in Wyoming and the American West as symbol of a boomtown that went “bust” very quickly, as the mine was shut down in 1982 and over 95% of the inhabitants left the town within 3 years ^[1]. The population was 106 at the 2000 census, and when compared to a boom-time population of several thousand people, Jeffrey City is often considered a ghost town.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Jeffrey City was named after Dr. C. W. Jeffrey, a wealthy doctor from Rawlins, Wyoming who initially financed the costs for prospector and businessman Bob Adams to start the Western Nuclear Corporation mining firm and open a Uranium mine near the area in 1957, during the cold war and the height of uranium demand^[1].

Thousands of people looking for high-paying mining jobs streamed into Jeffrey City, and Western Nuclear designed and financed a company town for the workers and their families. At the height of the boomtown optimism, an extremely large high school was built that included a Olympic-sized swimming pool. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the uranium market collapsed and the mine was forced to close. As was typical of many boomtowns, Jeffrey City was singularly dependent on the local mine, and after it closed there was no reason for residents to remain. What was once a thriving local community with shops, schools, library, sheriff, youth hostel, churches, medical clinics and more, became a ghost town as 95% of the residents left the town by 1986^[1]. Today, the only business that remain are a mostly dormant church and bar called the Split Rock Café that caters to those passing through on the highway.

[edit] Geography

Jeffrey City is located at 42°29′26″N, 107°49′42″W (42.490481, -107.828462)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 74.2 km² (28.6 mi²). 73.7 km² (28.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.59%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 106 people, 45 households, and 32 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1.4/km² (3.7/mi²). There were 112 housing units at an average density of 1.5/km² (3.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.11% White, 0.94% Native American, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.

There were 45 households out of which 15.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 2.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.61.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 14.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 41.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 152.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,857, and the median income for a family was $42,679. Males had a median income of $65,156 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,061. There were no families and 8.2% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.