Sego Canyon Cave Paintings

By Devon Washington

Figures are depicted surrounding an otherworldly Holy Man

Background

History of Sego

Sego Utah started off in the early 1890s as farmer Harry Ballard discovered coal on the lands next to his ranch. He then began purchasing this land to begin small scale coal mining operations that eventually rose to a small community named Ballard, after the owner. Ballard’s property was eventually bought out and the American Fuel Company began to develop the area in 1911 with plans for long-term coal production. Over time the company was plagued with water system problems, low profits, power supply issues and overall financial problems. At some points, there was no money to pay the miners, they were given scripts to spend at the company store. In 1949 a fire swept the site, drastically decreasing productions. Then when diesel engines mostly replaced coal powered steam engines the company came to a halt. After this, Sego became a ghost town.