Kimberly is a ghost town in the northwest corner of Piute County, Utah, United States.
A few businesses sprang up in town, but the real growth began in 1899 when Sharon, Pennsylvania investor Peter L. Kimberly bought the Annie Laurie and other area mines.
[3] Kimberly quickly became the leading gold camp in the state, with two hotels, two stores, three saloons, and two newspapers.
[3] The boom period of 1901–1908 is considered to be the town's heyday;[4] the Annie Laurie Company absorbed several other mines and paid out nearly $500,000 in dividends during this time.
[3] The steep canyon road was constantly filled with wagons carrying ore, bullion, and supplies to and from the railroad station at the town of Sevier.
[4] It was during this period that Ivy Baker Priest was born in 1905, in a house at the north end of Lower Kimberly.
The new owners tried to cut labor costs using the truck system, paying workers in scrip redeemable only at the company store.
The company borrowed heavily to build a new processing mill, and was caught in a vulnerable position by the Panic of 1907.
[4] Both Piute County and the Gold Hill Mining Company claimed ownership of the old jailhouse;[3] after staying at Kimberly for many years it was moved to Pioneer Village, now at Lagoon Amusement Park in northern Utah.