Russian Settlement, Utah

Russian Settlement is a ghost town in the Park Valley area of Box Elder County, Utah, United States.

It is not known what name, if any, the settlers from Russia gave to their community; it has been called "Box Elder County's ghost town with no name.

"[1] The settlement, which lasted about 1914–1917, was formed by a group of Molokan Spiritual Christians[2] from Russia of mixed faiths and ethnicities.

Advertising described the local climate as "energizing," and it was claimed that the heavy growth of sagebrush indicated that the land was fertile for farming.

[2][4] They had been living in Los Angeles, California for about a decade, and the older members of the group were becoming concerned about the effects of American urban culture on their youth, and feared that their tradition of arranged marriages was being threatened.

[1][5] The immigrants wanted to raise their children in a rural area immersed in their own language, culture, and traditions.

[2] By August 1914, the number of school-age children had reached 40, prompting Box Elder County to establish a one-room school and provide a teacher.

[2] A portable school house was built on the west end of the main street,[9] and the teacher, one of the settlers, was paid by Pacific Land and Water.

[11] Box Elder County residents removed the buildings, moving some to new locations and salvaging the rest for materials.

Map of Utah highlighting Box Elder County