Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 47

The next card in Edith Duffield Sisson's collection is from her older sister Marie Louise, or Mae. 

7016. Castle Gate, Utah.

In the late 1890s, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad completed a new line in the area of Castle Gate. This narrow canyon with steep sandstone walls is near the mouth of Price Canyon and the Price River flows through the middle. Soon after the train tracks were laid down coal mines were in operation. By 1914 the town of Castle Gate had sprung up around the mill to support the workers and their families. It's a ghost town today.

Castle Gate is known for two historic events. First, in 1897, there was a notable robbery. Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay, in broad daylight, robbed a Pleasant Valley Coal Company employee at the train station and made off with approximately $7000 in gold. Mae may have thought of that robbery as she passed, and perhaps stopped, at the busy train station. The second event was a tragic one. In 1924 the coal mine Castle Gate #2 exploded and killed 172 men. It was the third deadliest mining accident in the United States at that time.

Postmarked December 26, 1910, in Salt Lake City, Utah

Addressed to:

Mrs C. Sisson

Ottawa

Ill

Marcy St.

Dear Edith have

just passed this

gate. am all well

hope you are all

the same.

Mae

added at the top:

I have

not heard

from Herb.

Mae was married to Herbert Bragg. It's interesting that she was traveling during the holidays without her husband. Perhaps they were to meet at some point in the trip, but it's also possible that she was traveling alone or with others while he remained at home, working. It's also odd that this card was mailed the day after Christmas and Mae made no mention of the holiday. The purpose of the trip is unknown.