Jeffrey City in Fremont, Wyoming is one of the mining towns that went down as first as it was established. The town which was formerly called, home of the range, started as a home for retired vets and later on a fully flagged town that would later be deserted.

Establishment of Jeffrey City

Jeffrey City was established in 1954 when a man by the name of Bob Adams discovered uranium in the region. Adams would a year later establish a uranium company. The company did so well and by 1957, Adams signed a treaty with the government as their supplier of uranium. Dr. Charles Jeffrey, who the city was named after, would later come into the picture to help Adam in the construction of accommodation for the workers at the mines. Charles was the major financier who highly contributed to the development of the town. Over the years, the town became a full pledge town with almost all the amenities a town required. The ‘City’ in the name was sarcasm by the locals and the neighboring communities as the town did not attain the city status.

Death of Jeffrey City

In 1979, the town of Jeffrey faced challenging days when the government issued a statement to all nuclear plants to retrofit all their nuclear plants. Other nuclear plants were put on hold when they failed to follow the directives. The effects of this declaration saw a major reduction in the profit of the mines. Over the years, workers at the mill were laid off leading to only 50 workers by 1982. The mill officially closed its doors in 1982. The population reduced from 4000 people to less than 70 people. The school was closed the same year rendering the town a partial ghost town. Official closure came when the post office in the town was shut down and relocated to other active town centers. The government partially neglected the town as none of its services were ever directed to the town.

Jeffrey city today

Today few institutions still remain in the town though the population is less than 40 people. Old abandoned and deteriorated buildings still linger in the town to date. Pavements in the town are currently deserted with grass and cracks dominating them. It still has few residents who reside in the area and an elementary school that was reported to be active. The town of Jeffrey is the best example of the heyday towns that were once vibrant but just lost significance within a very short period. The town is not privately owned and the public can visit the town to have a glimpse of history at any given time.