The School Built in the 1930s in St. Thomas Before Being Covered by Lake Mead
As Lake Mead becomes increasingly dry due to years of drought and now aridification*, the doomed town that was covered by Lake Mead in 1938 is resurfacing.
This seven-minute video by the National Parks Service shows us the history of St. Thomas, Nevada, the town underneath Lake Mead.
Watch the Entire seven-minute Video Here.
Key Points:
The town was once populated by an Indian tribe. They called it the “Lost City.”
Mormons moved there in 1865, thinking it was part of Utah. They named it St. Thomas.
At one point, the town had 500 citizens.
When they realized it was not in Utah, most moved. But about 100 people remained in the town.
In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill authorizing the construction of Hoover Dam.
The residents of St. Thomas were told they had to leave by 1935. One man, Hugh Lord, remained in the town until 1938. As the water rose around his house, he had to paddle a boat to get out of town.
*Aridification is the progression of an area that once experienced regular rainfall events with occasional droughts to one where rainfall events are fewer and further between, and the number of droughts increases and become longer. Eventually, the entire region becomes excessively and irreversibly drier and warmer than in the past.
