Yellowcake Towns: Uranium Mining Communities in the American West

3 Uranium Company Towns in the American West

W H E N T H E G O V E R N M E N T - S P O N S O R E D uranium boom began in 1948, the company town of Uravan was ready. Constructed in the 1930s on the site of a former radium camp, the town owed its existence not only to the mineral market but also to its parent company, Union Carbide. As in company towns throughout the nation, Uravan’s population had waxed and waned as the company reacted to changing market conditions. Further, Uravan’s existence was based on the belief that large mining companies that struck deposits in isolated areas needed to provide low-cost housing and other amenities to entice workers. But there were complications. Because the same company controlled not only employment but often housing , shopping, and medical and recreational facilities, many workers who lived in company towns felt a loss of personal control. This trade-off—good wages and low rent in exchange for corporate paternalism—was the essence of the company town. Throughout U.S. mining history this way of life had been a practical alternative; it would continue into the uranium era. 3 Uranium Company Towns in the American West Chapter Uranium Company Towns in the American West 38 The government procurement program brought a series of problems to the uranium towns including growing populations, school enrollments, housing shortages, and crime. Further, the tax hikes, bond issues, and federal grants most communities employed to ease the initial problems often led to even more difficulties. But these problems did not occur in company towns. In communities like Uravan and, later, Jeffrey City, Wyoming , the major problems residents faced were how to deal with the company that controlled their lives and the sense of dependence associated with living in a one-industry town. Like such communities everywhere, uranium company towns were totally dependent on the success or failure of their company in its chosen marketplace. Because the federal government controlled the uranium market, residents of Uravan and Jeffrey City undoubtedly felt increasingly dependent on the federal government as well. During the uranium era, the company town remained a viable alternative when conditions were right. First, the company had to have the rights to a substantial amount of ore to warrant the creation of a new community. Second, the ore body had to be remote or distant enough from existing communities to eliminate the possibility of commuting. Third, the company had to provide low-cost housing, medical care, and recreational opportunities to keep its workers happy. If these conditions were met, the yellowcake company town usually bypassed the exploration boom period experienced by independent towns. In essence, uranium company towns began life dependent on uranium and were already yellowcake communities . Two towns—Uravan, Colorado, one of the first postwar yellowcake communities, and Jeffrey City, Wyoming, one of the last company towns constructed during the government period—typify this kind of uranium mining community.1 Uravan On the day the Grand Junction Sentinel reported that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, United States Vanadium (USV)2 vice president Blair Burwell issued a statement recognizing the role of Colorado’s carnotite region in developing the materials for the new weapon. An article published two weeks later thanked local Chamber of Commerce and business leaders for assisting Uravan during the war. Unfortunately for Burwell and Uravan residents, the town’s wartime success did not carry over into the postwar period. With the completion of the Manhattan Project, the government closed down and then dismantled its sludge plant. Union Uranium Company Towns in the American West 39 Carbide soon disbanded its Uravan mill and then mothballed the town in late 1945.3 Uravan remained closed during the congressional debate over the proposed Atomic Energy Commission and the subsequent delay in selecting its commissioners. To safeguard the town and keep the mill and mines in functional order, Union Carbide kept a few men working in the area. Although the post office remained open, the town’s library and reading room were closed, and the books were given to the nearby town of Nucla.4 Population numbers are not available during this period, but school figures show that enrollment dropped from 190 school-age children in 1944 to 79 in 1945, 26 in 1946, and just 7 in 1947.5 The town’s decline was further revealed when the Federal...