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FLAMING GORGE -- The first of the concrete to build the Flaming Gorge Dam was poured in 1960. The dam was completed two years later, making it one of the largest in the American West.
It was built as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. But before the dam, the 91 mile stretch of this reservoir covered rich woodlands, a small town and a history of folklore.
It was truly the Wild West that once lived below the waters of the reservoir. Before the Flaming Gorge Dam was built, the Green River was an untamed behemoth that could wash away what was in its path.
Roy Webb, a river historian at the University of Utah said, "Now it's just this little limp stream below the dam. In those days, the Green could run up to 20,000 cubic feet per second. It would be a huge muddy flood that would take out trees, ranches, ferries and cattle."
Webb has written a book on the Green River. Webb says in the 1800s, the Green River was rich in folklore, especially when it came to the raging waters at Ashley Falls.
"There was a block as big as this room that had fallen into the river and had blocked the whole river. Early river runners, they would always worry about Ashley Falls. They would write in their journals, 'Oh, I'm so concerned about Ashley Falls,' " Web said.
Rumors whirled as fast as the waters.
"They built up these big legends about it. Ashley drowned, there was cannibalism, none of which happened, but it made for a great story," he said.
Other stories that were rooted more in truth than tall tale was when it came to the famous or infamous outlaws of the day.
"The wild bunch were certainly regular visitors in Linwood," Webb said. "The reason is that the whole area is so remote. Those canyons in the Green River were a perfect place for them to travel without being seen."
Linwood is a town that now lies beneath the expansive waters that comprise the reservoir.
"Linwood was just a little sheep ranching town," Webb explained. "Most of the time there was probably 70 or 80 people who lived there. But when they were doing the sheering, they could get 2,000 people there."
By the 1960s, the residents were forced to move to make way for the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Remains of the town were either moved, razed or burned. Much of its history was submerged underneath the water that now lies above.
"There was a notorious saloon called The Bucket of Blood that had bullet holes in the walls and a lot of outlaws were supposed to have gone through and stayed there. The Bucket of Blood was built right on the state line so that if an outlaw was in there having a drink and a sheriff came in, they could just step out the back door and he'd be in a different state and out of the sheriff's jurisdiction," Webb said.
