History of Castle Dale, Utah

The period from 1940 to 1970 saw a decline in Castle Dale's population, from 953 to 541. Once the educational center of the region, the town lost its high school in a county school consolidation in 1943. A portent of a brighter economic future came when Congress approved the Emery County Reclamation Project in 1956. The central feature of the project, the Joe's Valley Reservoir, completed in 1966, for the first time provided long-term water storage, improving the supply for irrigation and making additional water available for industrial uses. The same period brought an improvement in the level of public services throughout western Emery County, with the installation of a modern telephone system, improved water and sewage systems, a relay station to direct television signals from Salt Lake City stations past the barrier of the Wasatch Plateau, as well as upgraded police and fire protection being provided. As the county government center, Castle Dale benefited substantially from the expansion of county services. The town's central place in education was reestablished in 1962 when North and South Emery high schools were consolidated into Emery County High School, located at Castle Dale.