Concealed under the waters of Electric Lake lie the abandoned cabins and coke ovens of Connellsville, the first coal mine in what is now Emery County. The town’s first settlers mined coal and cooked it into coke, making them the first commercial miners on the Wasatch Plateau. Until then, pioneers had mined only enough coal for their own use.

Workers cooked coal in brick overs controlling the presence of air, creating coke. Washed, crushed coal was loaded into the ovens, cooked for 72 hours, and then cooled by water. Workers pulled the coke out of the ovens and loaded it in wagons. Coke burns much hotter than coal and is highly prized for steel-making.

Although the town was named for the large coking center of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, its population was small, consisting of only a few dozen miners and coke-over workers. Unfortunately, the local coal made poor quality coke, and there were no trains in the area to take the coke to market. By 1878, the project was deemed a failure, and the town was abandoned.

In 1879 a railroad was built from Springville, Utah to the Winter Quarters Mine just over the ridge. Many small coal mines opened in the canyons of the Wasatch Plateau, providing coal for heading homes, schools, churches, and businesses.

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