Thompson, Utah

Thompson Springs
CDP
Thompson Springs
Location in Grand County and the state of Utah.
Coordinates: 38°59′00″N 109°42′20″W / 38.98333°N 109.70556°W / 38.98333; -109.70556Coordinates: 38°59′00″N 109°42′20″W / 38.98333°N 109.70556°W / 38.98333; -109.70556
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Grand
Founded	1880s
Named for	E.W. Thompson
Elevation	5,246 ft (1,599 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	39
ZIP code	84540
Area code(s)	435
GNIS feature ID	2584780

Thompson Springs, also officially known for a time as just Thompson, is a small census-designated place in central Grand County, Utah, United States. The population was 39 at the 2010 census. The town is just north of the east-west highway route shared by Interstate 70, U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 50, between Crescent Junction and Cisco. Moab, the county seat, is about 37 miles (60 km) to the south. Thompson Springs is located in high desert country at an elevation of 5,246 feet (1,599 m), with the Book Cliffs just to the north. The town's ZIP code is 84540.

Evidence of human habitation or use of the Thompson Springs area can be dated back to the Archaic Period, when beautiful Pictographs were left in Sego Canyon. Subsequent Anasazi, Fremont, and Ute tribes have also left their mark upon the area.

Thompson Springs was named for E.W. Thompson, who lived near the springs and operated a sawmill to the north near the Book Cliffs. The town began life in the late nineteenth century as a station stop on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), which had been completed through the area in 1883. A post office at the site was established in 1890, under the name "Thompson's." (The official designation by the United States Postal Service is still "Thompson".) The town was a community center for the small number of farmers and ranchers living in the inhospitable region, and it was also a prominent shipping point for cattle that were run in the Book Cliffs area. Stockmen from both San Juan and Grand counties used Thompson.