Dutch John, Utah
Dutch John is a town located in eastern Daggett County, Utah, United States, approximately northeast of the Flaming Gorge Dam on U.S. [Route 191 in Utah|U.S. Route 191]. The population was 141 at the 2020 census.
History
The town was platted and constructed beginning in 1957 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to house workers working on the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam. After the dam's completion in 1964, Dutch John became home to a smaller number of dam maintenance and operations personnel, as well as employees of the National Park Service and United States Forest Service.The Dutch John townsite and its buildings continued to be owned by the Bureau of Reclamation until 1998 when the town was privatized. Buildings were sold to individual landowners, and undeveloped land in the town was transferred to Daggett County. The county later completed a master plan for the Dutch John townsite and has begun offering parcels of land for sale to developers.
In July 2002, the human-caused Mustang Ridge fire burned approximately of pinyon/juniper forest near Dutch John. The fire caused damage to power transmission lines which were supported by wooden poles.
During the peak years of construction activity at Flaming Gorge Dam, as many as 3,500 people lived in Dutch John.
In November 2014, the residents of Dutch John voted overwhelmingly to incorporate into a town. An election was held in June 2015, in which William Rogers was elected mayor; Ryan Kelly, Sandy Kunkel, Harriet Dickerson, and Dave MacDonald were elected as members of the Town Council. They took office, and the incorporation became official in January 2016. In the town's 2021 election, Sandy Kunkel was elected as mayor.
A resort within the town is host to the world's largest fishing fly. It is over three tons in weight and is over 32 feet long.