Town file
Eureka, Utah
Eureka, Utah (Juab County, Utah) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 400, "The Bad Seed" (24 June 2023). Eureka, Utah, is a former silver and gold mining town of about 596 people in Juab County, a little over an hour from Salt Lake City.
- Town
- Eureka
- County
- Juab County
- State
- Utah
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 400
- Approximate location
- 39.959, -112.115
Episode 400 / 24 June 2023 / 73 min / express
The Bad Seed
"400 in Utah, and this is Eureka, Utah; the review is for the county it is in, Juab County" about 0:02:48
The case: Murders of Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson (December 2017); Murder of Lonnie Blackman (July 1994); 1991 Orem crime spree and Burger King robbery (October 1991). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 596
- Median household income
- about $45,000
- Median home value
- $217,000
- Convictions between the ages of 10 and 15
- 43
- Convictions among Utah's top ten worst youthful offenders
- 180
- Sex crimes among Utah's top ten worst youthful offenders
- 69
- 's rank on Utah's list of 5,000 worst youthful offenders
- fifth
- Days spent in punitive isolation
- 315 days
- Stab wounds inflicted on Lonnie Blackman
- 67
- Depth of the mine shaft
- two thousand feet
- Obstruction of justice counts was facing
- 30 counts
- Obstruction of justice counts pleaded to
- ten counts
History, in brief
- Originally known as Ruby Hollow; renamed Eureka once mining started. about 0:04:17
- A bustling mining town, incorporated in 1892. about 0:04:25
- Became the financial centre for the Tintic mining district, which had a lot of gold and silver mining. about 0:04:29
- Had four big mines known as the Big Four. about 0:04:54
- The second ever JC Penney store was in Eureka, then called the Golden Rules store. about 0:05:04
- The high school soccer team won the state title in 1905, 1907 and 1909. about 0:05:42
- Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 because of its mining history. about 0:05:53
- Frank Zamboni, the inventor of the Zamboni ice machine, was from Eureka. about 0:06:01
- Town motto: a historic town with a bright future. about 0:04:08
- Silver City, about two and a half miles south, was once a big mining town of 1,500 people; silver was discovered there in 1869 and the mines hit water in 1890, after which it faded into a ghost town. about 0:07:53
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Loves the small town feel; the area is still growing, with a lot of potential in the schools and jobs."about 0:06:37
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Payson, Utah21 miles
- American Fork, Utah34 miles
- Pleasant Grove, Utah35 miles
- Holladay, Utah51 miles
- South Salt Lake, Utah53 miles
- Fillmore, Utah70 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.