...Although some mining was done along the Colorado River and in the La Sal Mountains, Moab's economy was based on farming, ranching, and fruit growing until the uranium boom of the early 1950s brought in scores of prospectors, miners, workers, and speculators, increasing the population of Moab from 1,275 in 1950 to 4,682 in 1960. During the boom, the nation's second largest uranium processing mill was completed just outside Moab in 1956, employing more than two hundred workers. The uranium boom brought new motels, cafes, stores, schools, and businesses to Moab.

Uranium was extracted from near Moab as early as the first decade of the twentieth century, and in 1911 the first attempt to drill a commercial oil well between Thompson and Moab was undertaken. Oil promised to enrich the Moab economy during the 1920s, but it was not until 1957 when three oil-producing fields were opened near Moab that something of an oil boom hit the area, a boom that lasted into the 1960s.

As the demand for uranium began to decrease in the early 1960s, potash became the most recent boom industry to hit Moab. A modern potash plant was built in 1963 and a railroad spur line completed from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad at Crescent Junction to the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company mill outside Moab.

Arguably Moab's largest industry, at least for the last quarter century, is the tourist industry. As early as 1906 the Grand Valley Times began promoting the tourism possibilities of the area, and in 1909 the Moab Commercial Club was organized to advertise the scenic attractions and recreational advantages of the Moab region. A significant boost to tourism came with the designation of Arches National Monument in 1929; however, the Great Depression and World War II brought few visitors to the Moab area. After World War II the river-running craze began slowly in the 1950s, gained momentum in the 1960s, and became a staple of the region's tourist industry by the early 1970s. The establishment in 1964 of Canyonlands National Park, for which Moab serves as the northern gateway, was another milepost along the way to Moab's becoming an important tourist and recreation destination. During the 1980s Moab, with its hundreds of miles of slickrock trails, gained worldwide fame as a mountain-biking center.

While the greatest number of Moab residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the community's diversity is reflected in the significant number of other churches in Moab, including Assembly of God, Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Seventh-day Adventist churches. By 1980, Moab's population had reached a high of 5,333, but by 1990 it had dropped to 3,971. More recently, the population appears to again be on the rise as Moab increases in popularity and notoriety as a recreation destination.

Margaret S. Bearnson