Coal mining on Cedar Creek began in 1906 about 9.4 miles northwest of this location. In 1908, four men named Mays, Orem, Heiner, and Rice bought the mines and formed Castle Valley Fuel Co. In 1909, Castle Valley Fuel Co. became U.S. Fuel Co., and the town was named Mohrland by using the first letter of each man's last name and adding land to the end. The town had 7 homes, 1 store, a doctors office, a beanery, and a hospital. The first school was built in 1915. By 1922, 275 men worked at the mine and the town's population exceeded 1000. In the boom-and-bust coal economy, decline began in the mid twenties with the closure of the store, and by 1938 Mohrland was virtually a ghost town.