In the 1860’s when the railroad was completed and crossed the United States for the first time, Lucin was one of many small communities that sprung up along the railroad to provider water and other services to passing trains. When first built, it was about a mile north of its current location. The trains would pass north around the Great Salt Lake, then south down the west side of the lake before reaching Lucin and heading due west again. Surmounting the Great Salt Lake added quite a few miles to the cross-country journey.

In 1904, the Lucin Cutoff was completed. This more direct route from Ogden to Lucin involved crossing 12 miles of trestle built above the Great Salt Lake. Though arduous to build, the direct route shortened the distance between Ogden and Lucin by 44 miles over the more difficult and curvier original northern route. The Lucin Cutoff was about a mile south of the original Lucin town, so the town moved south to be alongside the new tracks.

Always a small community of mostly railroad folks, the town was abandoned in 1936. A group moved back later, mostly retirees, but then the town was abandoned again in the early 1990’s. The Division of Wildlife Resources acquired and now manages the land. An oasis in the desert, Lucin is important to migrating birds.

Not much in the way of structures remain today, though two ponds and a lush wetland area is still present.

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