Dalana Govan

History 1700
Tuesday and Thursday
Term Paper

Park City Mining District

Park City did not start out as the beautiful ski resorts we see today. In
1862 the US army began bringing soldiers into Utah territory to protect the
federal mail route. Many of these soldiers were from the Nevada and
California gold fields, they saw Utahs mountains and the promise of precious
metals. The first known discovery of ore in this area was by Colonel Patrick E.
Connor, who instigated his men to search the area in bringing non-Mormons
to the Utah region. By 1868 many prospectors had entered the area we now
know as Park City where they found rich beds of silver and lead in the land.
In December of 1868 the first mining claim was filed. The area quickly
became famous for the quantity of precious metal that was in the ground. In
May 1872, George Snyder and his family arrived in the mountain valley.
Awed by the lush grasses and blazing wildflowers he christened the area,
"...Park City, for it is a veritable park." Prospectors found that silver proved to
be abundant and dozens of mines in the Park City Mining District actively
made shipments by the 1880s. The Daly Mining Company and Anchor Mining
Company were two of the first major producers doing so well that even with
the national financial panic of 1893, it had a marginal impact on the mines.
Many people came to the area to work the mines and many people became
tremendously wealthy from the mining. In 1872, one of Park City's silver
mines called the Ontario Mine was sold to George Hearst for $27,000. He ran
the mine well and it went on to produce fifty million dollars in the following
years.

1 http://utah.com/culture/park-city

The mining boom of Park City brought hundreds of prospectors into the area.
The miners set up camps along the hillsides near the mines, bringing with
them diverse religions and ethnic traditions. Between 1870 and 1900, Park
City's population increased by forty percent. Originally, the town consisted of
boarding houses, mills, stores, saloons, prostitute "cribs," theaters, and mine
buildings. But by the 1880s, many prospectors had either sent for their
families or were bringing them along, building houses and establishing
schools. The first school in Park City was St. Mary's School operated by the
Sisters of the Parish of St. Mary of the Assumption. City officials also
organized sanitary committees and established a water system, telephone
service, and chartered a fire company, the miners hospital was built in 1904
and was paid for by one-dollar deductions from miners' paychecks.

All though the mines were doing well, there was also tragedy along the way.
Sunday June 19, 1898; in the wee-hours, calm after a mining town payday,
smoke began whisping from the old American Hotel. A Chinese laborer
noticed it and sped with the news to policeman Walden," screaming "Fire!"
By the time Sheriff Thomas Walden had fired three shots from his pistol to
sound the general alarm, buildings on both sides of the hotel were ablaze.
According to the Desert News Newspaper this was the most damaging fire to
date in Utah history and had begun a rampage that would end hours later
with hundreds of buildings left in smoldering ruin. "Park City, Utah's proud

2 Hampshire, David, Martha Sonntag Bradley and Allen Roberts, The History of
Summit County

and prosperous mining camp, has practically been wiped out of existence,"
the Deseret News reported the following day. "It may be that the city will be
rebuilt and rise again from the ruins that now cover the canyon where it once
stood, but it will be years before it can fully recover - if recovery is at all
possible under the circumstances. The loss, it is conservatively estimated,
will aggregate more than a million dollars. The actual insurance will not reach
much more than a tenth of that amount."
The story then listed 119 specific buildings known to have bowed
before the flames, with their approximate value. As the toll mounted, at least
120 businesses and 140 residences were destroyed as the fire chewed its
way down the gulch all together was about 75 percent of the town's
buildings. The twenty-two small residences of Chinatown went, and the
Chinese went with them, counting the fire as an omen that meant they
should leave Park City. The city's months-old Opera House was consumed
and was never rebuilt. Houses, churches, barns and businesses were crisped
indiscriminately. Both sides of Park Avenue were charred, and all the
structures on Rossie Hill were a total loss. Irreplaceable public and private
records were destroyed. At least 500 residents were homeless, but not one
loss of human life.
The narrow canyon acted as a flue to throw firebrands here and there,
spreading the fire front. It was soon evident that fire fighters could do
nothing more than salvage what was possible as the flames raged out of
control. While able men, women and children fought the fire on one side, it

would burn their homes behind them. As the fire advanced down the canyon,
Marsac Mill officials watched and finally gave up hope that it could be
contained. At 11 a.m., the mill manager gave the order to rupture the large
wooden flume that carried water to the mill from the mine on the mountain
above. As the iron-girded slats of the flume were breached, water rushed
down the canyon to douse flames. By noon, the fire was contained. Constant
watch was kept for live embers for several days until a drenching rain the
following Wednesday ended the threat.

It only took a year in a half to

rebuild Park City, the new building would be made of brick and stone, the
first to be rebuilt was George Wannings saloon.
It would only be four years later that disaster would strike the mining district
again. On July 16, 1902 at eleven twenty in the morning, several tons of
explosives stored deep in the Daly West Mine exploded and rocked the earth
beneath Park City. The blast killed a dozen miners instantly, including two
men working a mile away in the Ontario Mine. Deadly gas began to flood the
lower levels of both mines as eight survivors climbed 1,200 feet to safety,
while gas overcame four men who tumbled from escape ladders to their
deaths. It was 2 a.m. before word of the disaster reached Park City, but their
brother miners immediately rushed to try to rescue any survivors. The Park
Record reported that plenty of "brave, noble men" crowded at the top of the
Daly West shaft, "anxious to risk their lives in an effort to save any from the
3 Van Leer, Twila, Staff Writer. Desert News Article: 1898 Conflagration turned Park City into
`Fiery Furncace'.

deadly gas." There were many heroes that shined during the worst mining
disaster in Park City, one named Daniel J. Gallivan. On that grim July night in
1902, Gallivan made at least three descents into the gas filled pit. After one
trip he was hauled to the top unconscious, but on recovering he insisted on
returning to try to save John McLaughlin, one of the fallen rescuers. The mine
foreman refused to let his men back into the shaft, but after a near riot
Gallivan led a rescue party to McLaughlin, who died before reaching the
surface. Gallivan survived, but three other "poor, heroic, brave and noble
boys" died in the rescue attempt, their "glorious manhood sacrificed on the
altar of humanity and brotherly love." In all, the disaster killed 34 men and
led the Legislature to outlaw the storage of explosives underground.

One unique character to come from the mining district was a woman with a
big heart, giving generously to the poor and needy, she was also a madam in
one of Park Citys brothels. Rachel Beulah Urban was born in Ohio to Irish
immigrants, its likely that Rachel was a prostitute in her youth but not
known for sure. She was twenty-five and had already been married and
divorced when she first arrived in town with her only surviving child, a baby
girl named Florence. Ms. Urban was a large woman with a peg leg and a pet
parrot that swore at passerby from the front porch. As a madam, Rachel took
good care of her girls, her nickname name was Mother Urban. Ms. Urban
wanted her girls to be well cultured and educated. The girls were not allowed

4 Bagley, Will. The Salt Lake Tribune. Park City's Worst Disaster Inspired Acts of
Heroism From Common Men http://www.sltrib.com

to walk the streets and if they broke the rules, Rachel would by them a oneway ticket out of town. In 1907, many Parkites protested the presence of
the brothel so close to homes and businesses. The city was aware of her
business but didnt want to shut her down, it was profitable to them as well;
each month, Mother Urban would walk up to City Hall and pay her fines: forty
dollars for herself as madam and twenty dollars per prostitute. The city
forced the district further east up what is now Deer Valley Drive. Its likely
Mother Urbans husband George who was a miner as well as a carpenter
put his carpentry skills to work building the sixteen houses of ill repute
often called the Row or the Line.
Mother Urbans house was called the Purple Parlor, it had lace
curtains and fancy furniture. Miners could come for socializing, drinks, and
gambling. There was no charge to visit the girls on the main floor, but if the
miners went upstairs they paid two dollars and fifty cents, or ten dollars for
the whole night. According to historian Cheryl Livingston, Mother Urban
always held a Christmas party for bachelor miners and it was considered a
respectable place where they could gather. The mining companys owners
seemed to regard Rachel Urban as providing a valued and much needed
service.5
Between the late 18oos and the early 1900s mineral prices dropped
dramatically. Wars, the Great Depression, among other world tragedies that
5 Livingston, Cheryl, Mother Rachel Urban. Worth their Salt: Notable but often
Unnoted Women of Utah, ed Colleen Whitley. Logan: Utah State University Press,
1996

hampered the profit of the mines, by 1978 a newspaper article read "Park
City to Halt Operations at Mine, Park City Ventures announced it would
suspend its lead, zinc and silver mining and milling operations at its Ontario
mine in Park City, Utah, by Feb. 15, 1978. Park City said operations at the
mine were being suspended because of reasons that have made the existing
operation unprofitable for some time." (New York Times, January 14, 1978)
After spending thirty million dollars since 1971 to expand and develop the
property, and only selling five million dollars in concentrates by 1976, Park
City Ventures shut down the former Ontario mine. Its revenues simply could
not pay off the large debt that had been incurred.

Luckily for the mining community, by 1930 the idea of skiing had begun to
catch on with the installment of a ski jump built on the Creole mine dump. In
the early nineteenth century, skiing started off as a way for people to move
from one point to another, the first people who used skis were trappers,
miners and mountain dwellers. Park City promoted itself as a destination for
winter sports. The Salt Lake City Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Park City
Winter Sports committee and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad were willing
partners in running "ski trains" to Park City all though downhill skiers are few
and skiing is mostly a spectator sport. Trains typically departed Salt Lake at 8
a.m., made a stop in Sugarhouse, proceeded up Parley's, through
Snyderville, and arrived in Deer Valley at approximately 11 a.m. The return
trip departed before 6 p.m. and arrived in Salt Lake by 8 p.m. Food and
6 Unknown United Park City Mines Company

beverages were served in the commissary cars round trip. The route followed
the Denver & Rio Grande branch that served the mines in what we now call
"lower" Deer Valley. By 1946 the first lift is installed at Snow Park (now Deer
Valley). Unfortunately mining prices continue to drop and by 1949 many
mines had shut down, putting 1,200 miners out of work. At that time, Park
City was struggling economically. By the 1950s, the Mayflower and Ontario
were the last two operating mines. In some families, three generations had
worked the mines, but it was doubtful there would be a similar opportunity
for a fourth generation. The mineral bounty of the mountains was nearing an
end.
United Park City Mines, formed when most of the area's mines
consolidated in 1953, UPCM owned surface rights to 10,000 acres. All though
the company was faced with economic challenges, they decided to diversify
its business interests by taking advantage of predictable and copious
snowfall. In 1962, UPCM obtained a one point two million federal
redevelopment loan to build and operate a ski resort. Thus began the
transition from a mining economy to a resort-based economy. The aptly
named Treasure Mountains Resort opened in 1963. Two years later, Utah
submitted a bid for the 1972 Winter Olympics with the new resort in Park City
as the cornerstone for the initiative. The state collaborated with the Union
Pacific Railroad and local Chambers of Commerce to organize a special

passenger train in December 1965 to promote the Winter Olympics. It would

be the first scheduled passenger train to Park City since the early 1950s.

All though Park City did not get the bid for the Winter Olympics in 1972 and
is no longer the bombing mining town it once was in its hay day, Park City
did eventually get their Winter Olympics, in 2002. Where more than forty
percent of the events were held. Park City is still a success in a different way.
Today visitors can visit the Olympic Park and ride both the luge and bobsled
tracks. Take a walk down historic Main Street and window shop over one
hundred independent boutiques, dine at fifty unique restaurants, relax at the
spa, or ride the town lift to play in the mountains. Visitors can still visit the
old Minors Hospital all though it has been relocated from its original site near
the base of the Park City Ski Area to the City Park for its new use as the
Citys public library. Park City is a breath of fresh air a break from the hustle
and bustle of the city and a step back into time.

7 Nicholas David, researcher. Park City ski trains, all aboard! Park Record.com

Works Cited
Bagley, Will. The Salt Lake Tribune. Park City's Worst Disaster Inspired Acts of
Heroism From Common Men http://www.sltrib.com
Hampshire, David, Martha Sonntag Bradley and Allen Roberts, The History of
Summit County
Livingston, Cheryl, Mother Rachel Urban. Worth their Salt: Notable but often
Unnoted Women of Utah, ed Colleen Whitley. Logan: Utah State University Press,
1996
Nicholas David, researcher. Park City ski trains, all aboard! Park Record.com
Therhttp://utah.com/culture/park-citye
Unknown United Park City Mines Company
Van Leer, Twila, Staff Writer. Desert News Article: 1898 Conflagration turned Park
City into `Fiery Furncace'.