Mammoth, Utah
Encyclopedia
Mammoth is a semi-ghost town
in northeastern Juab County
, Utah
, United States
about three miles south of Eureka
and two miles east of Tintic Junction.
The townsite lies in Mammoth Canyon on the west flank of the East Tintic Mountains
about 1.5 miles west of Mammoth Peak at an elevation of 6400 ft. Mammoth was founded around 1870 during the boom and bust
mining cycle of the American West. The name for the town comes from the Mammoth Mine
located near the area.
. The area was remote and the environment harsh; no water was to be found nearby. The mines piped in water for industrial use, but residents had to buy drinking water for ten cents a gallon.
Mines in the area around Mammoth produced ore
, silver
, and gold
. The Mammoth Mine was in production for around seventy-five years. Considered part of the Tintic Mining District, with other communities and mines in the area, the area around Mammoth played a vital role in the mining economy of the Utah Territory
and later the State of Utah
.
Activity in Mammoth peaked around 1900–1910, with a population of 2500–3000. The town had a school, four large hotels, and other businesses typical of a town its size. Mammoth was officially incorporated in 1910, but began to decline soon after. By 1930 the population was down to 750, the town having disincorporated on 29 November 1929.
Today, some residents still consider Mammoth home. There is some smaller scale mining that goes on in the area today for metals.
The area is also popular with ghost town enthusiasts, campers, off-road vehicle
riders, and hikers.
The western
actor
Tristram Coffin (1909–1990), star of the syndicated
26 Men
television series, was born in Mammoth.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in northeastern Juab County
Juab County, Utah
Juab County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 8,238, and by 2005 had been estimated at 9,113. It was named from an Indian word meaning thirsty valley, or possibly only valley. Its county seat and largest city is Nephi.Juab County is part of the...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
about three miles south of Eureka
Eureka, Utah
Eureka was originally known as Ruby Hollow before it developed into a bustling mining town. Incorporated as a city in 1892, Eureka became the financial center for the Tintic Mining District, a wealthy gold and silver mining area in Utah and Juab counties. The district was organized in 1869 and by...
and two miles east of Tintic Junction.
The townsite lies in Mammoth Canyon on the west flank of the East Tintic Mountains
East Tintic Mountains
The East Tintic Mountains are a range in central Utah on the east margin of the Great Basin just west of the Wasatch front about south-southeast of Salt Lake City. The community of Eureka is an old mining town near the center of the range. U.S. Route 6 Passes through the central part of the range...
about 1.5 miles west of Mammoth Peak at an elevation of 6400 ft. Mammoth was founded around 1870 during the boom and bust
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
mining cycle of the American West. The name for the town comes from the Mammoth Mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
located near the area.
History
The Mammoth Mine was discovered around the same time as the settlement of Eureka in February 1870. Miners rushed in and began a boomtownBoomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
. The area was remote and the environment harsh; no water was to be found nearby. The mines piped in water for industrial use, but residents had to buy drinking water for ten cents a gallon.
Mines in the area around Mammoth produced ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. The Mammoth Mine was in production for around seventy-five years. Considered part of the Tintic Mining District, with other communities and mines in the area, the area around Mammoth played a vital role in the mining economy of the Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and later the State of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Activity in Mammoth peaked around 1900–1910, with a population of 2500–3000. The town had a school, four large hotels, and other businesses typical of a town its size. Mammoth was officially incorporated in 1910, but began to decline soon after. By 1930 the population was down to 750, the town having disincorporated on 29 November 1929.
Today, some residents still consider Mammoth home. There is some smaller scale mining that goes on in the area today for metals.
The area is also popular with ghost town enthusiasts, campers, off-road vehicle
Off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...
riders, and hikers.
The western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Tristram Coffin (1909–1990), star of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
26 Men
26 Men
26 Men is a syndicated American western television series about the Arizona Rangers, an elite group commissioned in 1901 by the legislature of the Arizona Territory and limited, for financial reasons, to twenty-six active members. Russell Hayden was the producer of the series and the co-composer of...
television series, was born in Mammoth.