Silver City, Utah
Encyclopedia
Silver City is a ghost town
located at the mouth of Dragon Canyon on the west flank of the East Tintic Mountains
in northeast Juab County in central Utah
, United States
. It was a silver mining
town approximately 90 miles (144.8 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah
. This area was considered part of the Tintic Mining District and also produced bismuth
, copper, gold, and lead. Settlement began with the first mining strikes here in 1869. Silver City was inhabited until 1930 after the mines ran out. Jesse Knight
, known as the "Mormon Wizard" for his ability to find ore easily, decided to build a smelter in Silver City because it had the flattest ground in all of the Tintic Mining District. Silver City had several mines in 1890, but the mines hit water and were abandoned. Now there is nothing left other than a few holes where mines were, and a number of tailings
piles.
named George Rust discovered the remains of old Native American
mines in Dragon Canyon. By December a large claim known as the Sunbeam Mine was located here, and a new mining camp went up quickly as the rich mines multiplied. Growth soon slowed, however, as miners were drawn away by tales of spectacular strikes in Alta
and Park City
.
Lacking the placer deposit
s of many Utah mines, extracting Silver City's riches required labor-intensive hard rock mining
. Early on, mine owners lacked capital and could develop the mines only slowly. Gradually the town grew from a mere tent city
with a saloon and a blacksmith
shop, to include a claims recorder and assay office
, a telegraph branch, stagecoach
line, and post office
, and eventually numerous stores, hotels, and restaurants. There were even two railroad depots, as both the Salt Lake & Western Railroad and the Tintic Range Railroad ran lines into town. Economic conditions improved, and by 1899 Silver City's population reached 800.
In the 1890s, just as the mine companies seemed to be locating the richest ore
bodies, a new difficulty arose: the mine shafts started filling with water. As the more marginal mines flooded and closed, while the richest ones continued operating with the help of expensive pumps, Silver City began to dwindle. Miners left in even greater numbers after a 1902 fire devastated the town. In 1904 Silver City had a total of 18 businesses.
In 1907 Jesse Knight, already a successful mine owner in the Tintic area, revitalized Silver City by establishing the Utah Ore Sampling Company and the Tintic smelter here. He nearly transformed Silver City into a company town
, but for the fact that he didn't own the land. Knight built a power plant, some 100 new homes, and yet another railroad, called the Eureka Hill Railroad. By 1908 Silver City's population surged to its peak of 1500, most of them Knight employees. That year the town held a special celebration called "Smelter Day" in conjunction with Utah's annual Pioneer Day holiday.
Silver City's resurgence was short-lived. Due to dropping freight rate
s, Knight's smelter proved unable to compete with those in the Salt Lake Valley
. Records show that by 1912 the population was already down to 300, and there were only 8 businesses left. In 1915 the smelter was shut down and moved to Murray
. Silver City's decline is often considered to have been complete by 1930, but it was still a separate precinct
in the 1940 census, which recorded a population of 111. Today it is uninhabited.
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...
located at the mouth of Dragon 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...
in northeast Juab County in central 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...
. It was a silver mining
Silver mining
Silver mining refers to the resource extraction of the precious metal element silver by mining.-History:Silver has been known since ancient times. It is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated...
town approximately 90 miles (144.8 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. This area was considered part of the Tintic Mining District and also produced bismuth
Bismuth
Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
, copper, gold, and lead. Settlement began with the first mining strikes here in 1869. Silver City was inhabited until 1930 after the mines ran out. Jesse Knight
Jesse Knight
Jesse Knight was one of relatively few Latter-day Saint mining magnates in nineteenth century Western America. Raised by the widow of Newel Knight, Jesse's family was poor throughout his youth. As a young man, he worked as a prospector and discovered the Humbug Mine in the Tintic Mining District...
, known as the "Mormon Wizard" for his ability to find ore easily, decided to build a smelter in Silver City because it had the flattest ground in all of the Tintic Mining District. Silver City had several mines in 1890, but the mines hit water and were abandoned. Now there is nothing left other than a few holes where mines were, and a number of tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
piles.
History
In 1869, a cowboy prospectorProspecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
named George Rust discovered the remains of old Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mines in Dragon Canyon. By December a large claim known as the Sunbeam Mine was located here, and a new mining camp went up quickly as the rich mines multiplied. Growth soon slowed, however, as miners were drawn away by tales of spectacular strikes in Alta
Alta, Utah
Alta is a town in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 370 at the 2000 census, a slight decrease from the 1990 figure of 397....
and Park City
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
.
Lacking the placer deposit
Placer deposit
In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word placer, meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mining is an important source of gold, and was the main technique used in the early...
s of many Utah mines, extracting Silver City's riches required labor-intensive hard rock mining
Hard rock mining
Underground hard rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate hard minerals, mainly those containing metals such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel and lead, but also involves using the same techniques for excavating ores of gems such as...
. Early on, mine owners lacked capital and could develop the mines only slowly. Gradually the town grew from a mere tent city
Tent City
A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents. Informal tent cities may be set up without authorization by homeless people or protesters. As well, state governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house refugees, evacuees, or soldiers...
with a saloon and a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop, to include a claims recorder and assay office
Assay office
Assay offices are institutions set up to assay precious metals, in order to protect consumers. Upon successful completion of an assay, Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals, in order to protect consumers. Upon successful completion of an assay, Assay...
, a telegraph branch, stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line, and post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, and eventually numerous stores, hotels, and restaurants. There were even two railroad depots, as both the Salt Lake & Western Railroad and the Tintic Range Railroad ran lines into town. Economic conditions improved, and by 1899 Silver City's population reached 800.
In the 1890s, just as the mine companies seemed to be locating the richest 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....
bodies, a new difficulty arose: the mine shafts started filling with water. As the more marginal mines flooded and closed, while the richest ones continued operating with the help of expensive pumps, Silver City began to dwindle. Miners left in even greater numbers after a 1902 fire devastated the town. In 1904 Silver City had a total of 18 businesses.
In 1907 Jesse Knight, already a successful mine owner in the Tintic area, revitalized Silver City by establishing the Utah Ore Sampling Company and the Tintic smelter here. He nearly transformed Silver City into a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
, but for the fact that he didn't own the land. Knight built a power plant, some 100 new homes, and yet another railroad, called the Eureka Hill Railroad. By 1908 Silver City's population surged to its peak of 1500, most of them Knight employees. That year the town held a special celebration called "Smelter Day" in conjunction with Utah's annual Pioneer Day holiday.
Silver City's resurgence was short-lived. Due to dropping freight rate
Freight rate
A freight rate is a price at which a certain cargo is delivered from one point to another. The price depends on the form of the cargo, the mode of transport , the weight of the cargo, and the distance to the delivery destination...
s, Knight's smelter proved unable to compete with those in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
. Records show that by 1912 the population was already down to 300, and there were only 8 businesses left. In 1915 the smelter was shut down and moved to Murray
Murray, Utah
Murray is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2010 census, Murray has approximately 46,746 residents.Murray is close to Salt Lake City,...
. Silver City's decline is often considered to have been complete by 1930, but it was still a separate precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
in the 1940 census, which recorded a population of 111. Today it is uninhabited.