Walter Jones Beehive History 16 Utah’s oil industry developed slowly in two distinct phases: a long period of exploration and a more recent time of commercial production. The exploratory period began in 1850 when Capt. Howard Stansbury, while on a survey of the Great Salt Lake for the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, discovered evidence of “petroliem” along the northern …
Mining
Philip F. Notarianni Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Mining for metals, coal, hydrocarbons, and minerals was a vital aspect of Utah’s economic, industrial, political, and social growth and development. The mining industry has touched all aspects of life in Utah and has contributed greatly to the state’s history. Mormon gold miners participated in the initial discovery of gold in California, and …
Railroads in Utah
Don Strack Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Historians agree that the driving of the golden spike marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869 was one of the most important events in United States history, as it was also in Utah history. In fact, 1869 is considered to be a benchmark year in Utah …
Mining and Railroads
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, the Right Place After Utah’s community leaders had convinced the Central and Union Pacific Railroads to build their stations and shops in Ogden rather than Corinne, the railroaders laid the track that spliced the capital and main business center at Salt Lake City into the transcontinental lines. Seven days after the joining of the rails at …
Some Utahns Went for the Gold in California
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, November 1996 Some young men in Utah naturally hankered toward the California gold fields discovered just six months after the Mormons arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. But Brigham Young, favoring an agrarian rather than mining economy, firmly discouraged them: “If you Elders of Israel want to go to the gold mines, go and be damned.” On …
Copper Mining, the King of the Oquirrh Mountains
Philip F. Notarianni Beehive History 16 Copper mining has played a significant role in the industrial, economic, and social life of Utah. It has also affected the state’s geography. Copper has many uses. It is very important in the electrical field as it is a good conductor of electricity. Water pipes, architectural trim, weather stripping, and wiring are but a …
The Scofield Mine Disaster in 1900 Was Utah’s Worst
Yvette D. Ison History Blazer, January 1995 In the early morning of May 1, 1900, several hundred miners of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company of Carbon County left their homes in the town of Scofield to begin another day of work in the mines. Some were looking forward to the evening celebrations at Odd Fellows Hall where festivities would be …
Colonel Connor Filled a Varied, Dramatic Role in Utah
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, May 1995 An Irish American named Patrick Connor was a seminal figure in late 19th-century Utah. Often called “the father of Utah mining,” he was involved in military, economic, and political activities in the territory from 1862 until his death in 1892. Patrick Edward O’Connor was born in Ireland in 1820 or 1821. Along with …
Mining and Sports
Philip F. Notarianni “The Mansion, Mining, and Snow” Mining and skiing loom as significant factors in the economic growth and development of Utah. Mining, in tandem with the railroad industry, carried Utah from an agrarian economy to one more industrialized and diversified. In the many mining towns, service industries thrived, while Utah’s population became more culturally diverse. Skiing, and the …
Sister Augusta and Catholic Education in Utah
Bernice M. Mooney and Miriam M. Murphy History Blazer, June 1996 The most striking figure in the early history of Catholic women’s work in Utah was a Holy Cross nun, Sister Augusta. Born Amanda Anderson in 1830 in Virginia, she was reared after her mother’s death by an aunt who lived on a ranch in Ohio. The ranch had a …