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Show War in the Pacific makes iron mining' and development of a steel industry in the West outstanding necessities. It is probable, however, that the pioneers looked no further than their own immediate needs as they discovered and explointed the first iron mines in Utah. Of thirty men sent in 1851 to Cedar Valley, Iron County, to develop the iron deposits, fifteen went into the hills to mine, while the remainder set about creating a settlement to sustain them. Coal was discovered near the working on Iron Mountain, Moun-tain, and a road was built to a crude blast furnace. A blacksmith nhop, pattern shop, moulding shop, nnd offices were erected in quick succession; and by September 1852, fhe pioneer plant was ready to make its first run. At night the settlers watched the furnace being be-ing fired, and at dawn the first stream of molen metal poured into in-to the sand box the first to be poured west of the Missouri River, be necessary to transport farm No longer, it was hoped, would it implements and other badly needed need-ed articles from the East. The first cast iron was made on March 17, 1853 a pair of fire tongs. A long period of experimentation and production followed, but the enterprise en-terprise was never altogether successful, suc-cessful, owing to the primitive equipment employed. With . improved im-proved methods of transporation, this first iron industry in Utah perished. Small, local concerns dabbled with iron from 1885, but modern development was by the Columbia Steel Corporation which in 1923 erected a foundry. From this point production remained relatively rel-atively on a level through the MINING INTERESTS OF EARLY UTAH MAY BE REVIVED Forced with a need never before be-fore imagined in its history the United States is turning feverishly to the development of its mineral reserves. This situation is dictated dic-tated by the necesssity of .the hour, and it is apparent from the files of the Utah Writers' Project that the early Utah pioneers faced an analogous situation when they turned to the virgin earth of Iron County, in 1852 to moil up iron for the production of badly needed tools. Uut where early pioneer mining ventures were killed by the coming of the railroad and cheap imports, the future of metals now being exploited in Utah and elsewhere else-where looks more bright. Chances are that these mineral developments develop-ments will play an increasingly important role in the story of the State and the Nation. To take a single example, that of iron ore, Utah seems to have at lust received a commission which will undoubtedly bring her a permanent per-manent position in the empire of iron and steel. Early in the year 1911, the national spotlight turned to the possibility of developing Utah's known deposits of iron. In October, the State thrilled to the announcement of a proposed $35,-000,000 $35,-000,000 expansion of the iron plant at Provo. Signing of contracts for an additional expansion of $91,-000,000 $91,-000,000 a month later was hailed as one of the most important developments de-velopments ever to strike the industry, in-dustry, and the fruition of this program seems destined to make of Utah an important processing, as well as iron producing state. 1 the horses became sore-footed. "Yes sir, that there Iron Mountain Moun-tain is so plumb magnetized, that it pulled the nails right out of the horse's shoes the minute they stepped on it." twenties and thirties with the production pro-duction of pig iron running about 165,000 tons annually. Present plans call for a production many times multiplied, with introduction introduc-tion of steel processing on a large scale, thereby utilizing Utah's large reserves of coal, mangenese and other minerals necessary to the process. Even the iron industry in Utah, insignificant as it has remained through the years, has brought forth at least one colorful legend, which has found its way into Project Proj-ect files. Early day miners report re-port that the practice of taking horse-pulled wagons to the mines of Iron Mountain had to be discontinued, dis-continued, owing to the fact that |