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Show 4 The M i ;;nj TimesWest Vailey News, Thursday, August 9, 2001 photos provided by Kennecott western hillsides was discovPI'u mining ered as t .uly as the mid K'SOs when the I.rastus k tingh.un family opened a herd house for their on the southern end of the west mountains that in the ( live-stin- bordued the Cireat Salt Lake. d Bingham, and his sons. Sanford and Thomas, the copper ore and thought the area would be a prime location for prospecting. Slones passed down through time indicated that Btmhnm Young, afraid of an overrun of settlers by a I tah gold rush, tailed the Bingham family to settle Northern Utah, where they built up Bingham's Fort. I ather of Utah's Copper low ever, Brigham Young couldn't control Colonel Paint k Conner who is generally known as the father of I Itah's copper Conner came to Utah in 1862 with a regiment of 300 soldiers to fight the Indians hiding in the hills and terrorizing the emigrants and citizens of the valley. Bee ause was in Utah by federal edict, he could act independent of the Mormons, much to the frustration I of Brigham Young. To further discourage mining, Young said. "In these days gold is the principle thing sought after and a man who would engage in copper mining in an inland country like this might, by some, be considered m a state of insanity." Crazy or not, was determined to pursue copper exploration. In 1963, the West Mountain Mining District that extracted copper and the Jordan Silver Mining Company that extracted silver lead was formed in what was then referred to as Bingham Canyon. By 1887, Enos A. Wall began acquiring mining claims on nearly 20 sites involving more than 200 acres in the canyon. Until 1895, the Bingham mine was known as a poor man's camp. Mining has been carried on mostly by individuals who worked their claims themselves. Methods of mining were cheap, primitive and on a small scale. consolidated and organized in order to lessen mining expenses. The first copper smelter began operation in 899 with the formation of the Boston Consolidated Mining Company, founded by Samuel Newhouse and Thomas Weir. With outside investors from Colorado, the Utah Copper Company was organized in 1903, with mining beginning m earnest beginning in 1904. The largest smelting operation in the world was begin in 1906. In August, 1906, Utah Copper began using the first steam shovels began stripping overburden from Bingham Canyon, moving more than 100,000 tons per month. 1 Growth and prosperity Utah Copper acquired Boston consolidator's share of the Bingham Canyon ore in 1910, setting the stage for a prolonged period of growth and prosperity at the Mining districts begin From 1895 to 1900 most of the big mines were corper mine. Utah Copper brought Utah to be one of the leading copper regions in the world. In addition to its enormous copper output, Utah Copper was the state's largest producer of gold in the state. Utah, Magna: from rags to greatness City was know by many names before it became Magna The town of Magna grew and prospered in the 1900s with the production 6f copper mining in Bingham Canyon and smelter operations that accom- 'vs ' .4 L K w 1 'V I V. e 1 Yfc'V' J A HkV ', vJT'W- 1 1-- -31 ,'ilfth . ' f : A group of children watch a Kennecott train take ore from the Bingham Canyon mine to one of the concentrators. Miners used explosives from the Hercules facility in Magna to cut into the rock. The pictures were taken in the early 1940s by Pennsylvania industry photographer Ruttase. rrwriiW" S r f r ''. ern tV'rf ? " a-- - e prTt' t? yi 'y' panied it. Initially referred to as the tow of Pleasant Green, the post office refused the name because there were too many towns with the name Pleasant The approved name of Magna was suggested after the Latin term meaning Great." Another meaning of the name was 'Truth is might and will prevail." The first settlers into the Magna area in the 1 850s was William D. Young, who set up his home in a cave about a mile west of Mill Stone Point. Young, along with Morgan Harriman and John Green built a fort along the Oquinn Mountains to protect early settlers from Indians. Young's settlement was followed by Abraham Coon and his sons who came to the area in 1853. The family settled what used to be known as Coonville, located near the mouth of Coon's Canyon. In 1853, Joseph Toronto came to the area to herd young cattle in the Oquirrh area. By 1865, hay grower and cattle raisers numbered more than twenty. Early settlers referred to the area as Toronto Point Just prior to the turn of the century, Brigham Young sent families into the area to establish farms. Known as Riter Station, tht .rea grew into a small community that had several saloons, a bakery, two grocery stores, a restaurant and pool hall. The town's main street was used by immigrants heading to California. Freight haulers, stagecoaches and wagon trains followed used the route on their way west, often using the fort built by William Young to secure their belongings during stopovers. As construction of Utah mills began in 1905, a flood of newcomers came to the area looking for work. Since the prospects for permanent work was unknown by those earlier settlers, they began building temporary homes made of wood foundations and tent-lik- e roofs. The settlement soon began to be referred to as "ragtown" due to the shabby look of the tented structures. As jobs became more stable, the homes were rebuild into permanent homes. Most of the residents were mill workers and supervisors and 300 homes were the nucleus of the new community. The Great Depression of 1929 turned the growing community into a ghost town within two years as the majority of the population moved to Salt Lake City. A devastating flood in 1930 further destroyed the community which was then rebuilt by those who remained and Che area slowly began to prosper again. rag-roof- An early picture of Webster Elementary School in Magna. POOI |