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Show TIIE EUREKA (UTAH) REPORTER October 25, 1965 Tintic notes centennial (continued from page 1) industry in later years in the Distinct were the Tintic Stand ard, Chief Consolidated, North Lily, US Smelting and Refining & International Smelter & Refining properties. Water at lower levels in some of the mines in Tintic District has made the cost of mining much too costly and had the late Uncle Jessie Knight of Provo, a well known mining man, lived to see the completion of the Knight Tunnel!, the mining history in Tintic probably would have had a different outlook than it has at the present time. The Tunnel as planned by Mr. Knight, would have drained the mines and reduced the cost of mining considerably. The Tintic Standard mine in the East Tintic area produced vast amounts of ore over a period of years and gave employment to over 500 miners. During the operating years the town of Dividend was a thriving little mining town, complete with school, movie theatre, dance hall, stores and some very fine homes. At the present time it is but a shell of former years, with many of the homes and buildings dismantled and moved elsewhere, but the company is still involved in new ventures in the East Tintic area. The mine ceased operations in 1949, but leasers worked at the mine until 1956. The Chief Consolidated Mining Company has played a major part in the history of Tin-ti- e District. The mine was taken over in 1906 by the late Walter Fitch. Sr. In earlier vears the mine was konwn as the Little Chief. Mr. Fitch and some of h5s associates from Michigan reorganized the mine under its present name, The Chief Consolidated Mining Company, and expanded its holdings from 20 acres to more than 16 square miles. The mine was the main stay of Eureka for a number of years. At one time over 600 men were employed at the mine. It was a blow to the town when the property closed down in June of 1957. The mine had produced $50,000,000 of strategic metals during two world wars and the Korean conflict. The reasons given by the company officials at the time of the shut down were the high cost of the underground pumping, the low price of metals and the high cost of labor. The company is still interested in the District and is involved with new ventures in the area at the present time. The Dragon Consolidated Mne (Filtrol Corporation) is still operating, and is one of the oldest mines in the District, and during World War I, produced a tremendous tonnage of iron ore daily, along with other precious metals. Hallosite is now being mined in open pit operations and underground mining is also continuing. One hundred t wen tv men are now employed at the mine. As for the future of the mine, it depends entirely on the market demand for catalyst. Supt. Leonard Ryan reports that there is a considerable reserve of clay and more has been found on the 400 level of the mine. Tine, Eureka's population has decreased considerably over the years from the peak of better than 5 000, when the price of metals was at the highest, to around 1,000 or less, but it is far from being a ghost town as many of the people in the state believe. The population is more stable than any of the mining towns of comparable size. Many of the residents are natives and most of the homes are owned by those living in them. The climate is preferable to many of the surrounding towns, as the summers are far more pleasant and winters more liveable, due to the fact that we are not bothered with fog, smog, or that plagues many of the surrounding what-have-yo- u, towns. The decline in population wasnt caused wholly by the closing of the mines, but during World War II, many fam ilies moved to Defense Plant areas, and for a time, the mining companies found it hard to hire enough men to work in the mines. At the present time many of the big name companies are doing considerable work in the area, and after the closing of the Chef Consilidated Mine in 1957, it looked as if Eureka was well on the way of joining the other ghost towns in the District. The coming of the larger companies into the District (Kennecott Copper Corporation and New Park Mining Company) have boosted the EUREKA, morale as well as the economy of the town, and the very valuable ore "find" in the Bur-gi- n Mine in East Tintic and new important ore discoveries in the Mammoth Mine is justifying the predictions of many of the old timers, and some not so old, have had in the District for many years. As the mining situation now stands, it would appear that Tintics future is very bright, and with the new ventures in mining in the area, Tintic could very well once again take its rightful place Page Eleven among the leading mining towns in the west. A 8 yet Tintic hasn't found a bonanza as the Park City area has, but with the new discoveries in the District, we could possibly have a bonanza of a different type. Discoveries in Tintic District boomed interest speculative on the Salt Lake exchange for the first nine months of 1963, according to Robert P. Wooley, exchange president. Much of the activity in the local stocks was attributed to discoveries (continued on page 12) UTAH fccoaoaococooaooaocoaoaosogogaaaaasPiaupocacPBagagapaBapa'-xiBogog- i |
