Show of Mining fining a at Park City i W i S i j- j y j J i A r 1 t I r rj h ht j J t I t i 1 L Lc r j J I 1 c I I 1 1 I. I r. r 1 r IJ i r err a r I II s General P P. P E. E Connor first commander at Fort Dougl Js who ba b became ame I known as The Father of Utah Mining due to his early activities In Utah I Editors EdItor Note XoU Th This ThU U is the third of a aI I 1 writs series of or eight articles regarding the history history his his- tory of or Park City pioneer lon cr Utah mining community Systematic prospecting for ore in Utah began with the arrival oCI of oC I General P P. E E. Connor and his California Call Cali fornia volunteers at what is now Fort Douglas in 1862 Imbued with the spirit of oC 49 19 as they were ere these volunteers spent their peaceful periods of oC inactivity the mountains of oC Utah As a result General Connor became known as Father of Utah Mining Their first attention was Wag directed to the West Mountains probably through the representations of George B B. Ogilvie an apostate I Mormon engaged in farming Ogilvie Ogil Ogil- vIe had reported to General Connor I his discovery of mineral In n the early fall taIl of 1863 in BIngham can canyon on An 1 exploring expedition under the the- command com com- command mand of oC Captain Heitz Heltz was the first to discover galena in Bingham canyon and on September 17 1863 Ogilvie and others formally tools took up there the first mining location in Utah known as the West Jordan claim In the following December the first mining district in the territory was formed I and named the West Nest Mountain district dis dis- Among the first to prospect the i Park City area rea was Rector Steen who although not a soldier prospector tor worked with them and who was later to discover the Ontario mine Probably incited by the dIscoveries dis dIs- d discoveries s' s at West Vest Mountain ho he spent the winter of 64 1563 64 prospecting through the hills of ot Bingham and the two Cottonwood canyons In Inthe Inthe Inthe the spring of 1864 1861 he gave up his search temporarily and went to Montana and Wyoming The soldiers sol sol sol- diers diors were not discouraged by th the experiences of Steen and continued to prospect south of Bingham With no railroads to serve the territory at that time It became necessary to undertake domestic reduction or smelting The first attempts at smelting were made inthe in inthe inthe the summer of 1864 when General Connor and others erected near the present town of Stockton a furnace of the pattern This the first smelter in Utah was not successful as it was not suited to the general ores at hand The failure of this early smelting venture and others that followed did not deter the prospectors It became apparent however that transportation was necessary to the development of this remote area and actual mining had to await the completion of the Union Pacific which was organized ed in 1862 1562 The fourth article In to n this series will appear appear ap ape ap- ap pear in these columns soon I |