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Show Incorporation brings improved roads, increased fire protection to the Park 100 Years Ago Today by Bottina Moench Dooley Park City had been a "real" city for just over a year, following a difficult incorporation process that began in 1882 and finally was celebrated by the whole town in early March 1884. Much had changed in the mining camp over the past 12 months. Now that the city had a mayor and five aldermen, there was a political structure at which various compliments compli-ments and criticisms were focused. The Park Mining Record summarized sum-marized the first year of incorporation incorpora-tion for its readers, even offering a vote of sympathy for the Community Council: "It is impossible for a new city council to put the machinery of a newly incorporated town into perfect working order the first year, and sometimes some very important matters are overlooked." But the Record was quick to point out that a great deal had been accomplished. While taxes and licensing fees were heavy the first year, the Record assured that it had been a necessity in order to give the city a working treasury and all the money had been spent judiciously, the paper commented. the general improvements in town, that it wrote: "When we sit down and quietly look back over the past five years and note what we have passed through in inconvenience and dangers from fires, we will all conclude that a city government is one of the essentials to peace, happiness, contentment and security. secur-ity. 4 "It is doubtful at this day and date, whether two dozen men could be found who object to incorporation. The most difficult part of our incorporation has been completed, as well as the most expensive and pressing." What lay ahead for Park City? That would, in part, be determined by the makeup of the new Common Council. Mayor Hayt's term was up, and on May 5 Parkites would go to the polls to elect a new mayor and three new aldermen. The Park Record emphasized that the last day for voter registration was quickly approaching. As if anticipating anticipat-ing a reader's question, the Record noted wisely that "On May 5, if you cannot vote, you will know you were not registered. Don't wait until then. Register now!" "Main Street of to-day is a passable thoroughfare for loaded teams," pointed out the Record. "One year ago, a team with an empty wagon found it a tiresome job to reach the head of the street. A year ago pedestrians were compelled to walk in single file, and with a hop-skip-and-a-jump evade the small mud holes and wade through the larger ones, as there was no othei avenue of escape. Now theie are sidewalks the whole length and on both sides of the street." Other improvements included the new and substantial flumes that carried off refuse and the rushing torrents of spring run-off, fire hydrants that had been installed in convenient locations, a large quantity quan-tity of new fire hose that at last was being housed and cared for properly, and new street lamps that had been placed so as to benefit pedestrians on a dark night. "Drunkenness and rowdyism has been modified, and the firing of pistols in the dead of night is a rare occurrence now," wrote the Record. "Even the heathen Chinese are regulated in their opium habits." One of the most significant improvements in the Record's estimation was the appointment of a city fire marshall, whose job it was to inspect the town's chimneys and stove pipes that required maintenance mainten-ance to ensure the fire safety of the whole town. "This precaution alone has no doubt saved out city more than double what the incorporation has cost us," wrote the Record. In addition, the newspaper observed, ob-served, the sanitary conditions in the town were 100 percent improved over years past, and "We think physicians will agree that there are not one quarter as many cases of diptheria this spring as in years gone by," said the paper. So pleased was the Record with |