Utah has a very unique and diverse history. From Native Americans to trappers, traders, explorers, Mormon pioneers to cowboys. The big mining boom, to the railroad and then finally State Hood. Along the way pieces of history were left behind waiting to be explored. Dwellings of Utah's Native Americans, to ghost towns of the old mining boom, to houses built by the Mormon pioneers. These sites have been set aside for our generation to learn more about Utah's past. Below you find a list of sites that we have visited with information about each.
Previous Page
Forest City/ Grave Yard Flat
Forest City was a rough and tough mining town located up American Fork Canyon. The town was located near the mouth of Mary Ellen Gulch and west of Grave Yard Flat. Forest City consisted of a smelter, charcoal furnaces, saw mills, a saloon and an ample store that sold provisions to the miners. Ore from Forest Cities mines consisted of silver, lead, gold, iron and zinc.
Jacob Hamblin Home
Jacob Hamblin was born 6 April 1819 in Ashtabula County, Ohio. His parents were farmers, and he learned farming a youth. In 1836 his family moved to Wisconsin Territory and homesteaded at a place called Spring Prairie. Hamblin's father told Jacob when he was nineteen that he had been a faithful boy and that it was time for him to go into the world and do something for himself.
Mountain Meadows Massacre
In April 1857 a California-bound wagon train estimated at 40 wagons, 120 to 150 men, women, and children, and as many as 900 head of beef cattle, in addition to draft and riding animals, assembled near the Crooked Creek, approximately four miles south of present-day Harrison, Arkansas. Most of these emigrants were from northwestern Arkansas and were families, relatives, friends, and neighbors.
Old Iron Town
During the 1850's in hopes of increasing the self- sufficiency of Utah, Brigham Young sent members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the Iron Mission in what is now Cedar City, Utah. Approximately ten years after the iron works of Cedar city closed, Peter Shirts discovered the site of Iron City. In June of 1868 Ebenezer Hanks organized the Union Iron Company.
Silver Reef
The Silver Reef Ghost Town is surrounded by development and most of the towns buildings and old mining equipment have be closed to public access. It's still worth visiting as you can see some of the old ruins right from the road. Sliver Reef is 1/2 miles northwest of Leeds Utah, and there is an exit right off of I-15 marked Silver Reef. Silver Reef was said to be discovered in 1869 by a man of the name John Kemple. In 1876 Silver Reef became a bustling mining town with 2000 residents.
Ophir Utah
Nestled in a quiet canyon of the Oquirrh Mountain range is the town of Ophir. In 1860 precious minerals were discovered in the canyon. Word traveled fast and soon miners from Nevada and California arrived to strike it rich. Like many of Utah’s mining town’s growth was fast and furious. Ophir quickly boomed with stores, brothels, saloons, and dance halls.
Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine
Bingham Canyons history begins back in 1848 when it was first settled by two brothers, Thomas and Sanford Bingham. The brothers thought it was a great place to quietly raise cattle and cut timber. But the rich deposits of metals, and the later coming of the railroads, dramatically changed the future of the canyon.
The Beehive House
Four miles off Utah Highway 261 near Mexican Hat, you can look into a 1,000-foot-deep chasm carved through the Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation by the silt-laden San Juan River. The river meanders back and forth, flowing for more than five miles while progressing only one linear mile toward the Colorado River and Lake Powell. The access road is paved.