Tintic Mining District Utah.

In 1869, a cowboy prospector named George Rust discovered the remains of old Native American mines in Dragon Canyon. By December a large claim known as the Sunbeam Mine was located here, and a new mining camp went up quickly as the rich mines multiplied. Gradually the town grew from a mere tent city with a saloon and a blacksmith shop, to include a claims recorder and assay office, a telegraph branch, stagecoach line, and post office, and eventually numerous stores, hotels, and restaurants. There were even two railroad depots, as both the Salt Lake & Western Railroad and the Tintic Range Railroad ran lines into town. Economic conditions improved, and by 1899 Silver City's population reached 800.

Jesse Knight, known as the "Mormon Wizard" for his ability to find ore easily, decided to build a smelter (smelter ruins shown here) in Silver City because it had the flattest ground in all of the Tintic Mining District. Silver City had several mines in 1890, but the mines hit water and were abandoned.

More smelter ruins

Smelter ruins

Silver City area

Silver City Cemetery

The townsite lies in Mammoth Canyon on the west flank of the East Tintic Mountains about 1.5 miles west of Mammoth Peak at an elevation of 6400 ft. Mammoth was founded around 1870. The name for the town comes from the Mammoth Mine located near the area. The Mammoth Mine was discovered around the same time as the settlement of Eureka in February 1870. Miners rushed in and began a boomtown. The area was remote and the environment harsh; no water was to be found nearby. The mines piped in water for industrial use, but residents had to buy drinking water for ten cents a gallon. Mines in the area around Mammoth produced ore, silver, and gold. The Mammoth Mine was in production for around seventy-five years.

Old mine in Mammoth

Foundation of old school house in Knightsville.

Jesse Knight came to the Tintic Mining District in 1896, with little money and no previous mining knowledge or experience. Against the advice of experienced geologists, he sank a mine shaft that quickly reached a rich body of ore. In response to those who had doubted, he named it the Humbug Mine. Opening about a half dozen mines in the east Tintic area, Knight became one of the region's richest mine owners. His membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was conspicuous in an industry dominated by non-Mormons, and his successes brought him the nickname "the Mormon Mining Wizard".

Knight disapproved of the drunkenness and other vices of the typical mining camp lifestyle. He decided to build his own model town to house the miners near the Humbug Mine.He started Knightsville by having 20 houses built on Godiva Mountain. He soon expanded to 65 homes and two boarding houses. There were stores, churches, hotels, and a post office. But Knightsville became known as "the only mining camp in the United States without a saloon"; as the landowner Knight would not permit a saloon to operate in town.

Jesse Knight took a paternalistic attitude toward his workers and tenants. He was the first area mine owner to close his mines on Sundays, increasing daily wages to compensate for the lost day of work.He encouraged the miners, most of them Mormons, to attend church on the day off. The operation became laughingly known as the "Sunday School mines". When he learned the town's school population was too small to qualify for county funding, Knight solved the problem by hiring a father of eight. Eureka's many saloons were close by, but any employee found to be neglecting his family for liquor would be reprimanded, and even terminated if he persisted. Such policies proved attractive to many miners, who affectionally called the owner "Uncle Jesse". By 1907 the population of Knightsville grew to 1000.

Looking down on Eureka from Knightsville.

EJ Raddatz, a prospector, discovered ore in the area around 1907, and established the town of Dividend. Mr Raddatz created the Tintic Standard Mining Company and released a million shares of stock in an attempt to raise funds. He then hired John Westerdahl, an experienced miner and first foreman of the Tintic Standard Mine. For months they dug blindly into the hillside until the money started to dry up. The miners started to get paid in shares of stock instead of money, which wasn't great at the time as the mine had yet to produce anything of value. Most miners sold these shares or traded them for booze. Then one day they noticed a weird gas coming out of the shaft. The gas came from a large sulfur-rich ore body at a depth of 1200 feet. A massive lead-silver deposit that would prove to be one of the largest strikes in the Tintic District. It was named the Tintic Standard Mine.

By 1918, a town had sprung up around the mine. At first it was just housing for the miners, but soon it also featured a school house, a store, barber shop, pool hall, a post office and hotel. A newspaper, The Standard, even showed up from 1924 to 1925. A population 350 men, women and children called this land home, and anyone who had kept their stock certificates were rewarded with over one and a half million dollars in dividends from the mine by 1922.

Ore loader, Dividend UT

Ore chute hardware

Old mine structure

Homansville was a small mining town established in 1872 at the head of Homansville Canyon, two miles northeast of Eureka. It was named for Sheppard Homans, a member of Captian J.W. Gunnison's party during the 1870's. The population was about 300. The town was Developed to produce water for the surounding mining towns such as Eureka. The town was abandoned prior to 1900.

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