Gold Hill, Utah

Gold Hill is an unincorporated community in far western Tooele County, Utah, located near the Nevada state line.

Gold Hill
Unincorporated community
Gold Hill, Utah, September 2007
Gold Hill, Utah, September 2007
Gold Hill is located in Utah
Gold Hill
Gold Hill
Location of Gold Hill in Utah
Gold Hill is located in the United States
Gold Hill
Gold Hill
Gold Hill (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°09′59″N 113°49′50″W
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountyTooele
Founded1871
Named forThe presence of gold in the nearby hills
Elevation
[1]
5,298 ft (1,615 m)
GNIS feature ID1428231[1]

History

The town, located near the Deep Creek Mountains, was the center of a mining district that was active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, producing gold, copper, arsenic, silver, lead and tungsten.[2] Gold Hill was the southern terminus of the Deep Creek Railroad.[3]

Although gold was first discovered at Gold Hill in 1858, settlement only began in 1871, when a smelter was built.[4] The town itself was established in 1892.[2] As other nearby mines started to fail, Gold Hill began to grow famous in the mining industry. Its ore was among the richest known at the time. After the rich copper and gold mines were worked out, the area enjoyed a resurgence when World War I created a demand for arsenic. A smaller period of growth occurred during World War II, after which mining was discontinued. Gold Hill is now nearly a ghost town, with only a few remaining residents.

Jack Dempsey mined there before beginning his boxing career.[5] A United States post office operated at Gold Hill from 1911 to 1949.[3]

The site is currently a ghost town with many structures still intact and available to explore.[2]

Gold Hill Mine

Originally called the Western Utah Mine, Gold Hill Mine was created in the 1890s, and expanded with the arrival of the railroad in 1917. Mining ended in 1925, when the market for arsenic collapsed. The mine will likely be permanently closed in the near future.[6] According to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) report published in 1935, the property was owned at the time by Western Utah Copper Company. The mine produced over half of the total of 33,960 tons of ore valued at $705,957 from the entire district.[7]

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gold Hill
  2. "Gold Hill - Utah Ghost Towns - Utah Outdoor Activities".
  3. Bateman, Ronald R. (1994). "Deep Creek Mountains". In Powell, Allan Kent (ed.). Utah History Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. ISBN 0874804256. OCLC 30473917.
  4. Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-87480-345-4.
  5. Thompson, George A. (1982). Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures. Salt Lake City, Utah: Dream Garden Press. p. 167. ISBN 0-942688-01-5.
  6. "Gold Hill Mine, Tooele County, Utah". Chris Tucker Minerals. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  7. Nolan. USGS PP177 The Gold Hill Mining District, Utah (PDF) (Report). United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 20, 2013.

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