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LOCATION AND HIstory of PARK CITY, UTAH
Park City is located 30.91 miles, southeast
of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Mountains. The city known as
Parley's Park was put on the map with the discovery of silver in
1868, by U.S. soldiers stationed in the area to guard the mail
routes. By 1870, Parley's Park had grown with a population of 164.
In 1872, Parley's Park became Park City, and growth was rapid when
a huge, rich silver mine called the Ontario Mine is opened for
business. George Hearst and his assoc. bought this mine for $27,000
dollars. The Ontario Mine produced over $50 million during its long
years of operation.
In 1882, other successful silver and lead
mines are started, including the Crescent, the Anchor and the
Mayflower. The Silver King Mine became incorporated in 1892,
becoming the largest producer of silver in Park City.
In 1884 Park City is incorporated, and the
population grew to over 5,000 people in 1889, and to over 7,000
people when Utah became a state in 1896.
Adversity visited Park City in the forms of
fires and mining accidents, along with the usual troubles of
periodic outbreaks of disease and fluctuating silver prices. The
fires of 1882 and 1898 taught the city residents to build with
stone and brick, cutting down the risk of destruction. The 1898
fire was the mother of all Utah fires and destroyed 3/4 of the
town. The people were a sturdy, tenacious lot and rebuilt their
town. By 1920, the town was completely rebuilt, a new and improved
town.
Most of the mines closed in 1949, but some
briefly opened for a bit in 1952. Though the mines opened again for
a bit in the 1980s, the writing was on the wall, that mining as the
main stay of the town's economy was ending. The population had
dwindled to less than 1500 people. Was Park City destined to be a
ghost town?
The ingenuity of the people there went to
work, and the idea of having a ski resort was born in 1963.
Treasure Mountain Ski Resort gained some popularity in 1966 when
Sports Illustrated gave it high marks in the quality of its runs.
Soon, other ski resort outfits established themselves here, and the
town of Park City was reborn economically.
Though the mines closed in 1982, the ski
industry has boomed. The 1995 Winter Olympics encouraged new hotels
and businesses to spring up, bringing in new monies and a booming
tourist economy based on the skiing resorts, and all the
recreational activities the area offers throughout the seasons of
the year.
 
HAUNTED PLACE: The Silver Mines
LOCATION:
The silver mines are located in the The
Park City Mining District, "which comprises a tract that lies
between the steep wall and ledges that mark the crest of the
mountain range on the west and the mountain meadows of Heber,
Kamas, and Parleys Canyon along the eastern foothills."
DESCRIPTION:
The mines go down hundreds of feet, and are
a labyrinth of tunnels. Tours can be taken of some of the mines. On
these tours, one sees some of the old equipment, and techniques
used in the mining industry. The
Ontario Silver Mine has a tour for the public.
Check out the pictorial history on parkcitymountain.com
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HISTORY:
The mines in the Park City area made
millions of dollars, bringing not only silver, but lead, copper,
zinc and gold to the mineral market. The down side to mining has
always been that there is /was an element of danger involved.
Mining accidents throughout the years have claimed many lives. In
the early years, they were frequent. The most deadly of these
mining accidents in Utah happened in 1902, when dynamite stored
underground exploded, blowing many miners apart, and killing many
others by poisonous gas created by the explosion. After this
disaster, new legislation was passed which forbade the storing of
dynamite underground.
 
MANIFESTATIONS:
* Ghosts of miners has been seen by the
living haunting the scene of their death. Some are looking for
missing body parts.
* Before someone would die in the mines
because of an accident, a male apparition in a yellow slicker would
appear to the living as a bad omen.
* A lovely entity of a woman with long
blonde hair riding a horse had long been seen haunting a mine shaft
on the 200 foot level.
* Evil presences were blamed for knocking
out the lower rungs of ladders so miners couldn't escape in an
emergency.
Still Haunted?
Yes.
Apparitions are still seen wandering the
mine tunnels.
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