UtahRails.net

UtahRails.net

UtahRails Mining Men

This page was last updated on May 27, 2026.

(Return to Mining Index Page)

(The focus of this page is brief biographical notes of the men who made the mining industry in Utah so successful. Also to establish a timeline using sources not previously readily available.)

As important as the everyday wage worker was to the history of mining in Utah, it was several men with experience, vision and charisma who made the mining industry in Utah so successful. These men developed the networks of mining engineers and financiers to develop the undeveloped or partially developed mining claims to become giant organizations that made money for their shareholders, and in many cases, kept the mines as a decent place to work.

(Incomplete; research continues...)

(Work continues to show the major mining districts each person and family was involved with.)

The "major mining districts" in Utah is best defined as, in most cases, those districts that were served by at least one railroad. These included:

• American Fork
• Bingham Canyon
• Carbon County (coal)
• Cedar City (iron)
• Coalville (coal)
• Deep Creek
• Frisco
• Little Cottonwood
• Marysvale
• Mercur
• Park City
• Tintic
• Tooele (smelter)

John Beck

(Tintic)

John Beck was one of the pioneer miners in Tintic. His Bullion Beck and Champion mine started out paying very well, and continued paying well into the 1940s.

(Read more about John Beck)

John Bestelmeyer

(Tintic)

Bestelmeyer Mines -- Information about the East Tintic mines developed by John Bestelmeyer, adjacent to and later controlled by the North Lily company.

Carson & Buzzo

James Carson (1819-1875)

Thomas W. Buzzo (1834-1906)

Joseph Buzzo (1839-1899)

August 22, 1873
The following comes from the August 22, 1873 issue of the Deseret News:

(Carson & Buzzo -- James Carson; Thomas W. Buzzo; Joseph Buzzo; all from the copper mines of Lake Superior, were registered at the Townsend House hotel in Salt Lake City in September 1873.)

(James Carson had visited Salt Lake City in August, September and December 1872, staying at the Townsend House hotel.)

(Joseph Buzzo, brother to Thomas Buzzo, in July 1873 was superintendent of the Silver Hill mine in Markham Gulch in Bingham Canyon. The Silver Hill mine later became part of the Red Wing group. Joseph Buzzo died on June 20, 1899 at age 60. At the time, he was an employee of the Alice properties at Butte, of which his brother was superintendent.)

May 7, 1859
Thomas W. Buzzo was elected as superintendent of the Adventure, Aztec and Mass Mining company, located at Ontanagon, on the far northwest corner of the Michigan upper peninsula in the Lake Superior mining district. (Detroit Free Press, May 15, 1859)

March 1873
Carson & Buzzo's Stockton smelter: "The Carson & Buzzo smelting works, about half a mile south of the Chicago, erected two vertical blast furnaces in March, 1873, and commenced operations shortly afterwards. The ores used were obtained chiefly from the Utah·Queen mine, owned by the same interests. Later Carson & Buzzo erected extensive reduction works at West Jordan." (USGS Professional Paper 173, Stockton and Fairfield Quadrangles Ore Deposits, 1932)

(The Carson & Buzzo Stockton smelter was located about two miles south of the town of Stockton itself, and was operated from 1873 to 1880. Carson & Buzzo also owned the Utah Queen mine in Dry Canyon, east of Stockton.)

September 9, 1873
"The property [Jordan mine] is owned by parties in Boston and Salt Lake, and Carson & Buzzo are the agents and managers of the property in Utah." (Salt Lake Tribune, September 9, 1873)

November 16, 1873
"Learning a few days ago of a remarkably large and rich "strike" of ore in the Galena mine, Jordan Hill, Bingham Canyon, owned by Messrs. Carson & Buzzo." (Salt Lake Herald, November 16, 1873)

November 26, 1873
"Extensive Works. -- Carson & Buzzo are making some very extensive improvements at their smelting works, near West Jordan Bridge. Buildings are in course of erection there 290 feet long by 40 feet wide, for storing fuel and for reverberators for calcining the ores. Another building is also being put up which will be 160 feet long by 36 feet wide, and in which there will be six smelting furnaces. A flue 150 feet long and chimney stack over sixty feet high are already completed. The other additions and improvements will probably be finished within two or three weeks. These are the largest smelting works in Utah. Morris & Evans are the contractors who are putting up the buildings. Carson & Buzzo are the proprietors of very rich mines in Bingham." (Deseret News, Weekly edition, November 26, 1873)

March 5, 1874
Carson & Buzzo had contracted for the construction of a canal from a point on the Jordan river, to their furnaces, a distance of nine miles. The canal was to be completed by June 20th, and "will give the company water power equal to 500 horsepower, with which to run the machinery of their thirteen furnaces, to be erected immediately." The cost was reported as being $35,000. (Salt Lake Herald, March 5, 1874)

July 9, 1875
There was a suit before the Third District court, Carson & Buzzo vs. Galena Silver Mining company. The suit continued at least into October 1875. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 9, 1875; October 10, 1875)

July 28, 1875
James Carson, of the firm Carson & Buzzo, died of injuries after being struck by a street car in Oakland, California. "About three years ago Mr. Carson came to Utah from the copper mines of Lake Superior, where he had long been engaged, and in which we believe he was interested at the time of his death. The first purchase of the firm of which he was the head, was in Dry Canyon, Tooele county, and this was immediately followed by the erection of a two stack smelter at Stockton. Next, Carson & Buzzo bought the celebrated Jordan and Galena mine of Bingham, which they successfully worked for some time; and last year they erected at West Jordan the most extensive smelting works in the west. They carried on the mining and smelting business on a large scale, furnishing employment to hundreds of men, spent immense sums of money in developing and working their property, but finally, last autumn, the concern succumbed to the pressure of the times, and collapsed." (Salt Lake Herald, July 28, 1875; Deseret News, July 28, 1875, "this afternoon," the accident happened on July 27th, causing him to lose both feet, and he died from the injuries on July 28th.)

(The activity and location of Thomas Buzzo after the death of his partner was not covered in the newspapers.)

(Read more about the Jordan Silver mine, owned by Carson and Buzzo 1873-1875)

(Thomas W. Buzzo, identified as formerly with the Carson & Buzzo firm, arrived in Salt Lake City on April 13, 1880, and was involved in the organization of the Live Pine Mining Company on April 28, 1880 -- Salt Lake Herald, April 13, 1880; May 1, 1880)

(Newspaper research found that by January 1885, Thomas Buzzo had shifted his mining activity to the mines of Ketchum, Idaho. He was still a resident of Salt Lake City during January 1886. In November 1894 Buzzo was elected as superintendent of the Alice Gold and Silver Mining company in Walkerville in Silver Bow County, Montana. At that time, he and his wife moved to Butte.)

From the The Anaconda Standard, January 1, 1897: "Thomas W. Buzzo was born [1835] in England 62 years ago, but at the age of four went with his parents to Ireland and then Scotland, in which countries he remained until he was 14. In the latter part of 1849 he came to America and settled at Irondale, New Jersey, where he began his career as a miner in the iron mines at that place. Two years there was enough to satisfy Mr. Buzzo and he pulled up stakes and went to the Lake Superior region, where he remained until 1871. He worked at and in the mines of that section, first as a miner, then tool sharpener, accountant and then became a superintendent, having charge of the Adventure, Mass, Northwestern Aztec and Shawmut mines of Ontanagon county and the Huron and Calumet & Hecla in Houghton county. The latter is one of the largest copper properties in Michigan. After spending 20 years in Michigan he went to California, where he mined on his own hook about a year, after which he retraced his steps East as far as Utah. There he engaged in mining and smelting. Later he developed some properties in Colorado and Idaho. About two years ago [1894] Mr. Buzzo was placed at the head of the Alice company's possessions in this district, and notwithstanding the low figure at which silver has been quoted since 1893 he has made money for the stockholders and kept the property in first-class shape."

From the Butte Evening News, September 10, 1906.

From the Salt Lake Herald, September 12, 1906.

L. U. Colbath

L. U. Colbath [Lemuel Ulysses Colbath] was connected with R. C. Chambers and the Ontario Mining company at Park City since 1872. He had first come to Utah in 1870. He was born in Wayne County, New York, in March 1832 and his family had moved to Lima, Ohio, while he was young. At age 22, in 1854, he went to El Dorado County, California, then to Virginia City, Nevada, where he was a mine superintendent. He then moved to South Pass City, Wyoming in 1868, then to Utah in 1870, where he made his home.

Newspaper references from late 1871 note that Colbath was living in Tintic, then in early 1872 he was living in Alta in Little Cottonwood canyon, where by October 1873 he was shown as the superintendent of the Vallejo mine. By mid 1881 he was still living in Alta at the time of the snowslide that killed so many people.

In May 1874 he was, at least for a short time, shown as one of the owners of the Neptune and Kempton mines in Bingham Canyon, and that company's Sheridan Hill smelter at Midvale.

By early 1885, he was living in the Salt Lake City 12th Ward, on Fifth East Street near South Temple Street. During this time he interests in a mine near Milford. From this period he was active in the Ore Producers Association working to improve the tax situation of the region's mines. He was connected with several mining companies, usually as a director, and occasionally an officer. In 1891 he was one of the organizers of the Jeremy Salt company. Throughout the 1890s, following his wife's death in 1891, there were references to Colbath as being a mining expert, and his name was associated with several new corporations, not as an organizer, but a as having examined the property.

L. U. Colbath died on May 25, 1908 at age 76. Upon his death, numerous newspapers noted that he was one of the most widely known mining men in the West.

James A. Cunningham

(Tintic)

James Alma Cunningham (14 June 1842 – 24 March 1919) (KWBB-6CG)

James A. Cunningham was one of the successful owners of the Mammoth mine in the Tintic district in central Utah, along with William and Samuel McIntyre. He was also a cattleman and sheepman, owning thousands of cattle and sheep on ranches in Utah and Canada.

He was also a railroad builder. In 1896 he was the organizer of the New East Tintic Railway that served the Mammoth mine. In 1900 he sold this railroad to the Union Pacific-controlled Oregon Short Line Railroad.

(Read more about the New East Tintic Railway)

In February 1899 he was voted off of the board of directors of the Mammoth Mining company because of differences he had with the McIntyre brothers over the rates he was charging to move their ore over his New East Tintic Railway. But he remained a large stockholder of the Mammoth company.

(Read more about James A. Cunningham)

John Dern

(Mercur and Tintic)

John Dern first came to Utah as president of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company in December 1890. He was a resident of Fremont, the county seat of Dodge County, where he was the County Treasurer. In June 1894, Dern and his Eastern associates purchased full control of the Mercur company, from its previous majority stockholder, at which time John Dern became president and general manager of the Mercur mine.

At Tintic, after 1901, he controlled the Uncle Sam, Humbug and May Day mines, and others.

(Read more about John Dern)

James C. Dick

(Bingham and Tintic)

J. C. Dick was one of the mining men of Utah. He was a mining engineer who worked with the mines of the Tintic and Bingham mining districts.

J. C. Dick was John Dern's son-in-law.

(Read more about J. C. Dick)

David Evans, Jr.

(Tintic)

David Evans Jr. (28 January 1852 – 5 September 1923) (K2W7-VYK)

David Evans, Jr., was closely associated with Jesse Knight from 1899 to 1905.

David Evans was a prominent lawyer in Provo from 1883 to 1886. From 1885 to 1889 he was Assistant Federal District Attorney of Utah. In 1889 he moved to Ogden and set up a law practice, then in 1892-1893 he was member of the Utah Territorial Senate. During 1896-1898 he was president of the School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind at Ogden. In 1899, after practicing law for twenty years without losing a case, he retired and became associated with Jesse Knight in various mining ventures in the Tintic district, including the King David Mining Company, the Crown Point Mining Co., and the Iron King Consolidated Mining Company. In 1905, he sold his interests to Jesse Knight and moved to California, remaining there until his death in 1923.

(Read more about David Evans, Jr.)

Richard J. Evans

(Tintic)

Richard James Evans (27 January 1865 – 2 December 1947) (27HR-H8X)

Richard J. Evans became associated with Jesse Knight in 1907 when they organized the Plutus mine in Eureka. Evans had been president of the adjacent Juab Mining company, which was included in the creation of the Plutus company.

In 1916, the Chief Consolidated company bought the Plutus Mining company from Evans and the Knight interests.

The "Evans Group" was a group of mining claims on the west side of the town of Eureka, assembled by Richard Evans, a mining man who in 1896, at age 31, came to Utah and got "mining fever." He previously had been associated with the Michigan copper mines for six years, starting in 1890. He began by developing mines in the Mercur area, then became involved with the development of the Silver King Consolidated Mining company in Park City in 1907. In the Bingham district, Evans was a force behind assembling the group of companies and claims that became the Montana-Bingham group in 1910, and in 1914, assembled the group of companies and claims that became the Utah Metal & Tunnel company in Carr Fork. In Tintic, starting with the Golden May claim, he assembled the Evans Group. He also put together the Plutus, Eureka Lily, Tintic Consolidated, Bullion, Apex Standard mines for the Chief Consolidated Mining Co. Richard J. Evans passed away on December 2, 1947 at age 82.

The Evans group of mining claims was located on the western outskirts of the town of Eureka, and included the Golden Ray, Anna, Anna No. 2, Hornsilver, Mary Bell, Mary Alice, Morning Star, George A. Wilson, West Mammoth, Annaconda, Mollie Gibson, Donnelly Boy, Goodenough, Pluto, Hades, and Styx claims. The Evans shaft was located on the Goodenough claim.

The Plutus property was surrounded by the Chief Consolidated on the north, southwest and southeast, the Eagle & Blue on the west, the Godiva on the east, and the Mammoth on the south. The Chief Consolidated Mining company had controlled the Plutus Mining company since October 1916, through ownership of a majority of Plutus stock.

P. T. Farnsworth

(Frisco and Tintic)

Philo Taylor Farnsworth Jr. (15 October 1849 – 19 July 1920) (KWVP-2JL)

"During his active career as mining investor, operator and manager, Mr. Farnsworth was prominently identified with a number of bonanza mining propositions of the surrounding country. He was for many years manager of the Horn Silver Mining Company's bonanza at Frisco, Utah; also a prominent figure in the management and operation of the Bullion-Beck, at Tintic. At Austin, Nevada, he was manager of the Austin Gold Mining Company's properties and in many other propositions, since the early days of mining in Utah." (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 30, 1920, upon his death)

(Read more about P. T. Farnsworth)

Liberty E. Holden

Liberty E. Holden was one of the organizers in 1875 of the original Old Telegraph mine, later owned by the French conglomerate, Societe des Minus d'Argent et Fonderies de Bingham. After selling out to the French company, L. E. Holden continued his activities in Utah mining, including buying the adjacent Old Jordan mine.

(Read more about the Telegraph mine)

Liberty Emery Holden was born June 20, 1833. He was married to Delia Elizabeth Bulkley in August 1860. He came to Utah in the early 1870s after some success selling real estate in Cleveland, and was involved in mine investments in Michigan. With additional capital from Cleveland friends he bought a mine in Bingham. First known as the Nez Perces mine, it was later known as the Old Telegraph mine. After only limited success with the mine, and after battling his Michigan investors for ownership, Mr. Holden struck rich galena ore carrying high percentage lead and silver. The rich vein lasted weeks and he paid off his creditors, sold the mine to a French company and realized a good profit. Later he became the largest stockholder in the Old Jordan and South Galena mines, also in the Bingham canyon area. He sold his interests, making a considerable fortune and returned to Cleveland where in 1885 he bought the Plain Dealer newspaper.

In 1879, Liberty E. Holden was one of the organizers of the Salt Lake, Jordan & Bingham Railway, projected to build from Salt Lake City south to the furnaces and reduction works at West Jordan Settlement, then west to and up the Bingham Canyon to a point near the head of the canyon, with branches up the forks of the canyon, to the mines operated by Societe des Minus d'Argent et Fonderies de Bingham and to other mines in Bingham Canyon.

In December 1880, Liberty E. Holden was one of the organizers, along with Union Pacific interests, of Utah Southern & Castle Valley Railway, an unbuilt projected railroad that was to build from Juab Station on the Utah Southern, south and east to the mouth of Salina Canyon, then by one route east through Salina Canyon, a distance of 80 miles, and by another route south to Marysvale, Utah, a distance of 40 miles.

His daughter, Roberta Holden, was nine years old when the family returned to Cleveland. She married Benjamin J. Bole, who later became the president of Plain Dealer Publishing Co. She passed away on October 28, 1950. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 30, 1950)

December 19, 1884
L. E. Holden had recently purchased the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper for an undisclosed sum. His partner in the purchase was George F. Prescott, previously (for 11 years) the business manager of the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper. (Galveston Daily News, December 19, 1884; Helena Weekly Herald, January 1, 1885)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper started in 1842, and in 2013 remained the major daily newspaper for Cleveland and northeast Ohio, serving a population of 3.8 million, and is still among the nation's top 20 newspapers. Holden placed his nephew, R. R. Holden as the newspaper's editor-in-chief.

August 26, 1913
L. E. Holden died on August 26, 1913 at his home near Cleveland, Ohio.

Albert F. Holden

The United States Mining Company was organized on March 26, 1899 by Albert F. "Bert" Holden.

Tom Billings wrote about Bert Holden in his unpublished history of USSR&M.

(Read more about the United States Mining Company)

Albert Fairchild "Bert" Holden was born December 31, 1866, the third of nine children. His father was Liberty E. Holden and his mother was Delia Bulkley. A. F. Holden graduated from Harvard with a degree in Mining Engineering in 1888, and took additional instruction for mining engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following graduation he rejoined his father in the mining business in Utah.

In 1885 when his father, Liberty Holden, moved back to Cleveland, he turned over management of his mines to his son, A. F. Bert Holden. In 1899, the elder Holden was 66 years old and retired from the mining business, selling his interests to his son. After buying out the majority of his father's interests, Bert Holden organized the United States Mining Company to consolidate their interests. He also purchased the Centennial Eureka Mining Company in the Tintic District. His mines in Bingham canyon included the Old Telegraph mine, and the Old Jordan and Galena Mining Company. The mines of United States Mining supplied silver, gold, lead and copper ores to his five-stack smelter on the banks of the Jordan River, south of Salt Lake City. By 1906 he had created the second largest mining and smelting trust in the world, and was a serious competitor to the larger American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO).

April 14, 1899
A. F. Holden was shown as the managing director of the newly organized Unites States Mining company, whose headquarters were in Columbus, Ohio (later in Boston). His residence was in Cleveland. (Salt Lake Herald, April 14, 1899)

Albert F. Holden married Katherine Elizabeth Davis (1868-1900) on April 27, 1894, in the bride's home in Davis, Tucker County, West Virginia. She had been visiting relatives in Salt Lake City when they met. The wedding was announced in the Salt Lake Herald on April 8, 1894. He was 27 years old, she was 25. They had three children (daughters), Elizabeth Davis Holden (1895-1908), Emerine M. Holden (1896-?), and Katherine Holden (1898-1985). His wife was born on March 26, 1869 in Maryland, and passed away unexpectedly on December 4, 1900, at age 31. She was living in Cleveland at the time of her death.

May 18, 1913
"A. F. Holden Dies At Cleveland Home -- Salt Lake City, May 18. -- Albert F. Holden, who died tonight in Cleveland, was managing director of the United States Smelting & Refining company and was director of Alaska Gold Mining company. He had not lived in Salt Lake City for 10 years." (Ogden Standard Examiner, May 19, 1913)

Holden died of cancer on May 8, 1913 at the age of 46.

Daniel C. Jackling

D. C. Jackling was most famous for being one of the founders of Utah Copper and the Bingham Canyon copper mine. But he was also instrumental in the discovery of the concentration of low-grade mineral ore, first for gold ores in the Mercur district, then the copper ores in the Bingham district.

(Read more about D. C. Jackling)

Thomas Kearns

U.S. Senator; Philanthropist. Known by some as the Immigrant Titan.

Perhaps the most famous of the group known as the Silver Kings., Kearns was an Irish-Canadian immigrant who started as a manual laborer in the mines.

He and his partners (including David Keith) leased the Silver King Mine in Park City. It turned out to be one of the richest lead-silver deposits in the world.

Kearns became a millionaire by age 28. He used his wealth to buy the Salt Lake Tribune and build a 28-room mansion on South Temple (now the Utah Governor's Mansion).

He served as a U.S. Senator and was a major philanthropist, funding St. Ann's Orphanage and many civic projects in Salt Lake City.

(Read the Wikipedia article about Thomas Kearns)

(Read the Utah History Encyclopedia article about Thomas Kearns)

David Keith

David Keith was Thomas Kearns' lifelong friend and business partner. While Kearns was the public face, Keith was the technical expert. Some articles describe him as the engineering mind behind Kearns.

Keith was a master of mine pumps, a crucial skill because many of Park City's best lead veins were deep underwater. He installed the famous "Cornish Pump" to drain the mines, allowing the the company to reach deeper ore.

Beyond Park City's Silver King Mine, Keith owned banks, railroads, and the Keith-O'Brien department store. His neoclassical mansion still stands today on South Temple.

Jesse Knight

(Tintic and Carbon County) (Utah Ore Sampling)

Jesse Knight was an outlier among the Lead Kings, which included Thomas Kearns, David Keith and Samuel Newhouse. While most mining magnates were non-Mormons who often clashed with the LDS Church, Knight was a devout member who believed his wealth was a "divine stewardship." He famously struck lead and silver at the Humbug Mine in the Tintic District (near Eureka) after claiming he heard a divine voice telling him the land was rich.

He built the town of Knightsville, which was unique among mining camps for having no saloons, no gambling, and no work on Sundays. He saved Brigham Young University from financial ruin multiple times and funded much of the early expansion of the school.

Jesse Knight lived on a ranch in Payson, and began prospecting in the Tintic district in the 1880s, following the advice of several mining he he had become acquainted with. In 1896 he developed the Humbug mine. He soon acquired the adjacent Uncle Sam mine, and he sold the two combined mines in 1901. He used the proceeds to buy other unappreciated mining properties farther south, and they formed the basis of what would later become one of the largest mining enterprises in the state. Jesse Knight passed away on March 14, 1921, but his Knight Investment company was the basis of the much larger North Lily Mining company that was controlled by the Anaconda company after 1929.

(Read more about Jesse Knight and his activities in the Tintic mining district)

Charles Edwin (C. E.) Loose

(Tintic)

C. E. Loose was active in the development and operation of several mines in the Tintic mining district, including the Grand Central and the Gold Chain. He was also instrumental in the organization of the Goshen Valley Railroad, built to serve the mines of the East Tintic District..

Charles Edwin Loose (19 September 1853 – 28 January 1929) (K24C-X9C)

(Read more about C. E. Loose)

(Read more about the Goshen Valley Railroad; later known as D&RGW's Goshen Valley Branch)

McChrystal Family

(Tintic)

John McChrystal first arrived in Tintic in 1877, and was one of the pioneers of the camp. While in the employ of the Eureka Hill mine as its superintendent he made a study of the geologic conditions of the entire Tintic district, after which he located and directed the preliminary workings of the Gemini mine, along with later properties that included the Godiva, the Eagle & Blue Bell, the Ridge & Valley, and the Uncle Sam. John Q Packard was associated with McChrystal in the development of the Gemini, the Godiva and the Eureka Hill mines. The McChrystal family remained active in the development of Tintic's mines until the late 1920s.

(Read more about the McChrystal Family)

William S. McCornick

William Sylvester McCornick (14 September 1837 – 18 May 1921) (LZLN-9LG)

Born September 14, 1837 in Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. Died May 18, 1921 (aged 83) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Buried Mount Olivet Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah.

W. S. McCornick was one of the most prominent bankers and businessmen in the Intermountain West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

(Read more about W. S. McCornick)

McIntyre Brothers, Samuel and William

Samuel and William McIntyre -- Brief notes about the two McIntyre brothers were developed the Mammoth mine, until the partnership was split and William took the family business to Canada in 1894.

Samuel H. McIntyre -- Information about Samuel McIntyre and his business interests in the Tintic district and other locations.

William H. McIntyre -- Information about William McIntyre and his business interests in the Tintic district and other locations.

Samuel Newhouse

Samuel Newhouse was a Jewish-American entrepreneur who focused on the Bingham Canyon and the copper mine at Newhouse in Beaver County.

He was a master of high-stakes international finance, bringing in massive investments from London and New York to build some of the first large-scale smelters in Utah. He wanted to turn Salt Lake City into the "Little Wall Street" of the West. He built Utah's first skyscrapers (the Boston and Newhouse Buildings) and the Newhouse Hotel.

Unlike Kearns or Knight, Newhouse overextended his finances. He eventually lost most of his fortune and died in France, a reminder of the volatility of the mining era.

(Read the Wikipedia article about Samuel Newhouse)

(Read the Utah History Encyclopedia article about Samuel Newhouse)

L. E. Riter

(Tintic)

Levi Evans Riter Jr/Sr (3 September 1854 – 30 July 1903) (KWVP-FT3)

Son of Levi Evans Riter (1805-1877), and father of Levi Evans Riter (1878-1945)

He was a nephew of William Wollerton (W. W.) Riter, pioneer railroad builder; William Wollerton Riter (4 September 1838 – 17 January 1922) (KWCV-PKY)

Operated the L. E. Riter & Co. general merchandise and miner's supplies store at Silver City.

(Read more about Levi E. Riter)

Snyder Family

(Tintic, Bingham, Ophir, Stockton) (Pioche, Nevada)

George G. Snyder and six of his sons were active in the Tintic mining district from 1889 to 1922. In 1889, the family organized itself as the Snyder Improvement company, and soon became known for their excellent record of locating and developing promising mining properties, then selling them to larger companies to become profitable mines. Their company was active until 1921, when the Chief Consolidated bought their interest in the Eureka Lily Mining Co. and the East Tintic Mining Co.

(Read more about the Snyder family)

Thomas Weir

Thomas Weir (1855-1932) -- Thomas Weir was one of the leading mining figures of the west for the last 35 years. He worked with Samuel Newhouse and the two men developed Utah Consolidated's Highland Boy gold mine in Bingham canyon. Then they developed the Boston Consolidated underground and open pit copper mine, also in Bingham canyon. Boston Consolidated merged with Utah Copper in 1910 and Weir and Newhouse took their efforts to other projects. Weir became involved in the Tintic district in 1900 when he became president of the Ajax mine near the Mammoth mine. (incomplete; research continues)

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