Tintic, Bestelmeyer East Tintic Mines

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This page was last updated on November 7, 2025.

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Overview

(The focus of this page is the surface workings of the East Tintic mines developed by John Bestelmeyer, as visible in photographs, as well as a general description of the mine, with minimal coverage of the geology and financial returns. Also to establish a timeline using sources not previously readily available.)

The properties in East Tintic developed by John Bestelmeyer include:

All properties lay adjacent to each other, and lay along the west sides of the North Lily and Eureka Lily properties.

Sold To North Lily

Although the former Bestelmeyer properties were controlled by International Smelting company, three companies remained as separate companies due to the numerous minority shareholders. These three companies were merged into Anaconda in 1976.

Big Hill Mining Company;
East Tintic Coalition Mining Company;
Eureka Bullion Mining Company

Bestelmeyer Family

(Alternate spellings of the family surname included "Bestlemeyre, ""Bestlemyre" and "Bestelmeyre." The spelling used here follows that used in later years, including death certificates and obituaries.)

John Bestelmeyer (1843-1912)

John Bestelmeyer was a well known pioneer miner. "Back in the early 90s, John Bestelmeyer, then a young German baker fresh from the east, decided, with the late Charley Lamersdorfer, that Eureka did not have all the mines in Tintic and that East Tintic was the location of a large parallel ore zone. For years Bestelmeyer labored in the Tintic district roaming the hills, prospecting and working in Eastern Tintic in spite of fun that was poked at him for his ideas. Lamersdorfer decided that the work was top slow for him and went to Marysvale where he cleaned up a fortune and died a few years ago a wealthy banker. Not so with Bestelmeyer, who is known as the father of the East Tintic district. For years he worked upon his claims and patented them. Today they are among the most valuable in the district." (Salt Lake Herald, July 13, 1919)

Jesse Knights' success with the Humbug mine inspired others to look harder in less likely places. "In the following years, prospecting brothers John and August Bestelmeyer would stake and patent several claims of their own even further East, where little ore had previously been found. In the summer of 1907, John Bestelmeyer found himself in Ely, Nevada at a conference regarding railroad development. It was there he met a Utah mine manager by the name of Emil J. Raddatz, with whom he shared his interest in the potential of East Tintic. That fall, Raddatz visited the area himself, and with great eagerness examined the Bestelmeyer claims. Raddatz eagerly bought several claims from the Bestelmeyers and by October of that year he had organized the Tintic Standard Mining Company to develop them. It would take nine years for these claims to begin shipping ore, which is not a short time to wait for a return on an investment." ("The story of Dividend and the Tintic Standard Mine" By Christian L. Wright, 2012, n.p.)

August 2, 1907
"E. D. Raddatz of Salt Lake, representing the Intermountain Exploration Company, was out in East Tintic last Sunday and visited some of the mines of that section. Mr. Raddatz may form a company for the purpose of taking over some of the ground owned by John Bestelmeyer. He was highly pleased with that section of the district." (Eureka Reporter, August 2, 1907)

August 2, 1919
The mining claims of four companies, Eureka Bullion, East Tintic Coalition, Tintic Bullion, and Tintic Chief were all among the original holdings of John Bestelmeyer prior to his death in 1912. His two sons, John M. and August were working the four properties to the best of their ability. (Salt Lake Telegram, August 2, 1919)

August 17, 1912
The following comes from the Salt Lake Tribune, August 18, 1912.

Provo, Aug, 17—John Bestelmeyer of Provo, a prominent mining operator of this county, was found dead this afternoon near his cabin on the Grutli mining property in East Tintic. Bestelmeyer's body was discovered at 4 o’clock by Mrs Westenthal at a point about one-quarter of a mile from Bestelmeyer’s cabin. It is supposed Bestelmeyer was overcome with an attack of heart failure.

Acting Coroner E. L. Jones went to Tintic upon receiving word of Bestelmeyer's death. The body was brought to Provo tonight.

Bestelmeyer was a native of Germany and was 69 years of age. He was a baker by occupation and had been head baker at the state mental hospital at Provo. For many years he was actively engaged in prospecting and mining and located a large number of claims, many of them in the Tintic district. In 1907 he sold several of his claims, receiving therefor about $20,000. For some time Bestelmeyer had given his attention to developing the Grutli mine in East Tintic.

Bestelmeyer leaves a widow, two sons and two daughters. The sons are John M. Bestelmeyer, who was engaged with his father in mining operations, and August Bestelmeyer, an employee of the Salt Lake Security & Trust company. Mrs. Bestelmeyer and two daughters live In Provo.

August 17, 1912
The following comes from the Salt Lake Herald, August 18, 1912.

Eureka, Aug. 17.—The body of John Bestelmeyer, aged sixty-nine, of Provo, mining operative, former sergeant in the German army, and a well-known character in this section of Utah, was found this morning lifeless by the side of a trail leading to the Grutli mine, owned by a mining company of which he was the president. His death had evidently been caused by a fall.

The discovery of the body was made by Mrs. Westerdahl, who was passing down the road leading to the mine. About 200 yards from the cabin where Bestelmeyer made his headquarters she saw the head of a man lying near the trail. Investigation showed that it was Mr. Bestelmeyer. She notified the authorities and Deputy Sheriff A. C. Hills, Coroner Ed. L. Jones and H. C. Hicks, secretary of the mining company of which Mr. Bestelmeyer was president, all of Provo, left immediately for the scene of the accident.

It was found that the aged man had taken a short cut along the upper part of a hill near where his body was found and had evidently slipped and plunged head foremost down the side of the hill. Several concussions found were sufficient to cause death.

Mr. Bestelmeyer was born in Nuremberg, Bavaria, in 1843. He served as a member of the Bavarian police when a youth and was a sergeant in the German allied army which besieged and finally entered Paris. He came to America in 1880, living two years in New York and Brooklyn, then coming to Utah by way of Kansas City.

At one time Mr. Bestelmeyer was connected with the Utah state mental hospital. He has been a mining promoter and operative for nearly twenty-five years, and at the time of his death owned about twenty claims in the Tintic district besides valuable water rights.

Mr. Bestelmeyer leaves a widow, Katherine of Provo, two sons, John M., a mining engineer of Eureka, and August, employed in Salt Lake, and two daughters, Kate and Clara. His body will be taken to Provo for burial tomorrow morning.

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Catherine M. Bestelmeyer (1860-1936)

"She was born June 22, 1860, in Bischop Green, Bavaria, Germany, a daughter of Fredrick Wilhelm and Margaret Schrier Wanderer. She came to this country in 1880 and was married to Mr. Bestelmeyer on May 6, 1882, in Brooklyn, N.Y. They came to Utah in 1889 and settled in Provo. Mrs. Bestelmeyer had resided here since that time. Her husband pioneered mining on the property which is now the Tintic Standard mine. He died in August, 1912." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 1, 1936, obituary)

(Catherine Bestelmeyer was partners with her husband and sons on almost all of their patented mining claims, as well as being an occasional director on their mining companies.)

John M. Bestelmeyer (1885-1973)

John Michael Bestelmeyer was born on March 21, 1885 in New York. He died on January 4, 1973 in Los Angeles at age 89. He married Margaret Poulson on July 5, 1916. They lived in Provo, Utah. By 1965 he was living in Hawthorne, California. During the early 1920s, he was the developer of the Bay View subdivision southeast of Provo, Utah. Bay View, together with Steel City, filled in the area between Provo and Springville, along the eastern edge of the Columbia Steel iron plant at Ironton. (He lost the Bay View property to bankruptcy in December 1932.) During the 1930s, Bestelmeyer was superintendent of the Fortuna Gold Mining company mine in the Fortuna district near Beaver, then in 1935, superintendent of Ophir Midland mine in Ophir Canyon, north of Tintic. In later years after leaving Utah, he worked as superintendent and manager of a wide variety of mining ventures in several western states.

(Newspaper references suggest that John M. Bestelmeyer ended his association with East Tintic mines in about 1922. References after this date show him buying property south of Provo in the Bay View tract.)

August A. Bestelmeyer (1889-1965)

(August Bestelmeyer graduated fro Provo high school in January 1906. He was among 46 students.)

(His first involvement with the Bestelmeyer mines was in 1909 when he was elected as a director of the Grutli company.)

(August Bestelmeyer appears to have ended his direct association as an officer or director with East Tintic mines when the East Tintic Coalition company was taken over by the North Lily company in 1926.)

(August Bestelmeyer's son Donald, age 18, was killed on November 12, 1944 as the result of a crash of a B-17 during a training flight in Tennessee. He had been drafted in December 1943, at age 18. He had been just 16 when he moved to California in February 1942 to work at Douglas Aircraft.)

December 26, 1965
"August A. Bestelmeyer, 78, Inglewood, Calif., formerly of Provo, died Sunday in Inglewood of a heart attack. He was born Aug. 1, 1889, in Provo, the son of John and Catharine Wanderer Bestelmeyer. He married Margaret Dooley on Dec. 2, 1914, in Salt Lake. She died Sept. 2, 1962. Mr. Bestelmeyer was a graduate of Brigham Young University. He was active in the brokerage business and past president of the miner's group, "The 49'ers." He moved to California 18 years ago." (Provo Daily Herald, December 27, 1965)

Big Hill Mining Company (1899-1976)

(Read more about the Big Hill Mining company, developed by the Bestelmeyer family)

East Tintic Coalition Mining Company

(Read more about the East Tintic Coalition Mining company, developed by the Bestelmeyer family)

East Tintic Terminal Mining Company

May 4, 1909
The East Tintic Terminal Mining company filed its articles of incorporation with the county clerk. Officers were: John Bestelmeyer, president; Wilford F. Giles, vice president; with these two plus John M. Bestelmeyer, J. W. Beasley and Alfred L. Booth as directors. Royal T. Barnes [or Barney] was secretary-treasurer. The purpose was to take over the six East Tintic Terminal mining claims. (Salt Lake Herald, May 4, 1909; Provo Daily Herald, May 4, 1909)

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Eureka Bullion Mining Company (1916-1931)

(Read more about the Eureka Bullion Mining company, developed by the Bestelmeyer family)

Grutli Mining Company (1898-1916)

(The Grutli Mining company was organized by John Bestelmeyer in 1898; reorganized as the Eureka Bullion Mining company in 1916.)

(Read more about the Grutli Mining company, developed by the Bestelmayer family)

Hannibal Consolidated Mining Company

August 13, 1909
The Hannibal Consolidated Mining company filed its articles of incorporation with the county clerk. Officers were: John Bestelmeyer, president; John M. Bestelmeyer, vice president; H. C. Hicks, secretary-treasurer; with these three plus Catherine Bestelmeyer and Henry C. Blumenthal as directors. The purpose was to take ownership of the Hannibal, Water Gulch, Hannibal No. 2, and Hannibal No. 3 Fraction mining claims. (Deseret News, August 13, 1909)

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Tintic Bullion Mining Company

May 13,1919
The Tintic Bullion Mining company filed its articles of incorporation. The officers were the same the the East Tintic Coalition Mining company. "The company's holdings consist of three claims adjoining the Eureka Bullion, Big Hill and East Tintic Coalition mining properties in East Tintic." Officers were: John M. Bestelmeyer, president; Theodore Nichols, vice -president; H. C. Hicks, secretary; August Bestelmeyer, treasurer. These plus Samuel Bennett form the directors. (Provo Post, May 13, 1919; Deseret News, May 14, 1919)

(In March 1921, the Tintic Bullion company was among the thousands of Utah corporations listed as being delinquent in paying the state corporate license fee for 1920, in the amount of $20.)

November 6, 1931
The International Smelting company acquired deed and full ownership of the Tintic Bullion Mining company from the Chief Consolidated Mining company. The Tintic Bullion property was to be leased to the North Lily company. (Deseret News, November 6, 1931)

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Tintic Chief Mining Company

July 9, 1919
The Tintic Chief Mining company filed its articles of incorporation yesterday from Provo. The company's property is in the East Tintic district. H. C. Hicks is president, John M. Bestelmeyer is secretary-treasurer. (Salt Lake Herald, July 10, 1919, "yesterday")

(There are no further references to the Tintic Chief company after August 1919.)

 

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