Summit County Coal Mines

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This page was last updated on April 23, 2025.

Overview

The two principle districts in Summit County where coal was mined were in Chalk Creek Canyon, directly east of Coalville, and in Grass Creek Canyon, about six miles north of Coalville.

Coal was a badly needed resource as a source of home fuel for Utah's growing population, and to fuel its rapidly growing economy, to fuel the fires of the territory's growing mining, smelting, and manufacturing industries. In 1854, the Territorial Legislature offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who discovered a source of coal within 40 miles of Salt Lake City.

January 14, 1854
The following comes from the January 19, 1854 issue of the Deseret News.

Resolution
Offering a Reward for the Discovery of a
Coal Bed near Great Salt Lake City
Be it resolved by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, That the sum of one thousand dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the public Treasury not otherwise appropriated, as a reward to any resident of this Territory who will open a good coal-mine not less than eighteen inches thick, within forty miles of Great Salt Lake City, in any accessible position, and that can be profitably worked; and when the Governor shall become satisfied of the fact, he may draw on the Treasury of the Territory for the amount in favor of the person entitled to it; and the Governor shall control said coal mine until further provided for by law.
Approved Jan. 14th, 1854

The coal in Summit County at and near Coalville was worked for a generation, from the 1860s to the 1880s, when the discovery of the Castle Gate coal seams in the very early 1880s diminished the value of Coalville's product. Coal coming from these Castle Gate mines, and others in Carbon County was better quality, and shipment by railroad made it cheaper, especially in the major markets in Salt Lake City and Ogden. The coal coming from Carbon County limited the Summit County mines to local residents and to customers in the mines and mills of Park City, and the cement plant at Devil's Slide.

First Coal In Utah

The coal mines in Grass Creek and Chalk Creek canyons were about five years after the first coal mine in Utah, but they were the first coal mines in northern Utah.

The coal mine at Wales in the San Pete Valley in central Utah was the first commercial venture involving coal mining in Utah. The location of coal at what was called Coalbed, and later Wales, was first discovered in 1854 by John Rees and John Price. The San Pete coal mine was too far from Salt Lake City to claim the legislature's $1000 prize.

John Rees and others developed the San Pete coal mine to furnish coal that was used mostly within the local surrounding areas. Some of the coal was purchased at the mine for $4.00 per ton and hauled by wagon to Salt Lake City where it was sold for $30.00 to $35.00 per ton. The coal from Wales soon gained a reputation as being good for the making of coke, which is coal after it has been "distilled" with heat in the absence of air, producing a high quality source of fuel. In the west, coke was used mostly for blacksmithing, and later in the early smelters in Utah. In fact, Wales' coal was known as the best blacksmithing coal in Utah.

After the San Pete mine in 1854, and the Church mine in 1860, the next coal discovery was the Winter Quarters mine in Carbon County in 1873-1874, then the Castle Gate mine in 1881.

The first coal from Coalville arrived in Salt Lake City by rail on January 13, 1870. Two car loads of coal from the Wasatch Coal company at Coalville arrived in Salt Lake City. The coal was shipped on the Utah Central the entire distance from Echo on Union Pacific, using the trackage rights that were part of the September 1869 grading contract settlement between Union Pacific and Brigham Young.

By 1910, the principle mines in Summit County were the Wasatch mine above Coalville, and the Grass Creek mines. The Wasatch or Weber mine was owned and operated by the Weber Coal Company, which was a part of the Ontario Mining & Milling Company of Park City. This mine was located on about 200 acres of coal land about two miles northeast of Coalville and was working a vein of ten feet in thickness. The output of the mine was about 300 tons per day.

In Grass Creek, the big mines were the Union Fuel mine, formerly known as the Church mine, and the Rees-Grass Creek Coal Company was developing a mine one mile west of the Union Fuel Company on a lease from Union Pacific Coal Company, shipping about 100 tons per day. As mentioned, the market for Weber region coal was mainly Park City, and the cement plant located at Devil's Slide.

(Read about the coal mines of Summit County; from a 1947 history of Summit County prepared by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers)

(A portion of this research was completed on February 19 and 21, 1992 and on March 5, 1992 at Summit County courthouse in Coalville, Utah)

Contemporary Sources

Historical research is best when it focuses on contemporary sources (known as primary sources), and not on summaries produced up to a hundred years later (known as secondary sources). Contemporary sources include original documents and publications produced closest in time to the event itself, based on information from persons who witnessed the event. But in many cases, these sources can also be based on personal memory, or personal journals and diaries. Contemporary newspapers are also (usually) a good source.

Newspaper sources from the mid 1850s through to the 1890s only carried occasional stories about coal being mined in Summit County, popularly known as "Weber coal," named for the mines' close proximity to the Weber River. The mines above Coalville, in Chalk Creek Canyon, were regularly confused with each other and with the mines in Grass Creek Canyon, six miles to the north where the Church mine was located. Of course, the mine owners themselves gained from the confusion since they were using wagons to ship their coal to Salt Lake City, and selling it for whatever the market would bear. Weber Coal was Weber Coal, regardless of which mine it came from. In almost every case, the newspapers depended on whatever information was shared with them either from the mine owners as they made a point of visiting the newspaper offices, or from what were essentially letters to the editors, signed by anonymous "correspondents."

Before The Railroad

Moving the coal from the Grass Creek mines, and Chalk Creek mines above Coalville, was a challenge to be overcome in those early years. This meant that roads were needed to haul the coal by wagon, from the mines to markets in both Salt Lake City and Ogden. The road to Ogden followed the Weber River downstream. The road to Salt Lake City took a bit more work.

The original path taken by the 1847 pioneers was a very difficult way to reach the Salt Lake Valley, with its route from Henefer, up what today is known as East Canyon, over Big Mountain Summit, then over Little Mountain Summit, then down Emigration Canyon. The down-slopes were so steep that the wagons had to be "logged" with drag logs, and tied off to trees to keep them from rolling down the steep slopes. The 1847 pioneers had taken the route because they were following the Donner-Reed party from the previous year. With many more immigrants planned to come to the Salt Lake Valley, a better way was needed, and needed soon.

Prior to the territorial road being pushed through Silver Creek Canyon in 1860, the immigrant road followed Echo Creek down Echo Canyon to its joining with the Weber River. The road then followed the Weber River upstream to the meeting point with Three Mile Canyon at Rockport, about 17 miles south of Echo. After 1860, the newly completed territorial road turned away from the Weber River where it was joined by Silver Creek, at today's Wanship. It then followed Silver Creek upstream to Parley's Park, then down Parley's "Kanyon" to Salt Lake City.

Silver Creek Canyon

The route through Silver Creek Canyon was later, in 1880, followed by two railroads, the narrow gauge Utah Eastern, and the standard gauge Summit County Railroad, which was reorganized at the Echo & Park City Railroad a month after reaching Park City. Then after World War I, the Lincoln Highway used the route of the abandoned Utah Eastern. In 1925 when the U. S. highways were officially designated, the route through Silver Creek Canyon was chosen to become U. S. Highway 530, an improved and oiled road, wide enough for two cars to pass each other. In 1939 it was changed to U. S. Highway 189. Construction started on Interstate 80 in 1960, and the four-lane interstate was fully completed in November 1962, with the Union Pacific Park City Branch running at the bottom of the canyon and the eastbound lanes on the east side and the westbound lanes on the west side.

In 1848 when Parley Pratt first explored what later became his "Golden Pass" toll road, he planned on the route passing through Silver Creek Canyon. But the first wagon train that used the route with its steep sides and narrow bottom, gave it a failing grade. A new route through Three Mile Canyon farther south became the chosen route. The new route, used from 1850 to 1860, made for a longer trip, by about seven miles, but it was much easier for wagons.

"It would seem that Silver Creek Canyon was the stumbling block, for Pratt never did get his road through this canyon; when finally completed, the Golden Pass Road was carried through the West Hills by way of Three Mile Canyon, the next canyon to the south." (J. Roderic Korns, "The Golden Pass Road," Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 19 [XIX], 1951, pp.224-247)

Parley Pratt had built his Golden Pass toll road through the canyon that carried his name in 1849-1850, but it fell into disrepair after he sold it. It became a Territorial road in 1855, and traffic along the road grew rapidly, meaning that it soon needed maintenance. The need for funds for what was called the Big Kanyon Road was a regular subject of discussion for the Territorial Legislature, with little or no funds being provided.

The route of the Golden Pass road used Three Mile Canyon, but the road through Silver Creek Canyon was seen as a shorter route. Newspaper accounts reported that on several occasions, church leaders called for volunteers to work on improving the Silver Creek Canyon road, and Brigham Young regularly called on the Territorial legislature to take action, but without effect until 1860 when $2000 was set aside to work on the road. Finally in January 1866, the Legislature approved a bill entitled "An Act Establishing a Territorial Road From Great Salt Lake City To Wanship, Summit County" and also appropriated $6,000 to build it.

The territorial road between Echo and Salt Lake City, first by Three Mile Canyon, then by Silver Creek Canyon, quickly became the main avenue for almost all wagons carrying goods bound for Salt Lake City from the east, as well as the steady stream of immigrants. The road passed down Echo Canyon, then followed the Weber River south first to Three Mile Canyon, then later to Silver Creek Canyon, passing Coalville and the Grass Creek and Chalk Creek coal mines. As the coal mines were developed after 1860, wagons loaded with coal joined the already steady stream of immigrant and freight wagons headed for Salt Lake.

In August 1852 the Deseret News ran an editorial comment about the need to find a source of coal: "Coal! Coal!! Coal!!! -- Where is that coal mine that the brethren were to open as soon as the snow left, last spring? Have those brethren done as they agreed? We have no report of their doings. Now is the time. Snow will cover the earth again soon - no coal, no fire, cold feet; - wood in the kanyons, and cannot be had at any price, and no one searching a coal mine. Brethren, what are you about? Will you awake to your own and the public's interest, and hunt up a coal pit, and report to us forthwith? Who wants a thousand dollars for showing us a good coal bed near this city, before the next paper is issued?" (Deseret News, August 21, 1852)

August 29, 1860
The following comes from the August 29, 1860 issue of the Deseret News.

Road to the Weber Coal Mines. -- At the last session of the Legislative Assembly an appropriation of two thousand dollars was made, to be expended under the direction of the Territorial Road Commissioner, in locating and opening a road by way of Big Kanyon creek to the valley of the Weber, in the vicinity of the coal mines; but from some cause, the commencement of the work has been delayed till the present time, and some who are more or less interested in having the road opened have expressed an opinion that the work would not be completed the present season.

Within the last ten days Commissioner McKean, in company with Gen. Wells, Col. Burton, Capt. Sharp and others, has made an exploration of the contemplated road; and he informs us that the work will soon be commenced with the intention of prosecuting it to its completion at the earliest practicable date.

While the party were out viewing the country between this city and the Weber they made an exploration of the coal region on the east side of that stream [in Grass Creek Canyon], between Echo kanyon and Chalk creek, and they report that there is unquestionably an inexhaustible amount of coal there, and that they found a place where it is much more easy of access than where Mr. Spriggs has been tunneling into the hill, which in one instance he has done to the distance of one hundred and ninety feet, and the coal of a better quality.

Gen. Wells informs us that he is satisfied that that region is one vast coal field but, from the up-heavings of the earth when the mountains were formed, the strata are very irregular, often as at the place where the tunnels have been made, having a great dip.

At the point where the future operations will be directed, the vein, which is said to be four or five feet in thickness, lies very favorably for getting out the coal and, as soon as the road can be made passable, wood as an article of fuel will doubtless rapidly go into disuse in this city.

September 12, 1860
"An appropriation of one thousand dollars was also made to aid to aid in opening the new territorial road from this city to or near the coal mines on the Weber." (Deseret News, September 12, 1860)

September 26, 1860
On three days in September 1860 (17th, 18th,19th), Brigham Young, William Kimball and Daniel Wells traveled from Salt Lake City to the Grass Creek coal mine, by way of Parleys and Silver Creek canyons, then down Weber Canyon to its mouth, for the purpose of measuring the distance coal needed to be hauled to Salt Lake City. The odometer they used showed that it was 55.97 miles from Salt Lake City to the coal mine, by way of the "old road," a distance that would be reduced after the completion of the road through Silver Creek canyon, already completed for a distance of three miles. (Deseret News, September 26, 1860)

(Research suggests that the "old road" used to travel from Salt Lake City to the Grass Creek mine was eastward from Parleys Park to the Weber River by way of Three Mile Canyon, which reaches the Weber River at Rockport, a total distance of about 55.3 miles from Salt Lake City to the Church mine in Grass Creek Canyon, using modern measuring tools. The route through Silver Creek Canyon is approximately 51.8 miles. Rockport is about 3.9 miles south of where Silver Creek meets the Weber River at the mouth of Silver Creek Canyon, at today's town of Wanship.)

(The story after 1860 continues as part of the history of U. S. Highway 189 through Silver Creek Canyon)

Grass Creek Coal Mines

Chalk Creek (Coalville) Coal Mines

More Information

Union Pacific's Park City Branch

Summit County Railroad, 1871-1881

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