Ophir - Tiny Town in the Oquirrh Mountains of Utah That Refuses to Die

"Then thou shalt lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks"
Job 22:24
About 4 afar up a abysmal coulee on the west abruptness of the Oquirrh Mountains is a boondocks that was too boxy to die and that boondocks is alleged Ophir. In this commodity I will accord a abrupt history of the abode and pay accolade to a boondocks that absolutely epitomizes the old west and spirit of a growing Nation. It all started aback in 1863 if Accepted Patrick Edward Connor accepted leave for a ample amount of his soldiers at Fort Douglas to go and anticipation in the mountains of Utah for gold.
Mr. Lineback, a soldier in Connor's prospector army amid the aboriginal affirmation about 300 anxiety up Graveyard Gulch from what would become the centermost of town. Soon afterwards abounding added claims were amid by soldiers audition the belief of claims as affluent as those of King Solomon's mines in the acreage of Ophir from the Old Testament. The soldiers were absorbed to the Oquirrh Mountains by the actuality that the bounded Indians for years had been authoritative advance bullets and awkward ornaments out of gold and argent from ores they begin in the mountains. Mr. Lineback with the advice of a Mr. Moore, laid out the boondocks of Ophir and connected alive his affirmation and even admitting it never paid the dividend's he had hoped for, he concluded up operating a advantageous acreage abreast the aperture of the coulee breadth he had several orchards of bake-apple trees.
The citizenry of Ophir began to cool with miners, prospectors, merchantmen, gamblers, women of ill repute, and outlaws alive in from California, Nevada, and Colorado. Abounding claims were staked and abundant assisting mines were opened. The names of these mines were absorbing in and of themselves, some of which were the Ophir Hill, Cliff Mine, Chloride Point, Buckhorn, Montana, Hidden Treasure, Miner's Delight, Pocatello, Agrarian Delirium, and Velocipede.
The accepted accumulating of barrio sprang up in the abysmal attenuated canyon, connected out in a ribbon. Ophir had several saloons, 2 accepted stores, 2 hotels, a column office, churches, jail, and all address of added establishments one can imagine. One miner declared the boondocks if beheld from aloft as a absurd accumulating of shacks, saloons, brothels, and ball halls. The arch business was the Ophir Mercantile which was said to backpack a a lot of complete band of accepted utilities. As accretion amounts of ore came alternating from the mines, and active abandoned alleged Mack Gisborn opened a assessment alley Stockton to Ophir and heavy, ore burdened wagons rumbled aback and alternating forth this alley about all hours of the day and night. Some of the ore went to the Stockton Smelters and some of it went to Lake Point breadth it was put on barges and floated above the Abundant Salt Lake to Corrine and the Railroad.
In 1873 adventurer and biographer John Codman visited Ophir as allotment of his analysis for his book "Mormon Country - A summer with the Latter Day Saints". As his date anguish up the abrupt coulee appear boondocks Codman was afraid to acquisition the afterward tucked abroad in the mountains of Utah. "As we approached boondocks we saw a French Assurance in the wilderness advertence Café et Restaurant kept by a Monsieur Simon. He and his wife were beginning from Paris and were aggravating to accumulate up Parisian appearance in the mountains of Utah complete with white apron, menu, and white cap".
Several actual arresting men fabricated their fortunes in Ophir and went on to become famous. One of these individuals was Marcus Daly. Daly was accursed for some acumen or addition from the Emma Abundance at Alta and drifted as miners did in those canicule from affected to affected until he landed in Ophir. The Walker brothers absitively to yield a adventitious on Daly and assassin him as administrator of their "Zella" claim. With money becoming and adored from this affluent abundance Daly went on to Montana to accessible up a new anticipation which would afterwards be accepted as the "Anaconda Mine" and he would become affluent above his wildest dreams. Daly was eventually adopted to represent the humans of Montana as a United States Senator.
Another abandoned who addled it big and absolutely possibly did added for Ophir than any added getting was Mr. William A. Clark. Clark fabricated his affluence from Ophir's bigger and oldest ambassador - The Ophir Hill mine, and was active in bringing abundant accouterment and accompaniment of the art mining technology to Ophir including intricate tram systems that would backpack the ore from the mines top up in the hills down to breadth it could be candy and beatific via wagon or alternation to far abroad smelters. Mr. Clark interestingly abundant would aswell become a U.S. Senator for the Accompaniment of Montana. Even added absorbing than that is the actuality that Marcus Daly and W.A. Clark both affiliated the daughters of a Mr. Evans of Ophir.
While these two gentlemen fabricated their affluence and acclaim in Ophir and afresh went on to bigger and bigger things, some prospectors, even if they addled it rich, could not angle to leave the place. The afterward account comes from Codman's book "A poor German alleged Hirsch apparent what would become the Kelly Consolidated claims. He formed himself weary, craving himself so that he could apply all-important assistance, and afresh affairs his ore to advance still added with the proceeds. Assuredly he awash his acreage to Col. Kelly for a actual top amount which would accredit him to reside in affluence for all his actual days. But now he insists that the little hut, bisected rock and bisected log, in which he has lived the activity of a anchoress for so abounding winters and summers, shall abide his property, for he cannot reside anywhere else. Actuality afresh he will remain, prospecting for addition mine. He has mining on the brain. He can think, nor allocution of annihilation else. Mines are the idols to which he is abutting and he prefers to be let alone".
Some of the hardest workers in the mines were not miners but mules. If you go to the Northwest Utah Heritage website you can apprehend the absorbing adventure of old "Jeff" of Ophir who was a harder alive mule for sure. Addition harder artisan who admired the mines at Ophir was a horse alleged "Old Charlie". Charlie's adventure is told by Mary Helen Parsons in "History of Tooele County - Vol I". Charlie acclimated to booty ore cars out of the abundance to the comminute at the Ophir Hill mine. He formed at this job for abounding years with abandoned the ablaze of a candle placed in a gallon can to ablaze his way. Even admitting it was aphotic in the abundance Charlie knew all the stations forth the drift. Charlie was actual business like and he knew breadth to go to be loaded, how fast the cars should be traveling and he would use his achievement as break if they started to get out of control. He slept in a barn actual abreast the access of the abundance every night.
When the aggregation assuredly installed an electric pump to yield the abode of Charlie's labor, the abundance administrator abiding for Charlie to reside out his actual canicule in a blooming affirmation in the coulee bottom. The next day afterwards Charlie was taken to the affirmation however, if the miners accustomed at work, Charlie was continuing alpine at the abundance accessible to go to work. He was afresh transported aback down the coulee to the pasture. The afterward day he showed up afresh at the mine. This aeon again itself until assuredly one day Charlie died, abounding of the miners accept of a torn affection because he admired his plan and admired the abundance from which he was separated.
Miners and mules were not the abandoned association in Ophir however. Gamblers and agenda sharks a affluence there were too. One of the a lot of belled tales of the agrarian canicule of Ophir was that of a acclaimed poker bold breadth the stakes got absolutely high. One black a man alleged Frank Payton sat down to a bold of Poker with a miner alleged Digger Mike. Digger started action with a blow of gold dust. Payton aloft him $250.00. A affable bold this was not. Digger saw it and aloft Payton $500.00 in gold dust. This barter connected until there was added than $12,000.00 in assorted denominations and accessory aggregate in the average of the table. Digger, getting out of banknote alleged for a showdown. By this time abounding humans had aggregate all about the table. Payton had been backbiting and laid down a brace of "4's". Digger had run an even bigger barefaced admitting and angrily slapped down a brace of treys. Payton appropriately and lustfully biconcave up the pot. Unfortunately for him however, Payton was begin several canicule afterwards in a abyss alfresco of boondocks with his skull bashed in. He had been drygulched and all his money was gone. It is said that no culprit was anytime arrested.
As Ophir connected to grow, it acclimatized down a bit from the crazy canicule and men like W.A. Clark got austere about authoritative improvements to their properties. His basic dream was to accept a abuse activation congenital into Ophir so that he could booty added ore to be candy and accomplish a bigger profit. Finally, primarily through his harder plan and capital, the St. John and Ophir railroad was accomplished in 1912. In some areas its brand accomplished 7% and was actual steep. In adjustment to accord with this blazon of incline, two acme blazon locomotives were acclimated to booty trains 2 times a day anniversary way. This account lasted for 16 years if in 1928 the railroad accomplished operations. In 1938 the advance were taken up and an old aggregate car that was accounted alarming to biking the rails, was larboard in abode and it's ashen charcoal can still be apparent today on the south ancillary of the alley as you access town.
Throughout its lifespan Ophir's mines produced about 50 actor dollars in Silver, Lead, Zinc, and Gold. In those canicule the mountains were a agrarian abode breadth journals allocution of how the association would apprehend the Mountain Lion's scream at night as they ventured abreast the adjustment searching for food. The ample amount of catamounts that lived in the breadth are the acumen Lion Hill has its name.
After the railroad larboard town, Ophir dozed into a accompaniment of apathetic blow for over 70 years with the weeds, and elements accomplishment old mining shacks, homes, and structures one at a time. In contempo years however, Ophir has apparent a revival, due in abundant allotment to the harder plan and association account of several canning absent individuals. Through acceptable donations from bounded citizens and Mr. Leo Ault in particular, a arresting and bizarre little celebrated apple has active the centermost of town, not far from breadth Mr. Lineback fabricated his aboriginal claim.
If you go there on a Saturday afore 3pm you can usually acquisition affable humans there who are added than accommodating to airing you through the accumulating of celebrated structures that accept accumulated there, including an aboriginal berth from the St. John and Ophir Railroad which was donated by Mr. Ault. A airing through this old abuse car is a alluring footfall aback in time.
On the break of my visit, a Mrs. Maxine Shields absolved me through abode #5 and explained how ancestors of her ancestors had lived in it for years and years. She afresh told me a account of how in 1910, her grandfather, Patsy Vario emigrated from Italy to America at age 7. It was a archetypal account of a adolescent boy who couldn't allege a lick of English, hit the bank abandoned and the humans he was declared to accommodated never showed up. Somehow he fabricated his way to Ophir and there accept been ancestors of Varios in Tooele County anytime since. This account and abounding others were accompanying as Maxine absolved my ancestors and I through abounding added old structures including the column office. Several added ancestors names reside on in the coulee from the ancient canicule of Ophir including the ancestors of aboriginal affected avant-garde George St. Clair who operated and formed in the Chloride Point abundance on Lion Hill.
I aswell visited Minnie's which is the abandoned blazon of abundance or enactment in the town. It is endemic and operated by the accepted Mayor Walt Schubert. He is a laid aback old adolescent who is acutely adequate activity up in Ophir and has put in many, abounding hours of plan authoritative Ophir the admirable abode that it is today. The boondocks board still meets in the old city-limits anteroom architecture which dominates the centermost of town. This anatomy which was congenital about 1908 is bizarre and absorbing inside. The board associates authority their affairs actuality every Tuesday as they accept done for many, abounding years and there is an aged election box, and old copse stove in the corner. Above the artery in the esplanade you can see the old blaze accoutrement that acclimated to be housed in this building.
One commodity is not about abundant to call the history of this abode or the absorbing things that one can still see in Ophir today. As always, do a little bit of analysis afore you go up there and your appointment will be abundant added meaningful. 90% of the Coulee is Private Acreage so be admiring of that actuality and consistently appeal permission from acreage owners afore you access such places. I accept begin that the humans there are affable and accommodating to acknowledgment questions about their appealing little town.
To get there, yield Utah Artery 36 south out of Tooele, through Stockton to the Junction with Utah Artery 73. Turn larboard on artery 73 and in about 5 afar you will appear to a assurance at the bend of a abyss which credibility the way east to Ophir. Turn larboard on this alley and chase it for about 4 afar up to town. Forth the way up the canyon, attending for the old charcoal of a alternation axle that can still be apparent in the wash.
As you angle in the average of town, gazing up at the aerial limestone cliffs covered with pines, anticipate about all the belief of Old Ophir. Appointment the sites and yield it all in, canonizing the old adage, "take annihilation but pictures - leave annihilation but footprints."