Big Cottonwood Mining District

Big Cottonwood Mining District. . Big Cottonwood Canyon has played a major role in the mining, timber and recreation history of Utah. Lumber was used to build mine facilities and to build and fuel the settlement of Salt Lake Valley. In the 1850s, steam-powered sawmills peppered canyon tributaries named Mill A, B, D, E and F. , , Completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 provided for the transport and sale of silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper. Mining towns like Gold City, Silver Springs and Argenta flourished during boom times. In 1872, five hundred people lived in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The nearby ghost town of Argenta - Latin for silver - had "one good hotel" and the only post office in the Canyon. Colorful names also graced most of the major mines: Regular Johnson [unintelligible], Maxfield, Prince of Wales, Cardiff, Copper King, Dolly Varden and Clementine. , , At the Reed and Benson mine in Cardiff Fork, workers lowered themselves on ropes to the mine entrance on the steep limestone cliff face. A 1,580-foot-long tramway connected the mine tunnel to the wagon road in the gulch. , , Mining production in Big Cottonwood peaked between 1871 and 1927. the last great venture was in 1955. Large-scale mining has ceased in this canyon, giving way to recreation and watershed uses. , , The hundreds of decaying old mines that remain in the Big Cottonwood District are death traps for hikers and explorers. Many of these abandoned mines have been closed by the state's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program. If you come upon an old mine, remember they are dangerous and - Keep Out!