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Bingham Canyon,UT - Weber County - c1900 - Bingham Canyon Close-Up Photograph :

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Photographic Images Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Bingham Canyon,UT - Weber County - c1900 - Bingham Canyon Close-Up Photograph :
The image shows a town snaking up the canyon, with a mine and railroad track visible in the center bottom. The photo measures 10" x 8", mounted on a green cardstock matte with a dark border. Contrast is medium, with some fading along the left and top edges. Focus is good throughout the image. Several tears are noted near the top left of the image, while each of the corners of the matte show wear. Handwritten in pencil on the reverse is "Photograph by Isaac Bevel, 1903, Bingham Canyon, Utah." While that information cannot be verified, it appears to be written in a style appropriate to the period. Bevel not listed in Mautz. The photo shows the growth of a settlement, or several different settlements, as mining discoveries move up or down a steep canyon. Located in the Oquirrh Mountains, the canyon is about twenty-five miles southwest of Salt Lake City. It was first settled in 1848 by two Mormon pioneers, Thomas and Sanford Bingham, who were sent by Brigham Young. He requested they take a herd of horses and cattle up to the land around the main canyon, finding the area ideal for harvesting timber as well as herding cattle. Ore was found by the Binghams, but Brigham Young advised against mining at that time. Timber remained important, as much of the canyon's lumber was used to build the roof of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Ore was rediscovered in the canyon in 1863, and was sent to General Patrick Connor for assay. Commander of the Third California Infantry and stationed during the Civil War at Salt Lake City's Fort Douglas, Connor found the ore rich in both gold and silver, and organized the West Mountain Mining District. He hoped that "mining fever" would attract non-Mormons to the state, thus diluting the Mormon influence. Although a few strikes were made, high transport costs almost caused the canyon to be abandoned. The Bingham and Camp Floyd branch of the Utah Central Railroad's arrival in 1873 changed Bingham's fortunes by reviving lode mining. The arrival of companies like Boston Consolidated and Utah Copper Companies consolidated many claims, requiring large amounts of capital as well as cheap labor. The flood of immigrants made Bingham one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Utah.
Due to the canyon's steep topography, only one main street made its way up nearly seven miles of canyon. The joke was that, "due to the narrowness of the canyon, dogs could only wag their tails up and down." Those in Bingham Canyon helped change "the hill," as Utah Copper Company (later Kennecott Copper Corp.) operations were originally called, into the world's largest open-pit copper mine. This expansion gradually swallowed the small settlements of Highland Boy, Copperfield, Bingham and Lark, leaving Copperton as the sole survivor of the communities that helped to make Bingham Canyon one of the most culturally diverse and rich areas of Utah [Ref: media.utah.edu/UHE/b/BINGHAMCANYON.html].