Post by psychobarbie on Jun 3, 2016 23:10:32 GMT -5
1: Frisco Utah sprung up out of the western Utah desert in 1876 after silver was discovered nearby. Located at the southern tip of the San Francisco Mountains … hence Frisco … in the Great Basin area, it remains as one of Utah’s most intact ghost towns.
2: Frisco soon developed into the rowdiest town in this entire area. A notoriously dry region, 23 saloons sprung up to quench the thirst of the drifters and miners pouring into the area.
3: Murders became almost an everyday occurrence especially after payday. The scarcity of water means it had to be freighted in. And was actually sold door to door.
4: In 1875, two prospectors … James Ryan and Samuel Hawkes … were working a small claim in the area. The story has two variations. The first was that they passed a limestone ledge each day on the way to their claim. One day, they hiked up to the ledge, chipped some pieces away, and found silver.
5: The other version of the story has them passing by the ledge on the way from Pioche to Park City or Alta. In 1876, they sold their claim for $25,000. And thought they were making out like bandits.
6: The Horn Silver Mine soon began producing values of $100 per ton. And the town exploded. Other mines were dug … Carbonate, Golden Reef, Grampion. And each had their own smelter. Charcoal ovens were built using mountain mahogany, sagebrush, cedar, and dwarf pine.
7: When Jay Cooke and his partners from Salt Lake City bought the Horn Silver Mine in 1879 for $5 million, they convinced the Utah Southern Railroad to build a rail line. First to Milford. And eventually to Frisco. This allowed the movement of ore to the more economical Salt Lake City area smelters.
8: The arrival of the railroad also brought in more gamblers, prostitutes, and the kind of people who follow them. The population of Frisco Utah reached 6,000 between 1880-1885. And the growth continued:
9: Houses and stores sprung up on any available space including surrounding hills.
10: The number of general and specialty stores exploded.
11: A hotel, with a basement dance hall, hosted town meetings, church services, and political meetings.
12: There was a schoolhouse and weekly paper … The Frisco Times.
13: The hospital was swamped. Miners were often injured and accidents were a daily occurrence. Poor lighting, bad ventilation, and unsafe conditions were just part of the course.
Frisco Utah Kilns:
1: In 1885, the Horn Silver Mine caved in. Completely. Luckily, the cave-in occurred between shifts. Since most of the town’s miners worked in that particular mine, the cave-in resulted in their immediate departure. It decimated the town’s population. Without a source of income, there was no reason for many to stay, and many often moved onto the next big claim.
2: In 10 years, the mines produced $54 million of silver, gold, zinc, copper, and lead. But soon, only a handful of people remained in Frisco. The mines produced until 1913. In fact, $20 million worth of ore was taken from the mines between 1885-193. By 1920, everyone was gone.
3: Frisco Utah sits about 45 miles west of Beaver. To get there, you head west from Beaver on SR-21 to Milford for 30.4 miles. Continue to follow SR-21 for another 14.4 miles right into Frisco.
4:You’ll see five charcoal kilns … shaped like beehives … sitting amongst crumbling stone walls and rusting equipment. Even the remains of a mill. There are several antiquated still-standing frame buildings … stores and houses … and some even sturdier structures.
An interesting … even eerie … place to explore.