CHAPTER
13
NATURE'S BURIED TREASURES: MINING AND OIL DEVELOPMENT X he physical evidence of early mining activity in Summit County is fading. Old mine shafts, tunnels, and portals have been filled in; old mills have burned, collapsed, or been dismantled. But place names like Coalville and Bonanza Flat still tell a story: They remind us that man's quest for nature's buried treasures has helped mold the character of Summit County. The story begins with coal. In 1854, when the M o r m o n s had been in the territory only seven years, the fledgling territorial legislature offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who discovered a coal vein within forty miles of Salt Lake City greater than eighteen inches thick. About five years later, T h o m a s Rhoades, a veteran of the California gold rush, found outcroppings of coal near Chalk Creek in the northern end of Summit County. Brigham Young sent John Muir and Sam Fletcher to investigate the claim. The two located an impressive vein of coal near Grass Creek in the northern part of the county, which the LDS church later developed into what became known as the Old Church Mine. Brigham Young hired mining expert Henry Spriggs to supervise 285
