Poll: American Fork Canyon Trail Book?

[cruiseroutfit]

One day... one day...


(Yankee Mine Tram Tipple at Deer Creek City, now the site of Tibble Fork Reservoir, 1959. Photo courtesy of the Ed Gosling collection )

In the meantime, help me here:
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?93365

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Fast forward 18 years... I'm still making progress. My bibliography is now over 200 sources, books, newspaper articles, mining journals, personal interviews, period journals and of course site visits. The more I dig, the more I find, the more I find and the further from my goal I seem to get. A few of the major hurdles are time and scope.

I consider myself a busy guy, between my day job, night job, racing, club & community pursuits and spending time with the Mrs, no rest for the wicked. Scope is likely a bigger culprit. I started with the idea of making a trail guide with history info along each trail. I knocked many of those out years ago along with articles (could have been chapters) on Forest City, Deer Creek City, George Tyng, etc. I should have bundled them all together, spiral bound them and made tens of dollars. Instead, I've created a massive timeline of mining and development in the canyon, created a database of personal and company names that were involved and collected a ton of documents, stock certificates, etc relating to the canyon. Stuff that bores me to read back through yet my brain made me catalog it and I still need to reference approx. 50 pieces in this same format. I do find gems while undergoing this process, names I hadn't heard before or date details that matter... it's just getting more rare.

The project has netted me some intrinsic benefits, I've learned a ton, I've met some amazing people and I've been invited to lead tours for groups such as Tread Lightly!, PPAFC and just this past summer some Utah County officials including their elected Sheriff. Fun opportunities.

All good, it's a long-term project, at this point I'd be happy if it's done in retirement stages of life. In the meantime, I go through spurts of activity on the project and make progress. Today is one of those days, I've put in 4 hours on the project, some of which was reorganizing my home office desk.

It will be fun to get them done, I'm sure I'll sell dozens of them. A financial failure at best, but an emotional win

Back to reading

 

[johngottfredson]

You should just kick out a first edition. I would buy whatever the hell you could print out tomorrow.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

You should just kick out a first edition. I would buy whatever the hell you could print out tomorrow.

It would be a distraction at this point to try and assemble something beyond the articles (chapters) I did on Forest City, Deer Creek City, Graveyard Flats and trails w/history themselves.




I mentioned those detours I keep going on... here is an example.

I found this 1910 Utah Map of State Roads. Very clearly it lists a city in American Fork Canyon called 'Carbonate'.



And that coincides with a June 5, 1910 Salt Lake Tribune article naming a new Postmaster of this town.



I'm still trying to sort out exactly where in the canyon it was. Based on the map above, it's somewhere near Dutchman Flat, Pacific Mine or Mineral Basin aka Mineral Flat which was the original home of the American Fork Mining District after it was formed in 1870. However the mining district office moved to Deer Creek City aka Silver Lake City (now Tibble Fork Reservoir). Deer Creek City (had previously had a post office) or Forest City would have made far more sense as potential post office locations in 1910, but they had died off for the most part by the 1890's.

So, how did this 'Carbonate' get a post office in 1910 and appear on a road map in 1910 yet? All this and the name didn't see previous use or later use as best I can find.

If anyone finds a wild hair and digs something relevant up, I'd love to hear it!

 

[Skylinerider]

The only Carbonate I'm aware of is the Carbonate mine, but that's clear over by Kessler Peak, so not in AFC.

Carbonate Mine

 

[cruiseroutfit]

The only Carbonate I'm aware of is the Carbonate mine, but that's clear over by Kessler Peak, so not in AFC.

Carbonate Mine

Super familiar with that mine as it's not super far from my property in Cardiff Fork. It's on my list to hike this next summer.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Can you read the curvisives more gooder than me?



Here ends the American Fork Canyon _______ many men
come here and work during the summer months, whose permanent place of abode
is in the neighboring settlements. Where I found persons sure that the enumerators
had got their names in the Alta(?) City, Lehi City, American Fork, Alpine, Pleasant Grove
______ these were carefully omitted.

Any guesses on those blank spots?

 

[DAA]

I'm no help. But it's cool as hell.

- DAA

 

[N-Smooth]

That was the stuff of my nightmares in the old county records books and especially on microfiche. Ughhhhhh

 

[Herzog]

Can you read the curvisives more gooder than me?

View attachment 170320

Here the American Fork Canyon many men
come here and work during the summer months, whose permanent place of abode
is in the neighboring settlements. Where I found persons sure that the enumerators
had got their names in the Alta(?) City, Lehi City, American Fork, Alpine, Pleasant Grove
these were carefully omitted.

Any guesses on those blank spots?

Here's what I've gleaned...? Unknowns in [ ]

Lee James [W M 42]
Harriette [W F] 46 Here ends the ^[hauling RR ties] American Fork Canyon [a great] many men
Come here and work during the summer months, whose permanent place of abode
Is in the neighboring settlements, where I found persons sure that the Enumerations
Had got their names in the Alta City, Lehi city, American Fork, Alpine, Pleasant Grove
Provo[ste] these were carefully omitted

 

[bryson]

I come up with pretty much the same thing Shane did.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Today's favorite newpaper archive find

August 25, 1874



That's 150 years ago this August. For reference, Deer Creek City stood where Tibble Fork Reservoir resides today. Forest City sat near the trail head of the Forest Lake Trail.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Today's newspaper find from the Sept 24, 1873 SL Herald-Republican.



Why can't news be this positive nowadays?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Where was the Sultana Smelter? I'm glad you asked. It sat amongst the greater 'Forest City' area, at the wide spot adjacent to the Shaefer Fork (Forest Lake) trail head. Here is a Then & Now


Forest City was the natural convergence of the various mining areas in the North Fork of American Fork Canyon. With increasing mining activity canyon wide, a supply center was a must and Forest City was born. The town site was situated near the mouth of Mary Ellen Gulch along the North Fork of the American Fork River. In 1871 the Aspinwall Steamship Company built the Sultana Smelter at Forest City, greatly increasing the need for manpower and supplies at the growing city. With the smelter came the need for charcoal and thus 25 charcoal kilns, 15 at the Forest City site and the remaining 10 kilns at Deer Creek City (now the site of Tibble Fork Reservoir) were constructed. The mining companies had originally planned to bring the railroad up to Forest City, the canyons steep topography and tough winters made construction difficult and the railroad never made it past Deer Creek City. Rather than transport travelers by rail, the city was served by a stage which ran from the rail terminus at Deer Creek to Forest City. Ore from the nearby mines was transported by wagons in the summer months and skids over the snow in the winter months. In later years a tram was added from the Yankee Mine in Mary Ellen Mine to a load out tipple at Deer Creek.

As the mines ramped up, so did the activity and population of Forest City. Sawmills, saloons, a billiard hall, hotels, butchers shop, boarding houses, private residences, mine offices, smelter, a school building and even a bowling alley soon adorned the hillside. The smelter ran until approximately 1875, the high elevation and long winters proved too difficult for the smelting process and the equipment was transported out of the canyon for use in another smelter. Forest City saw activity starting in 1871 and ending in the late 1890's however the majority of the town left when the mines saw a slow period in the 1880 time frame. At its peak the town had a population of 300-500, its fair to say that number may have included miners who frequented the towns hotels and saloons between shifts in the mine. All that remains of Forest City presently are the slag piles left over from the smelting process of the Sultana Smelter, foundations from the smelters kilns, some building foundations hidden in the trees and the nearby Forest City Cemetery aka Graveyard Flats.

Copyright implied. Share this and I'll take out knees

 

[I Lean]

No sharing from me, but I do find the history super interesting. 🙂

 

[Kevin B.]

Where was the Sultana Smelter? I'm glad you asked. It sat amongst the greater 'Forest City' area, at the wide spot adjacent to the Shaefer Fork (Forest Lake) trail head.

So what was the footings that are left above Dutchman Flat? For some reason I had it in my head that that was the Sultana.

 

[TRD270]

My question is, will the road be open this year so I can go look at all these new sites I know about.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

So what was the the footings that are left above Dutchman Flat? For some reason I had it in my head that that was the Sultana.

That is the Dutchman Mill, I'll have to check my notes but it came from Bingham Canyon

Then there was the Pacific Mill, I've done a then and now I'll share of that.

 

[glockman]

My question is, will the road be open this year so I can go look at all these new sites I know about.

Probably not.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

No sharing from me, but I do find the history super interesting. 🙂

I should clarify, sharing is cool so long as it's credited. I have folks use my before and after photos and text on FB with zero credit. They are no longer alive.