by Jaromy Jessop

CORRESPONDENT

Four miles up a deep canyon on the west slope of the Oquirrh Mountains is a town that was too tough to die: Ophir. It all started back in 1863 when Gen. Patrick Edward Connor granted leave for a large number of his soldiers at Fort Douglas to go and prospect in the mountains of Utah for gold.

A soldier in Connor's army by the last name of Lineback located the first claim about 300 feet up Graveyard Gulch from what would become the center of town. Soon afterward, many other claims were located by soldiers hearing the stories of claims as rich as those of King Solomon's mines in the land of Ophir, a place famed in the Old Testament.

The soldiers were lured to the Oquirrh Mountains by the fact that the local Indians for years had been making lead bullets and crude ornaments out of gold and silver from ores they found in the mountains. Mr. Lineback laid out the town of Ophir and continued working his claim. And even though it never paid the dividends he had hoped for, he ended up operating a lucrative property near the mouth of the canyon where he had several orchards.

The population of Ophir began to swell with miners, prospectors, merchantmen, gamblers, women of ill repute, and outlaws swarming in from California, Nevada and Colorado. Many claims were staked and numerous profitable mines were opened.

The usual collection of buildings sprang up in the deep, narrow canyon. Ophir had the usual number of saloons, two general stores, two hotels, a post office, churches, jail, and all manner of other establishments one can imagine. One miner described the town when viewed from above as a fantastic collection of shacks, saloons, brothels, and dance halls. The leading business was the Ophir Mercantile, which was said to carry a most complete line of general utilities.

Several very prominent men made their fortunes in Ophir and went on to become famous. One of these individuals was Marcus Daly. Daly was fired for some reason or another from the Emma Mine in Alta and drifted as miners did in those days from camp to camp until he landed in Ophir. The Walker brothers decided to take a chance on Daly and hired him as superintendent of their "Zella" claim. With money earned and saved from this rich mine Daly went on to Montana to open up a new prospect, which would later be known as the "Anaconda Mine," and he would become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Daly was eventually elected to represent the people of Montana as a U.S. Senator.

Another individual who struck it big and quite possibly did more for Ophir than any other person was William A. Clark. Clark made his fortune from Ophir's largest and oldest producer, the Ophir Hill mine, and was instrumental in bringing heavy machinery and state-of-the-art mining technology to Ophir, including intricate tram systems that carried the ore from the mines high up in the hills down to where it could be processed and sent via wagon or train to faraway smelters.

Some of the hardest workers in the mines were not miners but mules. If you go to the Northwest Utah Heritage Web site www.nw-utah-heritage.com you can read the interesting story of old "Jeff" of Ophir who was a hard working mule for sure. Another hard worker who loved the mines at Ophir was a horse named "Old Charlie." Charlie's story is told by Mary Helen Parsons in "History of Tooele County - Vol I." Charlie used to haul ore cars out of the mine to the mill at the Ophir Hill mine. He worked at this job for many years with only the light of a candle placed in a gallon can to light his way.

When the company finally installed an electric pump to take the place of Charlie's labor, the mine manager arranged for Charlie to live out his remaining days in a green pasture in the canyon bottom. The next day after Charlie was taken to the pasture however, when the miners arrived at work, Charlie was standing tall at the mine ready to go to work. He was then transported back down the canyon to the pasture. The following day he showed up again at the mine. This cycle repeated itself until finally one day Charlie died, many of the miners believe of a broken heart because he loved his work and loved the mine from which he was separated.

Throughout its life span Ophir's mines produced nearly $50 million in silver, lead, zinc, and gold. In those days the mountains were a wild place where journals talk of how the residents would hear the Mountain Lion's scream at night as they ventured near the settlement looking for food. The large number of catamounts that lived in the area are the reason Lion Hill has its name.

After the railroad left town, Ophir dozed into a state of lazy rest for more than 70 years with the weeds, and elements reclaiming old mining shacks, homes, and structures one at a time. In recent years however, Ophir has seen a revival, due in great part to the hard work and community service of several preservation minded individuals. Through generous donations from local citizens and Leo Ault in particular, a picturesque and quaint little historic village has revived the center of town, not far from where Mr. Lineback made his first claim.

If you go there on a Saturday before 3 p.m. you can usually find friendly people there who are more than willing to walk you through the collection of historic structures that have accumulated there, including an original caboose from the St. John and Ophir Railroad which was donated by Ault. A walk through this old rail car is a fascinating step back in time.

On the occasion of my visit, Maxine Shields walked me through house No. 5 and explained how generations of her family had lived in it for years and years. She then told me a tale of how in 1910, her grandfather, Patsy Vario emigrated from Italy to America at age 7. It was a classic tale of a young boy who couldn't speak a lick of English, hit the shore alone and the people he was supposed to meet never showed up. Somehow he made his way to Ophir and there have been generations of Varios in Tooele County ever since. This tale and many others were related as Maxine walked my family and I through many other old structures including the post office. Several other family names live on in the canyon from the earliest days of Ophir including the relatives of early camp pioneer George St. Clair who operated and worked in the Chloride Point mine on Lion Hill.

I also visited Minnie's which is the only type of store in the town. It is owned and operated by the current Mayor Walt Schubert. He is a laid-back old fellow who is obviously enjoying life up in Ophir and has put in many, many hours of work making Ophir the wonderful place that it is today. The town council still meets in the old city hall building which dominates the center of town. This structure, which was built around 1908, is quaint and charming inside.

To get to Ophir, take SR-36 south out of Tooele, through Stockton to the Junction with SR-73. Turn left on to SR-73 and in five miles you will come to a sign at the edge of a ravine which points the way east to Ophir. Turn left on this road and follow it four miles up to town. Along the way up the canyon, look for the old remains of a train trestle that can still be seen in the wash.

As you stand in the middle of town, gazing up at the towering limestone cliffs covered with pines, think about all the stories of Old Ophir. Visit the sites and take it all in, remembering the old adage, "take nothing but pictures -- leave nothing but footprints."