When Emery County was first settled in the late 1870s, it was envisioned as an agricultural and livestock-raising community. The first coal mine in Eastern Utah, Connellsville, opened in Huntington Canyon in 1875. Local “wagon mines” were established near Emery County towns and operated on a part-time basis to supply fuel for local needs. As the population of Utah grew and the state industrialized, the earlier-developed coal deposits in Summit and Sanpete Counties proved insufficient in size and quality to meet the demands of industry and home heating. So the focus shifted to the extensive and high-quality deposits in the Wasatch Plateau and Book Cliffs fields. Most of the larger mines were developed in Carbon County where railroad transportation was available. The most notable exceptions were Mohrland, a large mine that operated from about 1908 to 1938 in Cedar Creek Canyon, and the Geneva Mine at Horse Canyon, which was among the largest mines in the West during its peak years in the 1940s and 50s. The erection of the large Huntington and Hunter coal-fired generating plants in the 1970s shifted the center of mining activity from Carbon County to Emery County.
Mining has always been a hazardous industry, and from the very beginning, men were killed or injured in the Eastern Utah mines. Major disasters, such as the Winter Quarters explosion in 1900, the Castle Gate explosion in 1924 and the Wilberg Mine fire in 1984, drew extensive national, even worldwide, attention. But what has largely been forgotten is that almost weekly before the, 1940s and thankfully less and less frequently in more recent decades someone, somewhere died in a mine-related accident. The one or two a week added up over the years to many hundreds. It is these “forgotten” miners, as well as those who perished in more famous disasters, that we propose to memorialize in a permanent way.
Any donation, large or small, will be greatly appreciated. Donations over $500, for community and economic development purposes can qualify for a tax deduction on your federal and state taxes as a charitable donation by going through the SUCDC. You may receive up to 50 percent of your donation back as a Utah income tax credit. One hundred percent of all proceeds go to the miners memorial.
Sponsorship: Platinum-$25,000. Gold-$10,000. Silver-$5,000. Bronze-$1,000. Copper-$500. Sponsors names will be placed on the monument.
Visit ourminers.com website or call 435-636-7007.
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