Time is rushing forward and we are almost to the end of another school year at Mountainland Applied Technology College. Students in my Multimedia classes have been working daily to complete the alpha or “Director’s Cut” versions of their group video projects.
Altogether, four projects will be completed within the next three weeks. These include projects titled: The Art and Science of Blown Glass (that group is currently creating their B-roll titles, images, and animations); The Art and Science of Stained Glass (this group is doing rough edit); High Pressure Alchemy: The Story of Synthetic Diamond (this group is capturing and editing the narrations); and The History of the Tintic Mining District (currently being captured and transcribed).
Eureka, Utah c. 1925
This last project came about rather unexpectedly; the Tintic District is centered around the town of Eureka, Utah and was one of the richest mining areas in the West in the late 1800s. By 1960, the mines had closed and the town has since fallen on hard times. It is now designated as an EPA Superfund Site, and millions have been spent to cover up old tailings piles and replace contaminated soil.
We had a team of students last year that filmed the area, but we didn’t have a good Subject Matter Expert that could tell the story. After driving through the town in early April, I saw that many of the historic buildings downtown are literally falling down and that this story needs to be told now rather than waiting for funding (my biggest challenge, besides having a full-time teaching job, is that I have no sponsorship as yet to support this project). I had one group of students that was going to do a project on pottery, but we hadn’t located a good site to visit. So I contacted June McNulty, who runs the Tintic Mining Museum in Eureka and arranged for him to be interviewed and to show us through the museum (which is only open by appointment) in an effort to preserve the history of this area before the reclamation efforts change things forever.
June McNulty in front of Eureka City Hall
On April 21 we took this team of students to Eureka and interviewed June and filmed the contents of the museum. Now I am going to be working on a final synthesis of two year’s worth of footage into two or more podcast episodes – one will tell the history of the mines, the other the history of the town and what life was/is like there, and perhaps a third will talk about the recent clean-up efforts and their impact on the town.
The four projects will be completed by students and myself to an alpha test level by May 21, when we will have students from other classes at MATC watch the episodes and make comments and suggestions. At that point we will be too close to the end of the year for the students to do much more editing, so I will probably work on them over the summer to tighten the presentation/story and polish the images and audio.
Drawing of Iron Blossom Shaft 3
It will be a challenge getting this all done over the summer, since I will be in Philadelphia for three months researching background information and collecting images and photos on the history of chemistry in general at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, where I have been selected as a 2008-09 Fellow, sponsored by the Societe de Chimie Industrielle (American Section). This effort at CHF will result in at least two episodes as well, in addition to the four episodes this year and two from last year that I will be doing final edits on. My goal is to have 8-10 episodes completed and posted to this site and to iTunes and YouTube by the end of August. So far I have completed one episode on the rationale for this project. I will post that episode before leaving for Philadelphia (May 28) so that we can at least have a presence on iTunes and YouTube over the summer. I have been waiting until May 22 when I will be teaching the students how to compress and add metadata to podcasts; I’ll demonstrate how with this episode and take it all the way through posting and uploading to iTunes.
Later today or tomorrow I will be adding a new post on how you, as an individual interested in this topic, can conduct similar research in your own community, or how you can participate to evaluate episodes or to provide sponsorship for this project.
June McNulty by mine hoist cage.
The Elements Unearthed 
Have you been able to make any progress on this project? I would love to view the podcasts. This is one of my favorite places in the state!
Thanks,
Jason
My father Rex Larsen worked on the railroad in Tintic in 1941 and I have just discovered letters he wrote to my mother during that time so I’m interested in what you are doing to preserve the history. As a history buff, I’m glad you are doing what you can.
I’m eager to know more about your project! I’m planning my own trip there to research my family the first week in March 2010.
They lived in Eureka/ Tintic in 1904 and were written up in every newspaper in the area. The local miners bought a home for my GG Grandmother after my GG Grandfather Edward Koyle died and left her 8 mo pregnant with 4 other young children.
It’s a tragic story but it sounds like the miners really tried to take care of their own. I’ll keep checking this page for updates on your project. Eureka!
I am interested in obtaining any information relative to the Silver Dollar Mine.
I was told it had an employment of approximately 75 miners and the mine properties still exist, but I’m more interested in what production was when it was in operation.
I came across this article just doing web surfing about Eureka Utah and it’s mining history. I saw a photo of the drawing of the Iron Blossom 3 Head frame and hoist house. I am really curious where you got that photo. The reason being I have the original print framed sitting here in my house in Oregon. Back in 1982 or 1983 , not sure exactly , my father had a artist friend of his do that drawing and two other drawings, all of which I have. The other drawings are of the old substation in Eureka and the Park City Coalition Tram Building. Wow, I was surprised to see
That photo. Please contact me. Thank you Sean. Oh, our family owned a little house in Eureka in the 70’s and 80’s that is my connection. I think Dad had those
Drawn up for Depot Days.
Sean:
If I remember correctly, a photocopy of that drawing was on a larger map showing the locations of mines in the Tintic district. It was hanging up in the Tintic Mining Museum in the old city hall building in Eureka. I liked the drawing so much that I took a photo of it, then cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop. I’ve been wondering who did the original drawing. I don’t know where the copy came from, but the person who showed us through the museum was June McNulty, who is the president of the Tintic Historical Society. I’m still working on a video documentary of the area and my science students have been doing a study of soil contamination south of town for the American Chemical Society, which I’ll be reporting on soon on this blog. That is still the best thing I’ve seen on the Iron Blossom 3. Can I have your permission to use that in our documentary? It is strictly a not-for-profit project.
David Black
Hello David,
Sean here again. I did not see your reply until today. I sincerely apologize! I have no issues with you using the photo of the Iron Blossom #3 headframe. My father passed away in 2001 and I know he would have loved the idea. If you are interested in seeing the other two drawings please email and I will send you photos. If I recall my father had those drawings done to celebrate the opening of the depot in Euerka after it had been moved from it’s original location to it’s current site on main st.
I also agree with your statement about the historic buildings being lost to the cleanup , but as is life. I wish that I had a camera when I was crushing the surrounding hills on my motorcycle back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I would have documented all the headframes, mine buildings, etc… lost to time and the cleanup. There were many large and amazing structure on the hill sides back then, but they are gone now. I do hope though that Euerka is a safer place to live for the current residents.
Sincerely, Sean
Sean:
Yes, I would like to get copies of the other drawings. You can send them as attachments to my e-mail at: elementsunearthed@gmail.com. Many events going on in my own life have prevented me from keeping up on this blog site as much as I would like, but I hope to get back to it soon and continue to tell the stories of the elements, including the Tintic Mining District. I would also greatly appreciate any photos you might have of the area from before the clean-up.
David Black
The mining history around Eureka that I saw while riding my motorcycle in the hill, created a huge passion for mining, I went to Utah State and studied geology. I love those mines surrounding Eureka!!!!
Sincerely, Sean.
Hello David,
Sean here. I apologize for not sending you a reply. I was not made aware of you reply re: the Iron Blossom #3 headframe drawing. My father passed away years ago and I know he would love the idea!!! If you would like to see the originals, send me a email and I can send you a photo. I love the historic mine buildings and mine sites of Utah as well as the west. It is sad to see them become victims of time and mine reclamation but safety is paramount. I have enjoyed your articles!!! It was the mining history on the hill sides of Eureka and Park City ( where my family is from originally ) that pushed me into studying geology and I am thankful!
Sincerely, Sean