Who Was Lady Morgan? The Life and Times of Philip Morgan lecture given by Michael O’Malley

Park City Museum and Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History will host a lecture called Who Was Lady Morgan? The Life and Times of Philip Morgan given by Michael O’Malley on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 from 5-6 p.m. held at the Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. More information can be found at www.parkcityhistory.org.

Who was Lady Morgan? It’s a question you often hear when skiing at Deer Valley Resort, where the Lady Morgan Express chairlift serves the Empire Canyon area. There are several hypotheses, which we will weigh while discussing the mining career of Philip Morgan. A native of Wales, Morgan filed or acquired 15 claims in the Empire area, spurring several decades of contention. Morgan was involved in everything from corporate negotiations and lawsuits, to an armed takeover of the Grizzly Tunnel. He was at times a partner with and an adversary of other mine developers like John Daly and Simon Bamberger.

Michael O’Malley has skied in Park City since 1980 and lived here since 1997. A graduate of Pomona College, where he met his wife Lauren, he’s held marketing positions in a variety of industries over his career, the most recent stint with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. He is a mountain host and hiking guide at Deer Valley Resort, and leads Fox School of Wine’s “Mines & Wines” tours. He volunteers at the Park City Museum, regularly contributing to the “Way We Were” history article series. He is author of the recently published “Attitude at Altitude: The People’s Guide to Park City and Summit County,” which is available at the Museum gift shop, Swaner Eco-Center, and local bookstores.