Spring is in the air. I know that feeling well. Winter’s mantle recedes with each passing day. The trees are beginning to bud. The parade ground is gradually transitioning from brown to green. In another month I encourage you to visit me. Take a leisurely stroll among hallowed grounds. Partake of my historic architecture. Stop into my museum, immerse yourself in the history of Fort Douglas.
For my southeastern compatriot, Park City, spring’s arrival takes longer. Understandable as his elevation exceeds mine by almost 4,000 feet. Our connection exceeds 150 years. I’m older, by just twelve years. We’ve witnessed tragedy, triumph, love, and resurrection. Here I’ll begin to explore three examples of our enduring relationship.
In April 1861 the United States descended into disunity, to put it mildy. Patrick Edward Connor answered the call to arms to defeat the thirteen treasonous southern states. This would be his third tour of duty. Most recently he had served with distinction in the Mexican American War. Upon that war’s conclusion (1848), he ventured to California. The Gold Rush treated him well and he became wealthy.
Upon his reenlistment, Connor was awarded the rank of Colonel. He commanded the 3rd California Volunteer Infantry, which numbered 2,500 soldiers. Like Connor, some of his troops were veterans of the California Gold Rush. This mining expertise would prove valuable. Their orders were to proceed to the Utah Territory, establish an outpost to protect the Overland Mail Route, and ensure that Brigham Young and his followers remained faithful to the Union.
Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, Himes-Buck Digital Collection
In October 1862 Conner and his command arrived in the Salt Lake City area. They established their camp three miles east of Brigham Young’s righteous city. The plateau featured sweeping vistas of the valley below. By the summer of 1863 Connor established military superiority over the local indigenous tribes and confirmed that the Mormons were not a secessionist threat.
With their military goals achieved, Conner and his men returned to an old habit: prospecting. In September of that year, they filed their first mining claim. Over the next seven years, more followed. In 1868, during a late fall prospecting expedition, a promising rock outcropping was discovered in the nearby Wasatch Mountains above the Cottonwoods. The area was called Bonanza Flats. Beset by the winter season’s first blizzard, the soldier-prospectors hastily marked their location with a bandana tied to a pine branch. This “flagstaff” proved easy to spot the following spring.
In 1871 the Flagstaff Mine (named for that marker) shipped 40 tons of galena ore by wagon to the Echo rail head. It was the first mine to do so in a newly established mining district that would later surround Park City. Colonel Connor became known as the “Father of Utah mining.” By the late 1870s Park City was one o” the premier mining camps in the West. No doubt, Fort Douglas played an important role in this development.
Our next article highlights two further examples of the connection between these old friends, Park City and Fort Douglas.
The Park City Museum is hosting a talk by archaeologist and Utah Historic Preservation Officer Christopher Merritt titled “Beer Bottles and Cartridges: Archaeology of Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City” on April 2 from 5-6 p.m. at their Education and Collections Center, located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive.