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Silver King Mine

Established 1892

One of the “Big Three”, the Silver King Mine was the second discovery that would make Park City one of the world’s most profitable mining camps of its era. Thomas Kearns urged David Keith to consolidate a number of claims on Treasure Hill in the 1880s. Terrific profits followed with which they were able to purchase surrounding claims. The five characters who came together to incorporate these claims in 1892 were among Park City’s most colorful and emblematic of all who symbolize our mining history.

Thomas Kearns became a United States Senator. He and David Keith built mansions on South Temple Street in Salt Lake City. Susannah Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitchev became Utah’s Silver Queen. W.V. Rice, the Judge and the Ivers families prospered mightily. Their stories are Utah’s legends.

The deteriorating Silver King Shaft House, at the base of Bonanza Lift, closed in 1953 when metal prices were too low to produce a profit. The historic building contains the shaft, headframe and hoisting works including with the powerful engines for lifting the cages. Below this building in Woodside Gulch lies the Silver King Mill. On the hillside to the northwest is the safe, encased in concrete to remind us of the original location of the Silver King Boarding house. In 1987, the historic boarding house was moved 500 vertical feet and 3,000 linear feet up the mountain and is now restored as the Mid-Mountain Lodge serving McConkey’s and Pioneer Lifts.

Below the Silver King Shaft House, Keith and Kearns build a state-of-the-art concentrator to process the ore. In 1901, they added an aerial tramway to carry the ore downhill to the D&RG Western railroad. The giant lower terminal soon became known as the “Coalition Building”. Here the concentrate was loaded on train cars for shipment to the smelter in Salt Lake City. The metal towers are still visible today, paralleling the Town Chairlift.

The Silver King Coalition used its profits to invest in and acquire other properties, eventually encompassing most of the property now incorporated into Park City Mountain’s skiable terrain and becoming fabulously wealthy. By 1914 the Silver King had distributed $14 million in dividends to its stock holders. Eventually, the Silver King Coalition acquired all of Thaynes Canyon, all of Walker Webster Gulch, all of Woodside Gulch and the Spiro Tunnel above the Park City Golf Course.

Saving the Silver King Water Tanks

While we have prioritized the mining structures you can see while skiing, from time to time a problem will crop up with the many mining structures you cannot ski close to on the mountain. These two large water tanks are visible from the bottom of Bonanza lift (look up to your left) or when riding the Crescent chair at Park City Mountain. There were three large water tanks originally, but one collapsed around 2005. The other two tanks were damaged during the big snow year of 2016-17. Starting in 2018, we began to repair the collapsed walls and re-purposed the materials from the third water tank to repair the remaining two structures. The repairs required interior support work to ensure they stay upright. Historically the amount of water housed inside provided outward pressure (much like a barrel).

Engineering: Jonathan Richards, Calder Richards Consulting Engineers

Construction:  Lance Kincaid, Kincaid Construction

Status: Completed in 2020

Cost: $124,825

Before and After

Saving the Silver King Headframe Complex

The Silver King Mine has the largest remaining collection of mining structures within the Park City Mining District. To date, we have saved two water tanks. The Silver King boarding house and dining hall was successfully moved up the hill in 1987 and repurposed into the Mid-Mountain Lodge. In 2022 we are embarking on a multi-year project to save the headframe and hoist complex, the changing building to the right of the headframe, the stores building, the power station building to the left of the headframe and various ancillary fire huts and an ore bin located behind the headframe. Our goal is to complete the stabilization and restoration work by 2027 which is dependent on raising at least $3 million during our capital campaign. We will then offer guided tours of the complex. Restoring the seven story Silver King Mill located further down the mountain is not part of this project. Our goal is to work on that structure after we successfully save the Silver King and Thaynes Headframes.

Engineering: Jonathan Richards, Calder Richards Consulting Engineers

Construction:  Clark Martinez, Xcavation Company

Status: Begin work in 2022. Goal to complete in 2027.

Cost: $1,625,000 (estimated)

Learn More By Reading These "Way We Were" Articles:

The Silver King Hoisting System by Brian Buck, Mining Consultant

Conkling Mining Co. v. Silver King Coalition Mines Co. lawsuit. articles by Steve Leatham:

  1. Million Dollar Mistake
  2. The Colonel
  3. The King Answers the Colonel
  4. The Judge Orders A Survey
  5. Some Trouble with Surveys
  6. Subtleties and Difficulties of Surveying
  7. A Birthday to Forget
  8. The Elephant in the Mine
  9. Presenting the Case
  10. An Original Error
  11. The King Wins and Loses
  12. Treweek Fights to the End
  13. Appealing for More Than Money
  14. From Jubilance to Disappointment

That Fateful Night by David Hampshire

The Coalition Building Remembered by Sally Elliott, Historian

A Fiery Anniversary by Donovan Symonds, Mining Engineer

Silver King Investors "first person" series by Sally Elliott, Historian:

  1. My Story: Albion Emery
  2. My Story: Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitcheff – Utah’s “Silver Queen” by Elliot and Pat Pond
  3. Building a Life from the Mine Up: The Life of David Keith
  4. My Story: Mary Ferguson Keith
  5. My story: Windsor Volney Rice
  6. My story: Thomas Kearns
  7. My Story: Jennie Judge Kearns
  8. My Story: John Judge
  9. My Story: Mary Harney Judge
  10. My Story: James Ivers
  11. My Story: Bridget Welsh Ivers

Field Trip to the Silver King by Sandy Melville

The Big Merger at Park City by Dalton Gackle, Research Coordinator

The King Mandates Insurance by Steve Leatham

Master Mechanic by Steve Leatham

A High Society Wedding by Mahala Ruddell, Research Coordinator

Eight-hour Day with No Cut in Pay by Mahala Ruddell, Research Coordinator

When the Cable Broke by Steve Leatham

From the Perspective of Tower 39 by David Nicholas and Steve Leatham

Find Mining Events

Silver King Mine Photo Gallery

Silver King Headframe
Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitcheff - Utah’s “Silver Queen”
Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitcheff, partner in the Silver King Mine, and Park City’s “Silver Queen”. Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, Raye C. Ringholz
Albion B Emery
Albion B. Emery, partner in the Mayflower and Silver King Mines, and first husband of Susanna Bransford (a.k.a. the “Silver Queen”). Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, Himes-Buck Collection
David Keith
David Keith, partner in Park City’s Silver King Mine. Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, David Keith III Collection
Silver King Aerial Tramway
2013 Silver King Boarding House
Model of the Coalition Building and Silver King Aerial Tramway in the Park City Museum
Thomas Kearns underground at the Silver King

Explore Our Mines

Park City Mining History

Judge Mine

Ontario Mine

Alliance Mine

Jupiter Mine

Silver King Mine

California-Comstock Mine

King Con Mine

Spiro Tunnel at Silver Star

Daly West

Little Bell Mine

Thaynes Mine

Save Our Mining Structures

We need your help!

Join our efforts to save Park City's last remaining mining structures. Please contact Morgan Pierce at 435-216-9787 or mpierce@parkcityhistory.org.

Donate Now
528 Main Street Park City, Utah 84060 (435) 649-7457
Summit County Restaurant Tax

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