In 1878, Philip Morgan, a Welshman, began filing or acquiring a cadre of claims in the Empire Canyon area. This began two decades of contention, unfulfilled hopes, mergers, and acquisitions. At a high level, mine developers often slipped back and forth between partnerships, lawsuits, and new partnerships. In old Park City your ally could become your adversary and then back again, like changing partners in a square dance.
In May 1884, Morgan – with co-owner Gottlieb Schaer and two other partners – agreed to lease their claims to George A. Meears, a Latter-day Saint from Birmingham, England. The Park Record stated, “Meears was given $1,000 and a deed of trust to enable him to carry out the provisions of the contract.”
In June 1885, Morgan and his partners apparently got a sweeter deal from Simon Bamberger. Morgan et al. formed a new corporation with Bamberger and other capitalists. The new group contended that Meears had done little or no development, and that his lease was void. (This was Bamberger’s first foray into investing in Park City mining. He later became Governor of Utah).
Meears counter-claimed that he had done considerable work at the cost of $6,000, and that he did not intend to abandon the development, which had included drilling the Grizzly Tunnel, in the vicinity of Deer Valley Resort’s modern-day Pearl run.
The Morgan group sent men to bust into and possess the Grizzly Tunnel. The raiders – one of whom may have been involved in the lynching of “Black Jack” Murphy – brandished six-shooters, though no shots were said to have been fired. Meears contacted the sheriff, who arrested the rowdies a few days later, giving Meears control of the property again. The court found four of the party guilty and fined them $25.00 each.
Meanwhile John Daly of the nearby Daly West mine had his eyes on the properties and sent surveyors to map the disputed terrain. This escalated into what’s called the “Three-Corner Lawsuit.” The Morgan group sued Meears, who counter-sued them, and both Morgan and Meears sued Daly. The Salt Lake Democrat newspaper rightly stated at the time, “The Morgan group trouble has presented such a series of kaleidoscopic changes of owners, possessors, claimants, plaintiffs, defendants, rulings, exceptions, fines, costs, changes of venue, etc., etc. as to make an attempt at a lucid explanation a very hazardous, not to say doubtful, proceeding.”
This writer does not have the column inches to rectify what newspaper editors could scarcely resolve at the time. The upshot: The Third District Court dismissed the cases in 1888 in a victory for Meears.
Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, Himes-Buck Digital Collection
Then in 1890, R.C. Chambers, John Daly, Philip and Henry Morgan, Meears and others incorporated the Meears Silver Mining Company. This unlikely partnership would prove uncomfortable. In March 1892, there was a report of inactivity at the mining site due to an unspecified dispute among the directors. About this time, Meears attested he had spent up to $500,000 on the Morgan claims, including $150,000 in legal expenses.
Sadly, despite some ore ultimately shipping from the claims, Meears shot himself during the financial panic of 1893. Just prior to his suicide, he was named in a suit by Gottlieb Schaer’s widow for allegedly mishandling Schaer’s estate.
In early 1895, the name of the Meears company changed to the Morgan Silver Mining Co. Several workforce lay-offs shortly ensued. The “square dance” do-si-do continued in 1897 when Daly bought a portion of the new company. Yet in December 1898, Daly was on a list of delinquent stockholders following a mid-year assessment. Then in 1899 with other backers, Daly swept up the rest of the business for $100,000. At the time, Philip Morgan stated that the sale of stock would place him and his brother Henry in easy circumstances for the rest of his days.
The Morgan claims never produced at the level of the nearby Daly West or other top mines in the district. Exploration and development likely did not reach much beyond the 900-foot level, despite plans to reach the 1,200-foot level.
One final turnabout occurred. As a previous Park City Museum article describes it: “The 15 claims of the Morgan Group, the Quincy Mine and the Little Bell Mine were all added to the Daly West’s large holdings and eventually the Daly West comprised of 1,200 acres in Empire Canyon. However, disputes arose with the Ontario owners (who owned half of the mine) and gradually members of the Bamberger family amassed the majority of the Daly West stock.”
Even the masterful John Daly could find himself elbowed to the side of the dance hall from time to time.
Michael O’Malley is a museum researcher and author of “Attitude at Altitude: The People’s Guide to Park City and Summit County.” Part of this article draws on a presentation about John Daly by Sandy Brumley and Brian Buck (Nov. 19, 2025).
The Park City Museum and Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History are hosting a lecture titled “Preserving Park City Mine History,” given by Brian Buck on Thursday, January 15 from 5-6 p.m. at their Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive.