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Show Utah Ore Sampling Mill & Superintendent Home Location: 5500 South 300 West Built: 1890-1910 One of the first and only independent sampling mills in Utah (only one between Missouri and California) began in Murray in 1909 as the Utah Ore Sampling Company which was the successor to the Taylor and Brinton Ore Sampling Company operating since 1890. The early sampling plants were high vertical buildings consisting of several floors where the ore--which came from all over the western United States- was elevated and dropped to crush the ore, then analyzed for ore content and finally purchased by the smelting companies. The large "Thawed House" where car loads of frozen ore are completely thawed before they are run through the sampling plant still remains. This mill was also unique 5520 South 300 West because it contained the only railroad spur that connected to both the Denver Rio Grande and Union Pacific Railroad. The company operated until the 1950's when the smelting industry closed and the building is now used as storage by Bob Conrad. Although the builder is not known, the small frame home located to the south of the mill at 5520 South 300 West housed the Sampling Mill's superintendent Lou Walters. A small structure in the backyard served as a washroom. |
