| Show UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION 1893 it was somewhat less effected by it than the more popu lous East rather abbreviated gold rush took place that year when the precious metal was found at Camp Floyd And another of comparatively brief duration was discovered in Big Cottonwood Canyon where both silver and gold ore came to light strike in the Oquirrh rangeLewiston Canyon proved to be one of the territorylonger-lived lodes Ore veins had been producing there for some time leading to the 1893 estab lishment of the town of Mercur Such discoveries hadnbeen unusual in Utah Territory where towns sprouted almost overnight Usually they were nothing more than tents and clapboard shacks adjacent to immensely valuable mining claims Many such communities bulged to multithousand population levels and then disap peared with scarcelytrace when the ore veins were exhaust ed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made significant contributions to Utahhistory in 1893 On April 6th the Salt Lake Temple massive granite edifice that had been decades in construction was dedicated Later that year group which included Church leaders unveiled two important new features at Saltair the resort theyestablished on Great Salt Lake Their objective was to createmore wholesome recreational atmosphere than that offered by seven other lakeside playgrounds In addition needless to say the potential financial impact of such an amusement park hadnescaped the Church hierarchy They too were interested in capitalizing on tourist curiosity about the unusual lake and they welcomed Saltairgrowing reputa tion as The Coney Island of the West One of the innovations wasspacious pavilion supported by wooden pilings plunged into the briny water nearlyhalf mile from the normal shoreline The other wasrailroad -the Salt Lake Garfield Western -which fromdepot at 2nd South and 4th West stretched 17 miles to the lakeedge Not just to the lake in fact but to the pavilion itself for the final portions of track were laid on trestles so that passengers could be deposited precisely at the entrance Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
