Took the family up to take pictures in the mountains today. It was the last shot of the day and as we were leaving my wife noted that the window on the rock wall that had foiled our plan to use it as texture wasn’t a window it was actually a plaque. One thing I have noticed as I’ve gotten older is that the relationship between age and desire to read historical plaques appears to be linear as I’ve never cared what this shed like structure was before but now I needed to know.
This is the bay city mine tunnel, part of the Emma Mine into the side of Emma ridge which, btw, does not suck at all in the winter.
Emma mine was a silver mine at the base of present day Alta ski resort, a pretty successful one for a little while, but even when it wasn’t that wasn’t about to stop unscrupulous people from making money on it. Buuuuut it may have gone a little too far.
The story goes like this:
- Mine gets worked out
- Mine owner, a guy named James E. Lyon from Wisconsin (I guess thats why its the “bay city tunnel” and the area around the corner is called “Michigan city”), decides there is still money to be had and so he seeks out a certain William M. Stewart, Senator from Nevada. Stewart already has a rep for unscrupulous mining litigation from his work on the Comstock lode which had afforded him his own little castle in D.C.
- Stewart, Lyon and others team up to sell worked out mine to unsuspecting British investors.
- Find good silver ore from working mines and send it along as proof
- Take a well respected British ambassador, Robert C. Schenck, and put him on the board of directors to put the British at ease. Compensation is shares in the company.
- Sell the crap out of a bad mine, to the tune of $5 million (about $97 million converted from 1872 to today).
- Get caught by President Grant and a congressional investigation
- Schneck pulls out after selling his shares for a profit
- Shit hits the fan in England
- Threats of war
- Grant goes into PR overdrive
- war averted, people still pretty pissed.
- Schneck not charged with any crimes.
Yup. Sounds like turn of the century politics. Sidenote - Stewart did do some pretty great things in the senate as he is given credit for authoring the 15th amendment giving voting rights to all “regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude”. So he’s got that going for him.
Today is a service tunnel for culinary water for the town of Alta. Yeah, Alta isn’t just a ski resort, in fact they just voted in a new mayor this week.
Great place to spend time.
And it was all a 20 minute drive from home. Same zip code in fact.
More info here