GARFIELD
From Mining Town to Ghost Town

       Garfield, Utah (Salt Lake) was a small mining town located just a few miles West of Magna, on the old 21st South road. (This is now called Interstate 201). Interstate 80 now runs through the North end of the town.
        In the early history of Utah, Indians used to pass by the area. Some of them would stay at times in a cave at the South West end of the tailings pond. This was called by the locals, Dead Man’s Cave, since a man committed suicide in this cave around 1913.  If you are driving West on the freeway  just as you pass the pond, look to the North and you will see the cave, also you will see  the old highway that used to run just beneath the cave. Skeletons found in the cave show that the Indians lived there somewhere between 3,000 and 7,000 B.C.
        Early explorers and trappers went right by the caves and the Garfield area on their way back and forth to California and the East. This was the easiest route through the early Salt Lake Valley.  Captain John C. Fremont, an early explorer,  spent a night at the old Garfield town site in 1843. (Before it was a town). John Muir, the famous naturalist, spent several days in the area looking at the interesting vegetation that once covered the Oquirrh Mountains. In his book, Steep Trails, he writes about the Great Salt Lake and his stay at the hotel in Lake Point in 1877. (See Steep Trails, Chapter 8 and 9).
        There were several early settlers in the area of Garfield in the late 1800's who built houses and did a little farming and ranching. When the early Mormon Pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley several Mormons settled in the area known later as Magna and Garfield. William D. Young actually lived in Dead Man’s Cave for a while.
        Abraham Coon had a small ranch at the mouth of the canyon on the West side of the Oquirrh Mountains. This would later be called Coon Canyon. (Called Coon’s Canyon by the locals). Some of the other early settlers were Hiram Spencer, Nephi Hardman, and Joseph Toronto. Toronto would keep his cattle in the cave by Garfield. It was first called Toronto cave, then later changed to Dead Man’s Cave.
        In the late 1800's copper and other minerals were discovered in the Oqurrirh Mountains. The Bingham brothers started to do mining at the site of the Bingham Canyon about 1848, but it did not last long. But, the soldiers from Camp Floyd started to do some mining in the 1860's and soon everyone was interested in the site. In the 1890's Thomas Weir and Samuel Newhouse brought big time mining and smelting to the area under the name of Boston Consolidated.
        The early smelter was called the American Smelting and Refining Company(ASRCO). The Smelter is located just West of Garfield on the old highway 201. The Refinery would be just South of Garfield. In 1903 the Utah Copper Company was organized by Daniel C. Jackling. This would be the start of a new era in mining. They set a new standard for mining in the Bingham Canyon. In 1906 there were more than 40 mining companies in the Bingham area. Since 1906, more than 6.2 billion tons of rock have been mined.
In 1905-6 the town of Garfield sprang up. Actually there were many little camps, called mining and smelter camps, dotted throughout the area. Right next to the Smelter was a camp, then between there and Garfield a small camp, then Magna, called Ragtown at that time. Also Bingham Canyon and Copperton had towns. Copperton was much like Garfield, whereas the workers rented the houses and they were kept in good condition by the company. All the pipes, fixtures, wiring, came from the mine.
        Garfield was one of the unique towns that Utah Copper built. The town housed workers and their families who worked at the Smelter, Refinery, Arthur and Magna Mills. At one time there were over 2,000 people in Garfield. A club house was built which became a school house. Six hotels were built. The main street had a trading store, drug store, Carl’s tavern, bank, post office, barber shop, library, sweet shop, show house. In other words, it had everything a small town could ever want.
        By 1914 a new Garfield school was built. The town of Garfield was a place that really had everything. An improvement district was set up under Utah Copper. They owned the land but made sure many things in the small town were done for the benefit of the workers in the town.
        Just to list a few of the freebie’s that were offered in the town: A theater, baseball park, swimming pool, library. Also at a small fee people could enjoy the Copper Club that was build at the Arthur Mill. It had a dance hall, bowling allies, pool tables, and many things for people to enjoy. So even though the wages were small, strikes  came upon the workers once in a while, Garfield was the place to be. People came to the town from outside the area to enjoy the swimming pool. We were right next to the Blackrock and Sunset beaches, and Saltair resort.
        We rented our house for about $18 dollars a month. Each year they would come and paint our house and fix up things when they were needed to be fixed.  We had copper pipes, wiring, etc. from copper produced in the mine. That was the only bad thing about not owning the house. We could not fix it up the way we wanted to do it.
        We would go hiking in the hills behind the Refinery. There were animals like elk, deer, bobcats, cougars, and in the early days, bear. Caves were found dotted along the mountain side. In the winter time we would go sledding down the what was called McKinley hill. The best times of our young lives were spent in this town. There was a Mormon church and across the street was an Episcopalian church.
        The town consisted of mostly people who were Danish, Swedish, English, and a few Germans. The Smelter camp had Greek, Croatian, Japanese, Spanish. Most of the people in Garfield worked at the Mills. (Magna and Arthur). My grandfather was born in Germany.
        Kennecott Copper emerged on the scene in about 1910 when Utah Copper merged with Boston Consolidated. Kennecott became the sole owner of Utah Copper in 1936. The Smelter was purchased by Kennecott in 1959 from ASARCO. At one time this company was the largest producer of copper in the world.
        Kennecott was very nice to the town of Garfield. Each year at Christmas time, the local schools would take all the students to the Arthur Club house and we would see a movie and Santa then would give each child a large bag of candy. It was great.
        Two things that were not so neat about Garfield was that the Smelter smoke was sometimes so bad that we would have to put a handkerchief over our face to breath. It helped to kill the vegetation around the area. Also, the early pioneers cut down many trees in the Oquirrh’s. It has taken years of proper management to bring things back to how they used to be when John Muir first saw it.
        Sadly, Kennecott decided in 1955 that they needed to expand their operation and to get out of the rental business. We were full of tears when they told us that our “Utopia” would be over. They at least let us buy our houses and we moved the wood frame ones to Magna or the surrounding areas. My dad and others got together and formed a group that consisted of 34 people who moved their  homes from Garfield to Magna, just North of 3500 South and East of 8000 West. I actually rode in the house on the move to make sure things were okay in the house. So, in 1956-7, that was the end of Garfield. It is now a ghost town. There is nothing left of the town but the memories that we carry in our hearts. We still love the old town. I was 10 years old when I left. Garfield, we miss you.

Lee T. Romrell