OLD POSTCARDS OF UTAH COPPER AND BINGHAM CANYON

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   Postcards of the Utah Copper mine in Bingham Canyon depict its history and provide a written description from startup in 1906 to an enormous open pit in 1946 and 1950 to the even more stupendous pit of 2003. The town of Bingham Canyon is also shown in the six picture postcards and three picture postage stamps. The open-pit mine, as it grew wider and deeper, mined away ever more of the town year by year. By the 2003 photo the entire town had been mined away or covered over by waste dumps.

   This August, 1906 photo shows the beginning of the open-pit mine. Two steam shovels are starting to dig material from the bottom of the “Copper Hill”. The two levels and the working areas for the shovels were dug from the raw hillside and railroad tracks were layed by other equipment and men beforehand. The underground test mine provided samples of ore for metallurgical testing and to determine the tonnage and grade of the orebody prior to starting the open-pit mine. The Boston Con open-pit mine was near the top of “The Hill” above the Utah Copper mine; it had started steam shovel operations five months earlier. The two companies (and mines) merged in 1910 and, as the Utah Copper Co. went on to excavate the largest open-cut copper mine in the world. It is still operating and increasing in size today.

Startup of the Utah Copper Open-Cut Mine in 1906 - Two Steam Shovels With Steam Engines on the Bottom of "The Copper Hill"

1965 Postcard of Bingham Canyon Post Office

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Post Office Building at 435 Main Street in Bingham Canyon-In 1965 After 1962 Closure

This 1965 Postcard shows the building at 435 Main Street in Bingham Canyon that served as the U.S. Post Office from 1933 to 1962. A unique occurrence for U.S. Post Offices was special approval for the parking of non-Postal Service vehicles  on the Post Office property. Approval was granted because of the extremely limited parking space available in Bingham Canyon. Kennecott Copper purchased this building after the official Bingham Canyon Post Office was transferred to a new building four miles down the canyon in Copperton. Kennecott then used the otherwise vacant building for some of its own office or storage purposes and also allowed Bingham City to use it for a short while. The building was demolished in 1972 to make way for Kennecott’s mining operations.

1950 Postcard of Bingham Canyon Business District and Kennecott’s Utah Copper Mine

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1950 Town of Bingham Canyon and the Utah Copper Open-Pit Mine

This 1950 Picture Postcard shows part of the Business District of Bingham Canyon, the lower part of Carr Fork and the bottom of the Utah Copper open-pit mine. The B&G Yards, Kennecott mine offices, the Bingham City Hall, and the lower portal of the 1 1/4-mile vehicular tunnel to Copperfield are also noted — they weren’t shown in the 1946 photo. The bottom of the open-pit mine was at about the 6040 elevation. The first of three ore haulage tunnels, the 6040, was driven from the pit bottom to just above the central part of the town. A drop-cut, which is shown at a lower elevation than the center of the pit, was made so that the tunnel could be operational as soon as possible. The open-pit mine has dug away the part of the old town of Bingham above the 6190 Yard, including the roadway to Copperfield (Upper Bingham). The vehicular tunnel was constructed in 1937-38-39 to replace the roadway. The bottom of the pit in 2011 was 1650 feet deeper than in 1950.

1946 Postcard of the Town of Bingham Canyon and Kennecott’s Utah Copper Open-Pit Mine

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1946 Town of Bingham Canyon and the Bingham Copper Mine

This 1946 postcard shows the Business District of the Town of Bingham Canyon, Carr Fork with its seven railroad bridges, the community of Highland Boy, Kennecott’s Utah Copper open-pit mine and, overlooking it all, Sunshine Peak. The more prominent features are identified; most of them were very familiar to the residents of the canyon at that time. The Princess Theater, Bingham Merc, Copper King, and Gemmell Club were especially well known. The thousands of men who worked on “The Hill” were most familiar with all the features of the Open-Pit Mine which included the 6190 Yards, Carr fork Bridge, and the Machine Shops. Features of the open pit and the town were in close proximity and were often intermixed as can be seen in this photo. Many human-interest stories can be told of the area shown here. The back side of this postcard describes the photo in additional detail.  

Postcard of the 1906 Startup of Kennecott’s Utah Copper Mine in Bingham Canyon

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The 1906 Startup of Kennecott's Utah Copper Mine in Bingham Canyon

   This front-and-back photo of the August, 1906 beginning of the open-pit mine shows a picture of the mine and provides a description of it. The photo on the front shows two steam shovels that are starting to dig material from the bottom of the “Copper Hill”. The two levels and the working areas for the shovels were dug from the raw hillside and railroad tracks were layed by other equipment and men before the shovels were assembled. The underground test mine provided samples of ore for feasibility studies prior to starting the open-pit mine. The Boston Con open-pit mine isn’t shown — it was near the top of “The Hill” above the Utah Copper mine; it had started steam shovel operations five months earlier. The two companies (and mines) merged in 1910 and, as the Utah Copper Co., went on to excavate the largest open-cut copper mine in the world. It is still operating and increasing in size day by day.

The 2003 Utah Copper Open-Pit Copper Mine and Nearby Mountains

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The 2003 Utah Copper Open-Pit Mine and Nearby Mountains

This is the second of two 5.5×8.5-inch postcards that can best be used for a “Bingham Memorial Postcard”. It has a custom Bingham Canyon Postage Stamp and has been Cancelled by the Bingham Canyon Post Office. It has been rubber-stamped “UNDELIVERABLE” and “THE ENTIRE TOWN…”. There is no Name or Address — this space is available for you to enter the name and address of your choice. Both the front and back of this postcard are shown. The picture on the front doesn’t show the Town of Bingham Canyon or any of the eight or so smaller communities that were in the area of this photo sixty years ago – they have been mined away by the open-pit mine or covered over by its waste dumps. Geographic features are noted on this photo; they help to locate some of the old communities. Carr Fork, for example, is the fork of Bingham Canyon that was occupied by the small communities of Carr Fork, Phoenix, Highland Boy, and The Boston Con; these four communities would now be located in the air above the open pit somewhere between the 6190 Yards and the Carr Fork features. Other communities could be located in similar fashion. Galena Gulch includes the area where the first mining claim in the State of Utah was located in 1863. There are stories associated with each of the geographic features that are noted and the many others that are not noted.