Mercur Mine
N 40° 18.184 W 112° 12.811
12T E 396872 N 4462102
Mercur Mine in Lewiston Canyon, Utah
Please note, the coordinates are from the view point the pictures were taken from. Do Not cross the fence to North, it is posted Private property.
Waymark Code: WM1DCC
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2007
Views: 112
During the 1860s, a few hardy prospectors eked out an existence by mining in Lewiston Canyon. Results were meager. The thought was if there were a few good nuggets here and there, there must more and better deposits somewhere in the canyon. Persistence paid off as good deposits were found. Gradually, as the word spread, miners came to town to work the silver mines and soon a real boom developed. When the boom died in 1880, Lewiston died with it. Now came a rebirth. A lone prospector came to the deserted town looking for a deposit of gold. What he discovered was evidence of quicksilver, a vein of cinnabar. He named his claim by his word for mercury, Mercur. Assayed, the ore showed a good content of gold worth more than the mercury. Efforts to get the gold out of the rock proved to too expensive. The town, now named Mercur, died once again. Next came a group of men with financial resources dedicated to finding a way to extract the gold from the rock. They succeeded and Mercur rose again to be a boomtown. During the early part of 1896, a fire nearly destroyed the entire town. Mercur was soon rebuilt and was again destroyed by fire in 1902. Again rebuilt, the current boom lasted until 1913 when deposits seemed to be failing. By 1925, Mercur was once again a ghost town. However, in 1934 a side canyon called Horse Thief Gulch was found to be rich in gold and in two years Mercur had risen again to become the second gold producing town in Utah. The end finally came in 1951 when the cost of mining exceeded the value of gold.
Mine Type: Working Mine
Mineral Collecting: No
Material Mined: Precious Metal
Operation: Opencast Mine
Surface Features: Yes
KNOWN DANGERS:
The area around the mine is fenced and no trespassing signs are everywhere. You can get a good view of the mine from the posted cordinates.
Any associated website: [Web Link]
Any Other information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Optional photograph welcomed.