Mining & Transportation

Set-up Cornell Notes (IN Page

Title: Mining & Transportation

Essential Question: How did development of mining and transportation impact Utah?

Mining in the Utah Territory

Utah was rich in mineral ore

Early on, most settlers only mined for things they needed, not to make money

Mined for: Salt (food) Lead (bullets) Coal (stoves) Iron (tools)

Mining Grows in Utah

After large deposits of ore were found, mines were open for business

Just like the gold rush, few became wealthy through mining Some did the hard work to make a living A few that owned mines became millionaires Others cashed in on providing supplies to miners

A Miner’s Life

Miners were paid $3 to $4 a day for 10-12 hours of work, 6 days a week

It was generally easy to get a mining job and the pay was higher than other jobs

Thousands of immigrants from Europe, Canada, Asia & Mexico came to Utah to work in the mines

A Miner’s Life (IN Page

Read the description of “A Miner’s Life” on page 175

Draw a picture that shows what life would be like working in the mines based on the description (top half of page)

Answer this question below your picture:

Would you like to work in the mines? Why or why not?

Development of Transportation

It was difficult to transport items to the west for the following reasons:

Storms & floods Poor roads Few bridges Native American attacks

To travel from St. Louis to the west and back took an entire summer

Development of Transportation

Stagecoach stations were eventually set up along the trails out west to provide people with fresh horses and meals

The Railroad Revolutionizes Transportation

The issue: connecting the eastern United States to the western United States

Solution: laying RR tracks to connect the country with a Transcontinental Railroad

Advantages: speed and convenience

Two Railroad Companies

Union Pacific- began laying tracks west from Omaha, Nebraska

Central Pacific- began laying tracks east from Sacramento, California

Meeting place: Ogden or Salt Lake City, Utah

Two Railroad Companies

Union Pacific Central Pacific Hired immigrants from Ireland and other countries

Hired immigrants from China

Laid track on flat prairie land (at first)

Passed through the Sierra Nevada Mountains

Had to purchase lumber and have it shipped to create tracks (few trees where track was laid)

Had access to lots more lumber in the area

Needed help from Utah once they reached the Rocky Mountains

Raced across the Great Basin of Nevada faster than expected

Dangerous Work

Workers of both Railroad Companies dealt with harsh weather (extreme heat or bitter cold)

Many died from the cold in the mountains and from accidents while setting off dynamite to blast through mountains

Brigham Young Helps the Union Pacific

Young accepts contract for $2 million do build a roadbed from Echo Canyon through Weber Canyon

They promised to run the tracks through Ogden & Salt Lake City

President Ulysses S. Grant wanted to tracks to follow trails just north of Ogden so it didn’t initially run through SLC

Transcontinental Railroad

The Race Was On!

The tracks from both railroad lines finally met on May 10, 1869 at the top of Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake

The Golden Spike (actually made of gold!) was driven in to complete the merging of the two railroads

Later, both railroads went to Ogden