Alunite, Utah: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
→History: The only *developed* source of potash |
|||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
==History== |
==History== |
||
vote obama |
|||
In 1912 a [[prospecting|prospector]] named Thomas Gillan discovered a wide [[vein (geology)|vein]] of [[spar (mineralogy)|spar]] in Cottonwood Canyon. The sample he sent for analysis was identified as [[alunite]], an [[ore]] rich in both [[aluminum]] and [[potash]]. Gillan made a deal with the Mineral Products Corporation to develop the deposit, mine the alunite, and extract potash for [[fertilizer]].<ref name="piute">{{cite book | last = Newell | first = Linda King | title = A History of Piute County | series = Utah Centennial County History Series | year = 1999 | month = January | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-913738-39-5 | pages = pp.220–227 }}</ref> By 1915 the company had constructed a [[smelting|reduction]] plant in the mouth of the canyon to produce potash from the ore. The small [[company town]] that grew up around the plant was named ''Alunite''.<ref name="guide">{{cite book | last = Carr | first = Stephen L. | title = The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns | edition = 3rd edition | origyear = 1972 | origmonth = June | year = 1986 | publisher = Western Epics | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-914740-30-X | pages = p.116 }}</ref> Because the town was so close to Marysvale, it never had its own church or business district,<ref name="piute" /> but it did have a school, [[company store]], and [[post office]].<ref name="guide" /> |
|||
When the United States entered World War I, the Alunite mines gained strategic importance as the only domestic source of potash, needed for manufacturing explosives, that was already under development. The government also saw potential in alunite's aluminum content, and installed a 24-hour work force experimenting with processes to extract [[alumina]] from alunite.<ref name="piute" /> This increase in employees raised the town's population over 100.<ref name="guide" /> The war also brought rumors of foreign [[espionage|spies]] and [[saboteur]]s. Suspicious fires were blamed on enemy agents, and there were reports of people caught trying to bomb the potash plants or gather sensitive information.<ref name="piute" /> |
|||
Most of the alunite mining activity ended after the war. The alumina extraction experiments had been successful, but the processes developed were prohibitively expensive. Demand for potash continued to drop, until by 1930 it was also too costly to produce. The mines closed, the mill was torn down, and Alunite became a ghost town. A second small attempt was made to extract aluminum during [[World War II]], but none of the town was ever rebuilt.<ref name="guide" /> Alunite lies in ruins today; numerous foundations and walls are still visible. |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 16:23, 24 September 2008
38°22′50″N 112°14′50″W / 38.38056°N 112.24722°W Alunite (Template:Pron-en) is a ghost town located some 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Marysvale, near the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon in Piute County, Utah, United States. A small but important mining town during World War I, Alunite was inhabited about 1915–1930.
History
vote obama
References
External links
- Alunite at GhostTowns.com
Municipalities and communities of Piute County, Utah, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||