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