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UT AH COAL INDUSTR Y: A STUDY IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY by Donald Gail Prince A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Utah in partial ful­ fillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Geography June 1954 Chairman, ACKNOW LEDGMENT S This thesis is the result of a suggestion by Dr. H. Bowman Hawkes of the Department of Geography of the University of Utah.. The writer is grateful to him for his aid in outlining the subject, and for his suggestions as to the methods to be used in the investigation.. Appreciation is also given to Dr .. Donald W" Meinig for his constant aid and encouragement during the preparation of this work, and to "Dr .. Elbert Eo Miller of tl:¥e Department of Geography and Dr. Francis W" Christiansen of the Depart- ment of Geology for their suggestions during the course of this research. Much of the credit for the completion of this work must go to my wife with- out whose aid in typing, patience, and encouragement during the course of my graduate work this study might never have been completed" The material used in this work has been gathered from the published and unpublished reports on many aspects of the Utah coal industry, from material on file in the offices of some of the operating companies, and from interviews with many persons connected with the ITlining of coal. The photo- graphs are all by the author and were taken during the course of the inves- tigation. The writer 1 s sincere appreciation is expressed to all those individuals who so generously gave of their time for the interviews noted in the bibliography and to the University of Utah Research Committee for the fellowship which ITlade this work possible .. DONALD GAIL PRINCE Salt Lake City, Utah May 31, 1954 T ABLE OF CONT.ENTS Flage ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF PLATES v LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER 10 INTRODUCTION 1 110 PHYSICAL SETTING 5 Geology 5 Types of Coal 1 8 Physiography 22 1110 DEVELOPMENT OF THE UTAH COAL INDUSTRY 30 lP1ioneer Period 30 Utah Fuel Company Period 34 ExpansiGn Period 37 Depression - World War IT Period 41 IV 01 OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION 47 Types of Mines 47 The Mining Cycle 49 Coal Preparation 59 The Seasonal Cycle 66 Ownership and Management 72 Utah and Western Production 75 V 0, MARKETING 82 Marketing Channels 82 Transportation 83 Mar ket Ar e as 89 Competition for Markets 95 VI. THE MINER AND THE UNION 107 VII. COAL MINING SETTLEMENTS 121 Kenilworth 127 Dragerton 129 price and Helper 131 Population 132 iii VIIL SUMMAR Y AND CONCLUSIONS 136 BIB LIOGRAPHY 144 APPENDIX 152 IV LIST OF PLATES Plate Page L. Coal Fields of Utah 6 Location of Coal Mines in Utah 7 III .. Generalized Sections of the Rocks of the Wasatch 10 Plateau and Book Cliffs Coal Fields, Utah Landforms of East-Central Utah 15 Vii. Historical Development of Railroad Transportation 36 into the Utah Coal Fields VI .. Cutaway "Drawing of a Typical Bituminous Coal 50 Mine Flow Chart of the Combined Preparation Plant of 60 the Castlegate Mine, Independent Coal and Coke Company Transportation Map of the Eastern Utah Coal 84 Fields IX .. Distribution of Utah Coal, 1952 93 X .. Settlements of the Easte rn Utah Coal Fields 122 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Geologic Formations of the Wasatch Plateau and 9 Book Cliffs Coal Fields, Utah: 2. Adit (Rock Tunnel) Through a Fault Block to Recover 12 Coal on the Opposite Side 3. Inclined Shaft (Rock Slope Tunnel) to Recover Coal 12 in a Fault Block 4. Average Thickness of Overburden Over Bituminous 14 Coal Mines by States 5. Escarpment of the Book Cliffs at Castlegate 23 6. Escarpment of the Book Cliffs North of Helper 23 7. Escarpment of the Book Cliffs at Horse Canyon 25 8. Escarpment of the Book Cliffs North of Kenilworth 25 9. Simple Loading and Screening Chutes at a Small 28 Truck Mine Northwest of Helper 10 .. Canyon of the Price River as it Cuts Through the 28 Book Cliffs 11. Utah Coal Production 1870-1952 42 12. Average Number of Employees in the Utah Bituminous 43 Coal Industry 1905- 1952 130 Percentage of Utah Coal Mined by Various Methods 54 1915-1952 14. Loading of Coal in Utah, 1925-1952 56 15. Tipple at Terminus of the Main Conveyor at the 58 Horse Canyon Mine 16. Conveyor at the Hor s e Canyon Mine 58 vi Tipple and Coal Preparation Plant at the Kenilworth 65 Mine of the Independent Coal and Coke Company Loading Railroad Car s at the Coal Preparation Plant 65 at the Castlegate Mine of the Independent Coal and Coke Company 19. Average Monthly Coal Production in Utah, 1939-1952 67 Average Number of Days Coal Mines Worked in Utah 69 1915-1952 Production and Capacity,of Utah Coal Mines, 1914-1952 71 22. Percentage of Coal Production by Class of Mines, 1920-1952 74 23. Percentage of Mines by Class, 1920-1952 74 Utah Coal Production by C ountie s, 1925 - 1952 77 25. Coal Production in Utah Compared with other Western Coal 79 Producing States, 1914-1952 26. Average Production Per Man/Day in Utah, Western States 80 and the United States, 1915-1952 27. Disposition of Coal Produced in Utah, 1930-1952 84 28. Coal Train on the Mainline of the Denver and Rio Grande 85 Western Railroad in Spanish Fork Canyon 29. Coal Truck on US Highway 50-6 in Price River Canyon 85 30. Coal Loaded for Shipment on Railroads, 1924-1952 88 31. Typical Frame Horne s at Columbia 128 32. Frame Mine Houses at Kenilworth 128 33. Typical Street in Dragerton 130 34. Dragerton Shopping Center 130 vii L'1ST OF TABLES Table Page Clas sification of Coal by Rank 19 2. Analysis of Coal from Selected Fields and Areas 21 3. Mechanical Coal Cleaning in Utah, 1939-52 62 4. Distribution of Coal by Sizes Sold by Utah Operators, 64 1946-52 5. Cost of Coal at Mines and Freight Rates to Selected 90 Utah C i ti e s, 1 954 Freight Rates for Coal from Utah and Southern Wyoming 91 Coal Fields to Selected Cities, 1954 7. Commercial Coal Shipped from Utah Mines, 1941-52 94 8. Coal Irnports into Western United States, 1949-52 98 9. Equivalent Prices of Comrnercial Standard Grades of 100 Fuel Oil per Ton of Utah Coal Cornparative Cost for Dornestic Heating only: Utah 101 Stoker Coal and Natural Gas, Salt Lake City and Irnrnediate Vicinity 11. Electric Utility Generation by Type of Fuel and Power 103, 104 12. Bituminous Coal Sold to Railroads in Utah, 1941-52 105 13. Average Daily Rate of Pay in the Bituminous Coal 113 Industry Average Annual Wages for Selected Utah Industries, 1952 114 15. Average Weekly Earnings and Hours Worked in the 115 Bituminous Coal Industry, 1942-52 Average Monthly Wages in the Utah Bituminous Coal 116 Industry, 1937-52 ' viii Average Annual Earnings in the Utah Bitum.inous 117 Coal Industry, 1937-53 Num.ber of Days Worked by Mines and Num.ber of 118 Em.ployees, 1952 19. Quarterly and Yearly Payrolls in the Utah Bitum.inous 133 Coal Industry, 1937 -1953 Birthplace of Foreign Born Persons in Carbon, Utah, 135 Cache and Weber Counties, Utah IX CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The importance of coal in the modern industrial econoITlY cannot be overestimated. This age has been variously characterized as an flAge of Coal and Iron, tI "Steel Age, " "Machine Age," and "Power Age. " By what- ever characterization we attempt to de scribe our modern industrial world, the significance of fuel and power are inherent in all of them. Today, bitu- minous coal ranks first in its contribution to fuel needs of the world, followed by petroleum, natural gas, and anthracite coal. 1 Eighteen per cent of the area of the State of Utah is underlain by coal beds of varying thickness and quality (Plate I). The total reserves of all ranks of coal in the State are tremendous even when conservative cal- culations are made 0 As of January, 1950, the United State s Geological Survey estimated that there were 92.5 billion tons of coal underground in Utah. Much of this is in thin seams and a considerable portion is wasted in the mining process, but even a 25 per cent recovery would insure an enormous future supply. Improved mining methods, with a greater percent- age of recovery are constantly 'being developed and this will continually add to the recoverable reserves. To the economy of Utah bituminous coal has always been of consider- able importance. In the early days of settlement a great deal of effort was lUtah State Dept. of Publicity and Industrial Development, After Victory­ P'lans for Utah and the Wasatch' Front, Salt Lake City: Utah State Depart­ ment of Publicity and Industrial Development, June, 1943, po 47. 1 expended in attempts to discover and develop coal in the territory. Later when the nonferrous metal industry began to expand coal was their main source of fuel and some of the smelting interests even acquired coal mines to insure a supply of fuel for their operations. When the production of iron began in Utah in 1925 and with the opening of the Geneva Steel Plant in 1943, coal took on added importance as the base of a new industrial era in the State and in the Inte rmountain West 0 It is important not only for the indus­ trial expansion it may make pos sible in the future but also for the employ­ ment it creates both directly and indirectly.

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