A HISTORY OF THE GILSONITE INDUSTRY by NEWELL C. REMINGTON m A HISTORY OF THE GILSONITE INDUSTRY by Newell C. Remington This paper was submitted by the author in unpublished form in April, 1959, to the Department of History, University of Utah, in partial fulfillment of the re­ quirements for a Master of Science Degree. Typed by Pauline Love and Lithographed by Robert L. Jensen Salt Lake City, Utah Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. Copyright Newell C. Remington 1959 Manufactured in the United States of America Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. DEDICATION --To the Indomitable miners who, with crude imple­ ments and disregard for hazards and physical discomfort, helped to develop a prosperous, modern gilsonite industry. Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. PREFACE In 1957 the American Gilsonite Company opened a revolu­ tionary refinery near Grand Junction, Colorado, which had cost them $16,000,000 to build, and began reducing the gilsonite--a solid hydrocarbon--to high-grade gasoline and pure carbon-coke at the rate of about 700 tons per day. Just as incredible is the fact that gilsonite was and is conveyed from Bonanza, Utah, across the precipitous Book Cliffs to the refinery through a pipeline. The opening of this magnificent plant was eighty-eight years removed from the year 1869 when the blacksmith of the Whiterocks Indian Agency attempted to b u m gilsonite as coal in his forge with rather dreadful results. During the interval so many human events occurred in relation to gilsonite--a rare bitumen closely related to grahamite and glance pitch--that it was felt to be an adequate and deserving topic for thorough historical treatment. Gilsonite mining has been one of the major industries in the Uinta Basin. Gilsonite has received the attention of geologists, chemists, and mining engineers; but until Herbert F. Kretchman's book, The Story of Gilsonite, was published by the American Gilsonite Company in 1957, it was never given much historical consideration. Theses and papers on gilsonite which listed sections on the "history" of the industry devoted a very few pages or paragraphs to the entire, complex story; and these summary statements were not always carefully researched. Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. iv Mr. Kretchman's book, while it gives a very detailed account of the American Gilsonite Company*s spectacular operations since 1946, presents only a sketchy background to these m o d e m operations. In this paper the reverse will be attempted: a very detailed, historical account of the industry up to 1946 with only a brief narrative of the most recent events. Chapters I and VIII of this paper do not deal directly with the history of the gilsonite industry, but they are impor­ tant if not essential to that story. Chapter I tells of events in the Uinta Basin prior to the effective discovery of gilsonite; and Chapter VIII presents the origin, characteristics, and uses of gilsonite. Motivation necessary for researching the topic of gilso­ nite and writing this paper was provided by personal experiences and acquaintances in the Uinta Basin. As a child this writer lived seven years at Rector, a gilsonite mining camp south of the White River, while his father was foreman of the Rector Mine. Many relatives and friends worked "at the mines.'1 While the sustaining interest in the preparation of this paper may have come in part from nostalgia, the task never could have been accomplished without the encouragement and generous aid of many people. Especially deserving of thanks is the writer1s father, Fuller Remington, who seldom failed to turn up an essential bit of information or to provide a hopeful word when despair threatened the project. Also, thanks should Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. V certainly go to Professor C. Gregory Crampton for his patience, understanding, and helpful suggestions. Three men who on several occasions gave many hours of their time, unselfishly reciting information were William N. Cook and Arthur L. Crawford of Salt Lake City and Hyrum Rasmus­ sen of Vernal. Some of the others who generously gave needed information of gilsonite or the gilsonite industry were: Charles Hoel, William A. Banks, and Charles J. Neal of Vernal; and Albert Rasmussen, William F. Beer Jr., Ernest F. Goodner, Robert Pinder, Mary Jane Due, Kennett A. Culmer, and Lewis C. Karrick of Salt Lake City. Public service never was given more efficiently and willingly than by Allen S. Crow of the Utah Mineral Survey Of­ fice (U.S. Government), Horace H. Higgs of the Utah State Tax Assessor1s Office, and Lola Anderson and Eva Hatch of the Uintah County Recorder's Office. Many librarians conscientiously as­ sisted, but four must be mentioned for conspicuous effort to aid in this research: Helena B. Stites of the Utah Historical So­ ciety, Frederick L. Glover of the University of Utah Law Library, Ruth Yeaman in charge of the University of Utahfs Public Docu­ ments, and especially Vincent Frederick of the University of Utah Engineering Library. There is no doubt that the most important source of facts in piecing together the gilsonite story was The Vernal Express; and to its editor, William B. Wallace, goes special thanks for allowing research in his files at all hours of the night before Digital Image © 2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. vi the paper was microfilmed by the University of Utah. Equally generous with his personal and most complete mineral claim files was Paul Stanley of the Stanley Title Company in Heber City. Since the residents of the eastern Uinta Basin rejected the Federal Government's suggested spelling of "Uinta11 and in­ sisted that their county's name be spelled "Uintah,11 an unusual confusion of spelling has developed. In this paper, the basin, river, mountains, and geological formations--geographical and geological terms--will be spelled "Uinta11; and the county, Indian reservation, and Indian tribe--political and ethnic terms-- will be spelled "Uintah," unless quoted from some source using a different spelling. Digital Im age©2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION: THE UINTA BASIN PRIOR TO THE DISCOVERY OF GILSONITE ....................... I Escalante and Spanish Traders .............. 1 Missouri and Kentucky Men ................... 4 Indians Annihilate Trading Posts ............ 9 Geographical Isolation, Indians, and Attempted Settlement................................. 10 Uintah Indian Reservation ................... 15 Settlement of Ashley Valley ................ 19 Indian Troubles ............................. 22 Roads and Communications..................... 27 II. DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF GILSONITE AND THE ST. LOUIS M I N E ................................... 29 D i s c o v e r y ................................... 29 Sam Gilson and N a m i n g ....................... 35 Bert Seaboldt, The Gilsonite Manufacturing Company, and The Carbon V e i n .............. 40 Gilson Asphaltum Company and The St. Louis M i n e ....................................... 48 The S t r i p ................................... 52 Ore Production and C. 0. B a x t e r ............ 54 Explosions................................... 57 III. OTHER MINING OPERATIONS ON THE PERIPHERY OF Digital Image© 2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved viii CHAPTER PAGE THE UNCOMPAHGRE INDIAN RESERVATION .......... 65 Black Diamond Vein and M i n e ................ 65 Culmer-Seaboldt Vein S y s t e m ................ 72 Culmer Vein and Pariette M i n e .............. 76 Dalton A r e a ................................. 87 Seaboldt Vein and Castle Peak M i n e .......... 88 Duchesne Vein and The Raven Mining Company . 92 Miscellaneous Operations on the Duchesne V e i n ....................................... 102 IV. OPENING OF THE UNCOMPAHGRE INDIAN RESERVATION AND THE WHITE RIVER GILSONITE V E I N S ............ 104 Discovery of Veins and Early Locators .... 104 Prospective Opening of the Reservation .... 105 Indian Unrest and Protests ................... 112 The Act of 1903 ............................. 118 Arguments as to Rightful Ownership.......... 119 Struggle for C o n t r o l ......................... 123 Execution of the Act of 1903 ................ 126 V. OPERATIONS OF THE GILSON ASPHALTUM COMPANY SOUTH OF THE WHITE R I V E R ..................... 129 Gilson Asphaltum Company ..................... 129 Black Dragon V e i n ........................... 132 Black Dragon M i n e ........................... 138 Country Boy, Temple, and Thimble Rock Mines . 148 Dragon, U t a h ................................. 151 Digital Image© 2006, Newell C. Remington. All rights reserved ix CHAPTER PAGE Rainbow and W a t s o n ........................... 176 VI. BONANZA AND MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS ON THE UNCOMPAHGRE ................................. 183 Bonanza and Eureka M i n e s ..................... 183 American Asphalt Association................ 201 Utah Gilsonite C o m p a n y ....................... 212 Gordon S. Z i e g l e r ........................... 215 Miscellaneous Operations ..................... 220 VII. TRANSPORTATION: THE KEY TO A PROSPEROUS GILSONITE INDUSTRY ........................... 222 Needs and Optimism........................... 222 Wagons and Wagon R o a d s ....................... 227 The Uintah Railway ........................... 235 The Uintah Toll Road C o m p a n y ................ 261 Mack-Vernal v. Price-Myton..................