Park City Historical Society & Museum, Emmett Wright Collection
You no doubt have stopped between the front of the Park City Museum and Dolly’s Bookstore to admire the statue of Emmett Wright, with his mismatched skis one 2 feet shorter than the other. It was just another day at the office 100 years ago when “Bud” Wright fell and broke one of his handmade skis and had to ski home with the odd pair.
Wright was an early Parkite, born in 1887, just three years after the new mining town incorporated. He was in just the third graduating class of Park City High School, after which he studied for a career in the new field of electrical engineering. After completing correspondence classes, he worked for various Park City mines. Meanwhile, Park City was just the third Utah town to install telephones. The Utah Independent Telephone Company had a phone line between the mining towns of Alta, Brighton and Park City, and Wright was hired on to maintain the lines year-round.
True West Magazine
The fabulous Silver King Mine was first discovered in 1873, at a time when conflicts with the Apache Indians were frequent and few people dared prospecting or settling the area. General George Stoneman, setup a camp near the site of frequent Apache raids and ordered the construction of a road into the Pinal Mountains.
The road became known as the Stoneman Grade. Sullivan, one of the soldiers working on the road made the discovery of a rich lode of silver. He brought specimens into camp but would not reveal the site of his discovery. Soon after the road was finished, he went to work on a nearby ranch. Eventually Sullivan disappeared and folks figured the Apache had killed him.
Arizona history -March 2128
Sunday, March 21
On this date in 1882, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and party left the town of Tombstone, never to return.
On this date in 1890, General George Crook died.
On this date in 1895, Navajo County was created out of Apache County.
On this date in 1901, the Arizona Rangers were established by order of Governor Nathan O. Murphy.
Monday, March 22
On this date in 1875, the Silver King Mine was discovered in the Pinal Mountains. The first ore taken from the mine was assessed at $4,300 per ton.
On this date in 1906, a meeting of the Board of School Trustees addressed the “unbecoming conduct” of six teachers in the Tucson Public Schools. The teachers had gone on a Sunday picnic to Sabino Canyon at which they “drank beer and wine and smoked cigarettes.”
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True West Magazine
The Dutchman Tom Kollenborn Chronicles
Over the years, beginning with Pierpont Bicknell in 1892 and others, including Sims Ely, Barney Bernard, Oren Arnold, Barry Storm, Ray & Lizzie Howland and Curt Gentry have written about the fabled Lost Dutchman and each has expanded on the story. In reality, there was no substantiated evidence of a massacre grounds and there was no massacre of a Peralta family. About the only thing we know for certain is there was a Jacob Waltz, but he was a German, not a Dutchman. Strangely, he never filed any claims in Pinal, Maricopa or Gila Counties.