Ophir Town Hall

The Ophir Town Hall, constructed in the early 1870s, is significant architecturally and historically as one of only three remaining nineteenth century mining town city halls in Utah. Mining proved of signal importance in the transition of Utah’s economy from an agrarian base to one more diversified, attracting numerous non-Mormon entreprenures and laborers. This transition began to occur in the late 1860s when the transcontinental railroad (1869) made commercial mining in Utah a profitable enterprise. Ophir, located some fifty miles southwest of Salt Lake City, numbered among the first mining districts established, and its Town Hall is the oldest remaining of its type in Utah. Other extant city halls from this initial period of mining activity are the Park City City Hall, 1884 (Park City Main Street Historic District, Summit Co. Utah – National Register), and the Eureka City Hall, 1899 (Eureka Historic District, Tintic Mining District, MRA, Juab County, Utah – National Register). The Ophir structure, however, remains architecturally unique as a type because in comparison it is a frame false-fronted building, whereas the other two are more substantial brick structures, reflecting the continued prosperity and growth of Park City and Eureka after the initial boom years of the 1870s and 1880s. The site was documented in 1967 as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Ophir Town Hall is located next to the Ophir Fire Station in Ophir, Utah and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#83003193) on June 9, 1983.

Mining for precious metals began in Utah with the arrival of the U.S. Military in 1862. Under Colonel Patrick E. Connor, known as the “father” of mining in Utah, the California Volunteers, stationed at Ft. Douglas in Salt Lake City, prospected the mountain ranges of the Salt Lake Valley. These men were experienced miners from the California gold fields, and under their guidance mining districts were opened in the Utah Territory in the 1860s. However, the effective commercial mining of minerals waited until 1869 when the Transcontinental Railroad joined at Promontory, Utah to make transportation of ores more economical and profitable.

In June, 1864 soldiers from Ft. Douglas organized the Rush Valley Mining District, some forty miles southwest of Salt Lake City; and in 1870, the Ophir District was separated and organized under its own right.* The Ophir District numbered among the initial incorporated mining areas in the Utah Territory. In fact, East Canyon, or Ophir Canyon, proved to be the first “significant” find of silver-lead ore made by Connor’s soldiers.

During the summer of 1870, A. N. Moore laid-out the townsite of Ophir, which is nestled in a canyon on the western slope of the Oquirrh Mountains southwest of Salt Lake City in Tooele County. Here, mining activity burgeoned, primarily after horn silver was found on Silverado Hill in 1870, and excitement extended until 1874. By April, 1871, the town was referred to as Ophir City, and touted as “flourishing and rapidly increasing.” In May, 1871 “plats, statements and necessary papers” had been filed at the Tooele County Recorder’s office, “so as to comply with the law of Congress of 1864-5, to locate the town for the benefit of lot holders and owners. ” Thus, the Ophir Town Hall was probably constructed sometime between 1870 and 1872; and by City. 1874, the hall was listed in the Sloan, Gazetteer of Utah and Salt Lake City.

The Ophir Town Hall fits into a general pattern of mining town devleopment. By 1870 the area had passed from a mining settlement to a camp, where the population grew and mineral strikes became more significant. As such, the town hall was constructed of wood, and served as offices, a meeting place, fire station, and jail. The false-fronted facade was unadorned, reflecting the utility of construction. A belfry, perched on the ridge of the gable roof near the front of the building, rang with the sound of fire. A lower level was constructed as the jail, with concrete walls and floors adding to security.

Ophir developed, with peak activity in 1872, 1873, and 1874, but then gradually began to decline. The city was moving to the “town” phase of development, but dwindling mining activity cut short its rise to a regional center as had occurred in the towns of Park City and Eureka. Thus, the frame town hall remains a symbol of the transition from settlement to camp, but not to the more substantial town phase.

Despite Ophir’s lack of growth to a district economic center, the town remains. Labeled as a “ghost town,” its various residents today dispute that observation. The Town Hall remains –the only one of its type in Utah– as a most visible symbol of Ophir’s past, and recent restoration activities during the 1970s have illustrated the community’s commitment in keeping its Town Hall the center of activity and pride.

The Ophir Town Hall is a two story rectangular structure 26 feet 5 inches by 24 feet 6 inches, and forms a combination town office, fire station, and jail. The false fronted frame structure is constructed of horizontal clapboard siding, 6 inches wide, with a belfry situated on the gable ridge of the roof near the front of the building. The main level is divided into three rooms which include a meeting hall, fire department, and storage room for fire fighting equipment. The lower level, or basement, is constructed of concrete and formed the foundation and jail, with each of two cells having one window.

The wood shingle roof was covered with galvanized corrugated sheet steel in the 1970s, and the clapboard siding treated with an oil coating. The building remains basically sound, and in much the same appearance as it did originally.