Park City Historical Society & Museum, Pop Jencks Collection
Don’t be fooled by the title. This article will not discuss his 1987 classic comedy written and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy. Rather, I will briefly discuss the impact that trains, planes, and automobiles have on Park City’s economic growth.
In 1860, both Democrats and Republicans were adamant about the need to build a transcontinental railroad. However, their respective ideologies regarding slavery ensured an impasse over which of the five potential routes to choose. The impasse was resolved by his attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and the establishment of the Confederacy.
This disaster gave Republicans supermajorities in both houses of Congress. They wasted no time passing a progressive legislative agenda, including the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. This bill established a public-private partnership to build the nation’s (and the world’s) first transcontinental railroad. The route chosen also included the Utah Territory. By 1869, railroads were passing through Echo, just 44 miles from the emerging mining community known as Park City.
By December 1880, the Union Pacific Railroad connected Park City directly to the burgeoning National Railroad network. The Salt Lake and Eastern Railroad opened in April 1889. It was acquired by the Denver, Rio Grande and Western Railroad (DR&G) in 1890. Robust road infrastructure has also evolved. Blessed with vast mineral deposits, access to two Class 1 railroads and industrial roads, Park City has become one of Utah’s premier mining districts. The first economic boom took hold. For more than 100 years, the mine supported the town’s economy. Airplanes and automobiles will become the means of transition to the second stage.
On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers confirmed that manned flight was possible. The technological advances that followed were astonishing. In 1911, he purchased 100 acres of desolate land six miles west of Salt Lake City to build an airport there. It was named Woodward Field. That same year, Salt Lake City hosted the Great International Aviation Carnival, attended by 20,000 people.
The United States Postal Service began air mail service to Sal Lake City in 1920. Two of his early aviation visionaries, Bill Boeing and Donald Douglas Sr., both experienced indirect connections to Park City. These separate events, which took place in March 1929 and November 1941, were characterized by a combination of disaster and divine intervention (October 18, 5-6 p.m., 2079 Sidewinder Drive (See a museum lecture on the events of 1941 given at a museum’s Education and Collections Center).
In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T, a product designed for low-cost mass production. Like trains and airplanes, cars will change the world and Park City.
By the 1930s, the good days were over for mining in Park City. He continued to mine the minerals until 1982, but no trace of his former life remained.
Economic diversification was necessary for the town’s survival. The transition to winter sports-based models began in his 1928 year, but gradually changed over the next 50 years. The automobile allowed skiers to enjoy “day trips” to Treasure Mountain Resort (opened December 1963) and Deer Valley (opened December 1981).
Woodward Field was renamed Salt Lake City Municipal Airport in 1930. In 1968, the Municipal Airport was replaced by the International Airport. The airport itself became an economic engine that benefited the state and Park City.
In 2002, Utah hosted the Winter Olympics. The privilege of doing so was equally dependent on the region’s topography, winter bounty, and transportation infrastructure. Thus Park City’s second economic boom was realized.
Alan Dearden, Steve Leatham and David Nicholas will give museum members a walking tour of the railway infrastructure that once served the town’s mining industry on Saturday, October 14th from 10am to 1pm. will be hosted. Become a member and sign up at parkcityhistory.org.
David Nicholas and Steve Leatham are researchers at the Park City Museum.
