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A picture taken in 1907 of a miner in the mine portal
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In 1890 Frank Baker found a large deposit of rock
Asphalt near Thistle, Utah. He sold the find to a
Salt Lake City Mining company. The mining claims were
surveyed in 1887 and the property was patented in
1892. The mine was opened by the North American Asphaltum Company and the first asphalt was shipped to a Salt Lake City paving contractor in the summer of 1892. Many streets in Salt Lake City and the surrounding area were paved with asphalt from the mine. Production at the mine was ended in 1914 and the rails and equipment were sold for scrap for the war effort of World War I. Additional historical information on the town of Asphaltum and the mine is available at the Utah State Historical Society |
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