History of Park City, Utah

Mormons are noted to begin Utah's modern history. George Snyder, his many wives, and children are considered to be the first to settle, which was in 1872. That same year "Parley's Park City" officially became Park City, Utah. By the late 1800s, miners arrived, in search of gold, silver, lead, and zinc, building a large, highly industrialized mining town, with the best technology for the times. Over time, fires destroyed many of the buildings in Park City and tried the town. The community never disappeared though. In the early 1900s, the Park City Ski Club joined high school kids and adults in their common interest, sowing the seeds of what would become Park City's second industry. Originally, and up until the 1950s, the primary attraction was ski jumping, with many, one being Alf Engen, breaking records. As the mining industry waned, skiing grew. What were once mills, town buildings, restaurants, mining train tunnels and shafts, the Aerial Tramway, now became modern houses, businesses, ski lifts, and, interestingly enough, a Subway Skier Lift (where skiers climbed into trolleys, were pulled two and a half miles through tunnels, and rode an elevator, thus giving more access to the mountains. It closed subsequently for its slow speed and scariness). The Park City Mountain Resort opened in 1963. From then on, the resort and skiing industry snowballed into one of the best ski resorts around. As of 2004, the population of Park City, Utah, is estimated to be 7,882.