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Loading...Occasionally the month of March brings an early taste of spring to Utah — a change of season welcome in any era. This was certainly the case in Deep Creek and Gold Hill, two Tooele County communities that reported unseasonably warm temperatures in 1910.
“The valley is all astir with spring work,” a Deep Creek correspondent wrote to the Tooele Transcript in 1910. “March in this valley has been a beautiful month.”
The promise of warmer weather brought a flurry of activity to the remote communities, the correspondent reported. Shepherds who had brought their flocks to the area to graze over the winter were departing for their annual migration into Idaho. But the Deep Creek area didn’t see a net loss of population that spring — as the snow and ice vanished, crews of inspectors interested in the mining operations at Gold Hill returned to the area to continue prospecting, staking out their claims and beginning construction on what would become a thriving boom town for a short time before the mines went bust.
Other residents planned shorter excursions, choosing to visit friends and relatives in neighboring communities while the weather remained favorable for traveling. One family, the Snivelys, departed Deep Creek for Salt Lake City so one of their daughters could have an operation she needed, but they returned with good news, and two of their older daughters came with them to help care for their sister.
March was also an important time for those looking to exchange livestock and other farming-related equipment. The correspondent noted that Owen Sheridan had just bought new mules, a harness and a wagon, all for about $350. The ads surrounding his letter on the page advertised other potential transactions, including an inordinately large ad that promoted several parcels of land that were for sale for $60 an acre.
“Every farm is the foundation of a future family fortune,” the advertiser claimed. “There is no asset better than an irrigated farm. It is insurance against want, the forerunner of luxury and a larger life. Own a farm and nobody can ever own you.”
