The Silver King Coalition Mine Historic District, Park City, Summit County, Utah is a representative large-scale industrial mining complex significant under Criteria A, C and D. Under Criterion A, the district is significant in the area of Industry representing a large-scale silver and lead mining and milling complex, historically one of the most productive in Park City and in Utah in general. The company’s cost-effective operations resulted in phenomenal profits which allowed ambitious acquisition of adjacent mining operations. Reinvestment in state-of-the-art equipment expanded production and created a massive industrial complex that is still mostly intact, though abandoned decades ago. The historic district is further significant under Criterion C in the area of Engineering as an excellent representative example of large-scale silver mine engineering, technology and surface plant construction. The historic district possesses a collection of intact buildings, structures, equipment and mining and milling features indicative of the adaptation of mining to Park City’s mountains. These distinctive characteristics of a “bonanza” mine and mill operation are little altered and the processing pattern of ore production is clearly evident. The mining and milling technology and engineering installed at the complex from the 1920s through the 1930s, much still extant, were state-of-the-art for the time. Finally, the district is also significant under Criterion D in the area of Archeology for its historic archaeological deposits that have the potential to yield important information. In the area of Industry, deposits could clarify the relationship between the mining and milling processes and, in the area of Social History, inform on the economic status, health, and even dietary preferences of workers at the Silver King. The Period of Significance includes all the years the surface plant operated from the sinking of the Silver King shaft in 1891 to 1953, when Park City’s mining companies merged and the Silver King ceased surface operations. The Silver King Coalition Mine Historic District is nominated under the “Discovery & Mining Boom Era 1868-1893,” “Mature Mining Era 1894-1930” and “Mining Decline 1931-1982” contexts as described in the Historic Mining Resources of Park City, Utah Multiple Property Submission. It meets the registration requirements for the “Mine Historic District” property type. Although impacted by neglect and long-term abandonment, the Silver King is evocative of the highly successful “bonanza” mine of Park City and retains its integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, and association to its period of significance 1891-1953.
