Gold
Hill and Goodwin townsites lie at the northeastern end of the Deep Creek
mountains. It has been the scene of several mining booms and busts since
the 1870's, when a lead-silver smelter was built at Clifton mining district
near Gold Hill. The first large scale boom occurred in the early 1890's,
when several hundred thousand dollars in gold was shipped out by Colonel
James F. Woodman. Up to 1,500 people resided in Gold Hill from 1917
to 1925. The Deep Creek Railroad hauled out hundreds of tons of tungsten
during those years. The Gold Hill Standard carried local news and advertisements
for such establishments as the Hillcrest Hotel, Goodwin Mercantile,
the Gold Hill Pharmacy and pool hall, Bertelson's grocery & clothing
store, the Liberty Garage, the Home Restaurant and Bakery, plus two
lumber yards. There was also a post office, a doctor, a dentist, an
elementary school, and even a house of ill-repute.
Gold
Hill was revived during World War II because the U.S. Government needed
arsenic. Almost 100,000 tons of arsenic were mined from 1943 to 1945.
Since then, Gold Hill has been a ghost town with only a handful of residents
residing there.
See:
Ronald R. Bateman, Deep Creek Reflections. Salt Lake City: Publisher's
Press, 1984.
Ronald
R. Bateman