Taylor Mountain and the Dyer Mine Smelter
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I've always been intrigued by the history of the Dyer Mine located north
of Vernal some 20+ miles.
So when a friend invited me to visit this area with him I jumped at the chance.
(September 2-3, 2010)
He also elaborated by showing me pictures of the Spanish history of this area.
This gave our adventure a double punch and the opportunity to investigate
the history from two eras.
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After setting up camp at Iron Springs we visited the manmade reservoir at
Oaks Park.
Then we traveled in four wheel drive around the hill and up Anderson Creek
Canyon
to the smelter site where the copper ore from the Dyer Mine had been processed.
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As you can see from this picture the road has been purposely built up in
spots to assist in keeping it passable during the heyday of the Dyer Mine.
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Near the smelter we found corrals, cabins, and even a more "modern" building.
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There were two notes on the wall inside. One note was on the remains of a
table now nailed to the wall
encouraging visitors to close the door upon leaving which would help with
the rodent problem.
(Rodents had nearly completely eaten the table.)
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This smelter site is at:
40° 44.498' N. 109° 35.856' W. elevation 9107 feet.
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This appears to be the remains of the smelter oven.
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Above is what the liquid slag looks like and below
are samples of the ore they were smelting.
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What a great experience this was to touch our rich past.