Name: A Brief History of Park City Mills by Donovan Symonds and Sandra Morrison
Start: 2026-11-18
End: 2026-11-18

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Salt Lake is the place where the Wasatch mountain peaks frame city streets. Sure, Salt Lake's famed for our winter powder ([four legendary ski resorts](https://www.visitsaltlake.com/things-to-do/skiing-snowboarding/) just 30 minutes from downtown), but that's just one season's story. Summer brings families [hiking through wildflower meadows](https://www.visitsaltlake.com/things-to-do/outdoor-recreation/) before cooling off at a Jazz game or the Gateway fountains. Autumn paints our mountain canyons in gold, perfect for morning strolls that end at local coffee shops. Spring? That's when you might spot baby bison on Antelope Island before heading to the Eccles Theater for a Broadway show. Our soaring Wasatch Mountains rise dramatically from downtown Salt Lake, creating a place where every day offers both natural wonders and urban energy. And while we sit perfectly between the [national parks](https://www.visitsaltlake.com/things-to-do/outdoor-recreation/state-national-parks/) with Yellowstone's geysers and Utah's red rock country, the real magic happens right here, where everyone can [discover the history](https://www.visitsaltlake.com/plan-your-visit/about-salt-lake/) of the city as they find their own rhythm between mountain adventure and city life.

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Park City Museum and Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History will host a lecture called A Brief History of Park City Mills given by Donovan Symonds and Sandra Morrison on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 from 5-6 p.m. held at the Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. More information can be found at www.parkcityhistory.org.The story of Park City's silver mines is also the story of its mills. As miners followed rich ore deeper underground, they encountered new geological challenges that required increasingly sophisticated methods of recovering silver. This presentation provides a brief history of Park City's principal mills before focusing on the Silver King Mill, one of the district's most significant ore-processing plants.Using historical photographs, maps, diagrams, and the remains of the mill itself, we explore how changing ore types transformed milling technology—from early roasting, gravity concentration and mercury amalgamation to the adoption of froth flotation. The Silver King Mill serves as a window into the ingenuity of the engineers and miners who helped make Park City one of America's great silver-producing districts, and whose legacy can still be seen in the landscape today.Donovan is a retired mining consultant. He received his mining education in England at the Universities of Newcastle and Nottingham. He worked in the mining industries in Canada and the US and consulted on mining projects in over twenty countries. He moved to Park City in 1977. Donovan is a Park City Museum docent and helped start the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History Lecture Series.When Sandra Morrison arrived in Park City in November 1983, it was snowing. The snow continued to fall for 40 days straight, which she assumed was normal for a ski resort town. Sandra purchased a Park City Ski Area season pass and thus began a life-long passion for skiing. However, Sandra didn’t just plummet into the deep powder, she also stumbled across Park City's rich past at the historic Silver King mine. Fast-forward to 2023: Sandra spent two years crawling through, documenting, and photographing every remaining surface structure and feature of the legendary mine, crafting the nomination that secured its spot on the National Register of Historic Places. This presentation shares her results—minus the intervening 40-years of skiing.This calendar listing is brought to you by NowPlayingUtah.com, Utah's one-stop, online website for arts and entertainment events, powered by the Utah Cultural Alliance.

A Brief History of Park City Mills by Donovan Symonds and Sandra Morrison

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