Lark, Utah

Lark was a town located convert|4|mi west of Herriman in the Oquirrh Mountains of southwest Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Lark was the location of several copper mines.

History

The discovery of gold in Bingham Canyon in 1863 brought a rush of prospectors, two of whom were named "Dalton" and "Lark". Settlements with these names grew up around the two mining claims, but Dalton was later merged into Lark.cite book | last = Carr | first = Stephen L. | title = The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns | edition = 3rd edition | origyear = 1972 | origmonth = June | year = 1986 | publisher = Western Epics | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | pages = p.159 | isbn = 0-914740-30-X ] The town of Lark was officially established on January 3 1866.cite book | last = Van Cott | first = John W. | title = Utah Place Names | year = 1990 | publisher = University of Utah Press | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | pages = p.222 | isbn = 0-87480-345-4 ]

The town had enough Latter-day Saint residents by 1918 to be made a ward, but by 1923 the ward was made a branch. It had 234 members in 1930. [Jenson, Andrew. "Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1941) p.414.]

By 1929 Lark was a company town of the United States Smelting and Refining Company, who expanded the town through the 1940s and 1950s. At its peak the population exceeded 800. Then the nearby non-copper mines began to close, and the town went into decline. The last silver, zinc, and lead mine closed about 1971. In 1972 Kennecott Copper bought the land, and in 1977 they announced foreclosure. The company wanted the land to dump large quantities of overburden from nearby Bingham Canyon Mine. The population was still 591, and Kennecott helped move people and some homes, even preparing a subdivision in nearby Copperton. By 1978 Lark was dismantled. Only the post office was left standing, used as an office as the overburden material piled up around it.

References