Scott Hill (Priesthood Camp Mines)

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Location data

QUICK LOCATION PATH: Utah / Salt Lake County / Addams or Hot Springs District / City Creek Canyon / North Fork / Dry Gulch & Wet Gulch also Upper North Fork & Cottonwood Gulchs near ridgeline between them.

Approximate GPS Location:

40.49.682 N - 111.48.089 W (General area) (topo)

Approximate Elevation:

6560' to 8800'' (Variouus locations) (topo)

30 x 60 Minute Map:

Salt lake City, Utah

7.5 Minute Map:

Fort Douglas, Utah

Brief history

The Priesthood Camp Mines is the historic name of a loose collection of several of claims and workings in upper City Creek Canyon. They date from the earliest days of prospecting in Utah and include areas near present day Rotary Park, to the north in North Fork, the smaller draw and the larger draw in what was then referred to as "Dry Gulch" and the "Wet Gulch" respectively.

In addition to the North Fork sites, Priesthood Camp mines included workings in upper Cottonwood Gulch, extending along the ridge-line of present day Burro Peak, but then known as Scott's Hill (probably named for the General Scott mine). Other descriptions of Priesthood Camp mines included workings at the head of City Creek Canyon near City Creek Meadows, and even crossing over the divide into upper Hardscrabble Canyon in Morgan County.

The Priesthood Camp name was first used in the late 1860's when the Adams mining district was organized, and carried through to the 1870's when the Hot Springs District was organized and expanded the boundaries of the old Adams.

Mines and claims of the Priesthood Camp included the Idaho, New Jersey, Richmond, Nixon, Princeton, Julia, El Dorado, North Star, Victorine, John Henry, General Scott, Summit, Red Bird, Great Eastern, Snow Drift, Cerro Gordo, George Q. Cannon, San Domingo, Georgia, and Chipmonk among many others.

Priesthood Camp was not the only "camp" in City Creek. The canyon was also home to at least two would-be "towns". The optimistically titled "Modoc City" and colorfully named "Hangtown".

Modoc City was the larger of these two camps and was located in present day Rotary Park near where North Fork and the main canyon meet. No trace of the old "city" remains. The smaller camp, Hangtown, was farther up the canyon near where Cottonwood Gulch and the main canyon converge. As with Modoc City, no trace of Hangtown remains.

Getting there

There are two primary locations for the Priesthood Camp mines, each separated by distance and elevation, yet both locations are accessed from the same trailhead in Rotary Park. The trail begins near the restrooms and the "Story of Rotary Park" signs near the main entrance. It is more commonly known as the Rudy's Flat Trail, although, to reach the lower group in Dry Gulch you will turn off the mail trail well before Rudy's Flat, and for the upper group, you will continue to hike well beyond Rudy's Flat. Both of these hikes are all day events.

Caution! These hikes are not for the casual day hiker. Route-finding and bush-whacking are necessary to access either group. In places, the trails are steep, overgrown, or both. The upper trail follows the ridge line and steep drops are present on either side. The lower trail is almost all bush-whacking as the old trail is completely overgrown.

What remains

Nothing except the heavily overgrown dumps and prospect pits scattered along the upper gulch on both sides. A few bits of glass and rusted metal are all that remains of the lower Priesthood Camp Mines.

A number of named workings were present in the Scott Hill (Priesthood Camp) area. While the numbers were many, the stories and records are few. I will share as much as I can find.

What names I can find are listed below. Those with some information are colored blue and are links to their individual pages. Those with no additional information are listed in white.

BADGER MINE

BAKER LEDGE MINE

BOARD OF TRADE MINE

CERRO GORDO

CHIPMONK MINE

CITY CREEK LODE

GREAT EASTERN