What do the movie Citizen Kane and Park City have in common?
Park City shares part of its origin story with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst – whom many people also believe the movie Citizen Kane is based on. Hearst’s father George Hearst was in Park City in 1872, when he met four men working a mining claim, and bought it for $27,000.
The elder Hearst’s Ontario Mine, located where Deer Valley Resort is now, became one of the most productive mines in Park City, generating approximately $50 million over the next 110 years. The Ontario Mine operated 3,000 feet below ground, with six shafts and hundreds of drifts.
Perhaps Park City’s most famous mine, it was also the last silver mine to operate, closing its doors in 1982.
This Park City History Bit is brought to you by the Park City Museum, where you can explore Park City history every day on Main Street, and sponsored by Julie Hopkins of Keller Williams Real Estate.