The Panic of 1893 was the largest U.S. economic downturn until the Great Depression. Part one covered how the panic’s origins were related to silver. But what were its impacts on Utah and Park City? That’s the topic of part two. In general, Utah businesses reduced output or ceased altogether . Jobs were scaled back or disappeared. Of roughly 3,500 businesses in the territory, 152 closed in the first nine months of 1893, at almost twice the pace of the prior year. Railroad building diminished, and according to The Park Record, railroad traffic throughout the West fell off “at a frightful rate, with Utah being no exception to the rule.” In November 1893, the Utah Central Railroad, with service between Salt Lake City and Park City, fell into default. The Rio Grande Western Railway bought it. Throughout the West, finance was walloped when depositors sought their funds in runs on banks. Of 17 national banks in the Utah territory, three suspended operations for a time, and the rest were stressed. The panic impelled Heber J. Grant, businessman and a Latter-day Saint leader, to travel to the East to meet financiers and secure backstop funding for Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust and the State Bank of Utah. Grant’s efforts were successful, for without this funding, the financial damage of the panic would have escalated. In July, the cash-starved Provo Woolen Mills Co. put a proposition to employees: Accept wages in the form of produce, cloth or merchandise, or the mill would shut down. A fortuitous August order for $5,000 in California militia uniforms kept the mill operating on a limited basis. In 1892, silver prices had plummeted and Utah mining was curtailed. In 1893, Salt Lake, Tooele, and Juab County mines and mills closed down. The manager of the Bullion-Beck Mine stated, “For several months, we have been running the mine without making a dollar, and rather than exhaust our resources without profit we decided to shut down, but offered our miners the alternative of continuing work at reduced wages.” Besides its moves in finance, the Church of Latter-day Saints played a large role in responding to the panic. Despite a precipitous drop in tithing revenue, it supported its members in the form of direct aid and employment bureau services. To boost the number of jobs, the church also invested in sugar and salt refining, rail, and hydroelectric power businesses. Remarkably, on a temporary basis at odds with its usual policies, the church discouraged emigration to Utah to reduce competition for scarce jobs. In light of laissez-faire non-action by the territorial and federal government, these moves were welcomed and beneficial. In Park City, March 1893 saw the Glencoe Mine sell off several claims to satisfy outstanding debts, including wages owed. In early April, the Ontario Mine had a layoff, ostensibly due to roads being snowed in and the mill having more than a month’s surplus of ore to process. A few weeks later, the Ontario mill furloughed workers under the pretense of repairs and maintenance. The Park Record spun it positively, stating, “All the boys, instead of being employed as common laborers as in the past, will be given a layoff, that they may secure much needed rest …” In June, the Park City Bank shut its doors, unable to process payments. When it did reopen, there was “a quiet but steady run” on the bank, which subsequently failed. Backed by John Daly and Simon Bamberger, the First National Bank survived — though its deposits dropped from $336,000 at the end of 1892 to $194,000 in 1894. In July 1893: “Due to the great tumble in the price of silver,” the Daly West, Crescent, Silver King, and Anchor mines closed temporarily. The Anchor remained shut as late as November. Workers at the Ontario, Daly and other mines agreed to wage reductions. To make budget, the county reduced the wages of the sheriff, prosecuting attorney, clerk and probate judges. Professor E.J. Dailey closed his dancing hall. The Park Record, again with charitable spin, speculated that “the pace got too swift and he couldn’t keep up with the procession.” In September, workers at the Wasatch Mine claimed they had not been paid for two months. The panic induced individual tragedies as well. In 1894, Park City mine developer George Meears shot himself when unable to meet financial obligations. Throughout the panic and despite being hard pressed for advertising, The Park Record vowed not to miss an issue. It remained solidly in the pro-silver camp. Deploying some free verse, it proclaimed: [The paper] will keep on doing its shareto educate the unbelieversin Silver as money. The panic’s impact extended for several years before the economy righted itself, nationally and in Utah and Park City. Michael O’Malley is a museum volunteer researcher and author of “Attitude at Altitude: The People’s Guide to Park City and Summit County.” The post Way We Were: The Panic of 1893 impacts territory and town appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less