Boarding Houses in Upper Bingham

Boarding Houses in Upper Bingham

By John Creedon

Rex Hotel or "Big Ship"

Here is paragraph from John Creedon's article about Boarding Houses. The paragraph before it has a short sentence about Telegraph.

           

US Hotel in Copperfield

            In the Copperfield area we find the Utah Copper Club House and the Rex Hotel, or “The Big Ship”, as it was commonly known. I believe this big hotel was built by the Utah Copper Company and at the time I came to Bingham in 1911, it was managed by Theo Schweitzer. Earl Nepple was the last proprietor of the “Big Ship”, before it was razed. 

The Byrnes and Wilson families ran boarding houses in Copperfield. Mrs. Fox had her inn at the upper end of Copperfield. Fox’s switch on Kennecott Copper Corporation tracks was named after this family. The McDonalds had a boarding house in Copperfield.

There was a large boarding house at Telegraph, but cannot recall the name of the owner.

US Hotel in Telegraph

            At the upper U.S. Mine in South Galena, the U.S. Mine operated a large Inn, taking care of the miners at the Old Jordan Mine. Later this inn was moved to Copperfield and operated under several managers, among them were Ollinger and Wetzel, Bill McIvor and Bud Starley. There was a large camp in the Copperfield area, called Jap Camp and in the center was the main boarding house where the Japanese track workers had their meals. This camp was built by the Utah Copper Co. and was operated by one of the Japanese. Mrs. Joe Miya was the last operator at Jap Camp.

FOX HOTEL, SCHOOL, STORES, GREEK CAMP

            A short distance from Jap Camp, was Greek Camp, following the pattern of the former, it served the large Greek population and was usually managed by one of the Greek natives.

I, Eugene Halverson went to school here in Copperfield in 195/6.  It was still called “Upper Bingham” by the old-timers until the Mine separated us from Bingham and a tunnel was built.  Everyone knew of “Foxes Switch” 

Fox Hotel now a rag-tag garage,
all brick houses now

and about Mrs. Foxes Hotel, but it was gone before my time.  This year someone ” it on Face Book, and “Lo and Behold”, there was the Hotel.  Another picture showed the top part and the back as that rag-tag old garage.  It also showed a couple of stores below the school and part of “Old Greek Camp”.

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 [EH1]