EXPLORING OPHIR, UTAH
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Grandma Doris Bracken Sagers with siblings growing up in Ophir.
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I spent today visiting Ophir, Utah at the Aaron Watson Bracken reunion. It was interesting to reconnect with a lot of relatives that I don’t see very often, and meet some that I didn’t know. Interesting that a lot of them have ended up in Texas. I think there were probably as many people there from Texas as there were from Utah. I really appreciated seeing some of these old photos from the albums of my Aunt Jessie Johnson and cousin Carol Cluff.
History buff John Skinner shared with us a lot of stories from Ophir’s boom town days, when the mines there were producing thousands of dollars’ worth of silver. And yes, our ancestors were part of that era.
When I was a kid, I remembered hearing that Ophir was a “ghost town,” and that sounded pretty scary to me! I don’t remember ever going there, although I probably did as a kid.
Awhile back, the city (permanent population:16) erected a site with the old historic buildings, school house, Post Office, etc., to show what life what like back then. I loved seeing John’s collection of old bottles that he’s found over the years. Some are whiskey or beer bottles; others once held tonics and “home remedies.” An interesting day!
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| Uncle Orson Johnson and LaVerle Bracken on the tour. |
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| My dad, Jay Sagers, probably in the 1930s. |
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| Not sure if any of our ancestors used this drunk tank! |
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| Part of the historic site. |
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| Some of the buildings were original; I think the double outhouse is a replica! |
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| Cousins taking the tour. |
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| Beautiful mountains that were once full of silver…and maybe still are. |
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| Photo of my Grandma Doris Bracken Sagers. |
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| John Skinner’s old bottle collection. |
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| How would it be cooking on that wood-burning stove? |
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| Ophir’s town hall. |