Continuing our drive down the opposite side of the mountain that we came up, we drove through the small town of Tooele. Heading south on the main road, we were on our way to our second stop on the tour. "Jacob City" is an old mining ghost town. Once populated by over 300 people before the turn of the century, most of the history has disolved into the mountain. The last building to stand, the two story boarding house/hotel was still standing until the mid 90's. Weather and time took it's course, and most of what is left is foundations. There are a small pieces of history still intact though, and probalby only because this is one ghost town, that isn't on the maps, and is by far, no tourist attraction.
Getting to Jacob city is best done in the summer months when the snow is gone from the mountains. I won't give away directions on how to get there, because it is currently private property, and would hate to see so much traffic that the current property owner gates it all off, and none of us can enjoy the history of the place.
Following a narrow dirt road that trails up and around the side of the mountain has some very tight switchbacks, and steep sections. It's only when you get quite close to Jacob City that the road goes from bad to worse. You go from what was a one lane dirt road, to what looks like a trail for 4-wheelers to travel on. Barley wide enough for a VW bus to travel down. With a cliff on one side, it is difficult to enjoy the sights until you have stopped moving. Once you are to the edge of Jacob City, the road splits, a high side, and a low side. We first ventured down the high side. |
