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The Magna Ethnic and Mining Museum showcases artifacts collected from the heyday of the mining industry and serves to preserve the rich history of those who fashioned this economy through mining. It is a place where tourists can visit and sneak a glimpse into our amazing history. Additionally, the Museum provides an environment to enhance learning about our culture, customs, and histories that grew from the diverse ethnic groups who built this area.
The Museum is housed in the restored J.C. Penney Building on historic Main Street of Magna, Utah. The external restoration of the building is completed and efforts are now directed at restoring the building interior. Any assistance of volunteers, construction supplies and donations are welcome.
Although the building is not completed, the Museum has initiated this website to provide access to its electronic collections as they become available, including photos, documents and family history information.
30% of the Museum's floor space was open to visitors in 2010. The museum is open Tuesday - Friday, 11am-3pm (Wednesday until 5 pm) in the late spring, summer and early fall, and by appointment.
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Street Address
9056 West Magna Main Street (2700 South) Magna, UT 84044 Phone: 801-810-4070 |
Documenting the historic ethnic diversity of the people who immigrated to the Western U.S. during the early 1900's is a major component of the Museum. Many initially worked in the mines and on the railroads of the Western U.S. before they or their posterity spread throughout America.
For example, US Census reports 3 Greeks in Utah in 1900. The number jumped to 3,500 in 1910 as labor brokers arranged for men to join the Italians, Irish, Japanese and other ethnic groups already working in the mines near Salt Lake City and Price, Utah. Subscribers can currently view information on 6,000+ Greek descendants by visiting the "Greeks in the West" tree on Ancestry.com. Free access to just the lineage data is available on Community Trees, but without the photos and other attachments. The Museum is working to provide free access to all of the content including similar information about other ethnic groups in the future.
Assistance in identifying other descendants of ethnic groups from the mining communities is welcome. Currently we are working on Greeks from Bingham Canyon, Carbon County and Magna, Utah.
More... robert_a_curtis@hotmail.com .
