Geneva/Horse Canyon Mine Monument

World War II reached deep into these canyons for a strategic reason: they were safe. Fearing a Japanese strike on the West Coast, the federal government chose to build critical war industry inland, out of reach — and Utah's Book Cliffs held exactly the metallurgical coal that steelmaking demanded. So in 1942 the government's Defense Plant Corporation opened the Geneva coal mine here and raised the great Geneva Steel Mill in Orem to turn out plate and shapes for the war. When peace came, U.S. Steel bought the works, and the mill anchored the valley's economy for decades.

What the plaque says

In the early years of World War II, the United States Government determined that it was necessary to locate strategic defense industries in locations that would not be subject to immediate attack in the event the Japanese invaded the West Coast of the United States. The Utah coal reserves in the Book Cliffs were the logical source of metallurgical grade coal for the steel making process and Orem, Utah was the location selected for a large steel making facility to support the war effort. The Geneva Steel Mill was built in Orem and the Geneva Coal Mine was developed in the Book Cliffs coal fields in 1942. The construction and operation of the steel mill and coal mine were overseen by the Defense Plant Corporation from 1942 to 1945. At the end of the war, United States Steel Corporation purchased the Geneva Steel Mill and the Geneva Coal Mine, operating these facilities until the 1980's. In 1982, the Geneva Coal Mine was closed and subsequently sold to the Kaiser Coal Company. Kaiser Coal Company never opened or operated the Geneva Coal Mine. During the 40 years of operation, the Geneva Coal Mine produced over 30 million tons of coal, almost exclusively for use at the Geneva Steel Mill. During the war years, the mine operated at peak production levels approaching one million tons per year, employing nearly 800 people. Over the years, a number of mine employees etched their place in history by welding their names on large steel plates covering sumps and pits in the mine's maintenance buildings. These steel plates have been preserved as a tribute to all the employees of the U.S.Steel Corporation's Geneva Coal Mine. In 1990, the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) acquired the Geneva Coal Mine and South Lease Coal Reserves from the Kaiser Coal Company. In 1990-91, IPA reclaimed major portions of the surface mining facilities. This monument was dedicated by IPA in 1992 as a tribute to those men named here, and to the Utah Coal Industry.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Prehistoric Museum at USU Eastern — 6.3 mi
  A small-town museum punching way above its weight in dinosaur science
• Price — 6.3 mi
  A gritty coal mining town with a surprisingly excellent dinosaur museum

More markers nearby

• Francis M. Ewell — 0.8 mi
• Castle Gate Mine Disaster — 3.5 mi
• Utah's Coal Industry — 3.5 mi
• Pleasant Valley Coal Company — 3.5 mi