Century Film Project

This short clip from an “actuality” or documentary film shows a mining town in a valley so deep that the growing population can only expand in a single dimension. An intertitle tells us that the town is “six miles long and sixty feet wide.” It also appears to be broken down into ethnic enclaves: we are told that we are seeing an “Italian settlement” and a “Greek settlement.” Both consist of the fronts of ramshackle huts apparently without running water or other amenities; in the Italian quarter there are laundry lines run along front porches. The bustling “main street” (though it’s hard to see how there could be more than one street) is a mass of signs for various service business, stores and especially bars. Apparently this community was completely destroyed in years to come by the Kennecott open-pit copper mine.

Director: J. Searle Dawley

Run Time: 1 Min

I have not been able to locate this clip for free online. If you know where it can be seen, please tell us in the comments.