Samuel Newhouse (October 18, 1853 – September 22, 1930) was an American entrepreneur and mining magnate.

Life and career

Newhouse was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to European Jewish immigrant parents, and later studied and practiced law in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in 1879. In

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

, he became involved in the freighting business. In 1883, he married Ida Stingly, whose mother ran a local boarding house. She was 16 at the time. While they ran a hotel in Leadville, Samuel acquired mining properties in

Ouray, Colorado Ouray ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 898 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The ...

. He later sold these for several million dollars and moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, where he became a speculator and promoter, with extensive contacts back East and in Europe. In 1896, he moved to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, where partnering with Thomas Weir, he became instrumental in securing English investment in the fledgling

copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...

operation in Bingham canyon, which later became the great Bingham Canyon Mine. He also developed

silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...

in the San Francisco Mountains near

Beaver, Utah Beaver is a city in, and county seat of, Beaver County in southwestern Utah, United States. The population was 3,592 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 3,112. History Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, ...

, investing approximately $2 million to build a mine, mill and develop the town of Newhouse, named after himself. He was instrumental in driving the Newhouse Tunnel (now called the

Argo Tunnel The Argo Tunnel is a mine drainage and access tunnel with its portal at Idaho Springs, Colorado, USA. It was originally called the Newhouse Tunnel after its primary investor, Salt Lake City mining magnate Samuel Newhouse, and appears by that n ...

), a major mine

drainage tunnel A drainage tunnel, called an emissary in ancient contexts, is a tunnel or channel created to drain water, often from a stagnant or variable-depth body of water. It typically leads to a lower stream or river, or to a location where a pumping stati ...

Idaho Springs, Colorado The City of Idaho Springs is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a par ...

. He maintained residences on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and a chateau in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He preferred living in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, where he developed a large tract of downtown, trying to shift the center of town four blocks south from

Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediate ...

. He built the city's first skyscrapers, the Boston and Newhouse buildings, both 11 stories tall. At one time he owned the lot where the future

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a 22-story, steel-framed triangular building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick P. Dinke ...

in New York City would be located. However, "his financial empire crashed in 1916".

References

1853 births 1930 deaths 19th-century American Jews American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Salt Lake City Jews from Utah American mining businesspeople People from Beaver County, Utah {{Utah-bio-stub