George Hearst-The Man That Earth Talks To

Park City Museum and Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History will host a lecture called George Hearst-The Man That Earth Talks To, given by Sandy Brumley and Mark Danninger on Wednesday, December 9, 2026, from 5-6 p.m., held at the Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. More information is available at www.parkcityhistory.org.

George Hearst had humble beginnings on his family’s farm in rural Missouri. Growing up in the first lead-zinc mining district in the United States, he took an interest in geology and mining at an early age. Hearst became a self-taught, gifted expert at sniffing out quartz ore deposits, earning him nicknames like “Quartz George” from his peers in the Gold Country of California and, as legend has it, “The Man That Earth Talks To” from the Sioux tribe in the Dakota Territory. Ultimately, Hearst’s mining success involved some luck, but he made his own luck and became one of the wealthiest and most influential men of the Gilded Age in the United States. Please join Sandy Brumley and Mark Danninger as they highlight the remarkable story of George Hearst and his legacy.

A mountain host and hiking guide at Park City Mountain Resort, Sandy Brumley is a descendant of iron miners in Minnesota and an avid student of Park City History. This will be the sixth in a series of presentations he has made for the Museum. He is a hike leader for the Museum and a member of Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History.

Mark is an engineer with over 30 years’ experience in mining and chemical processing in the areas of maintenance, welding, project management, safety and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Mining Engineering and Welding Engineering, as well as a Master’s Degree in Physical Metallurgy, all from Montana Tech., in Butte, Montana. He is a long-term resident of Park City.