Editing Sunnyside, Utah (section)

==History==
The area known as Sunnyside was founded in 1879, when George and James Whitmore arrived at the base of the [[Book Cliffs]] and established the Whitmore Cattle Ranch. In 1883, the [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] (D&RGW) extended its line from the railhead at [[Deseret, Utah|Deseret]] to Price. Along this {{convert|60|mi|adj=on}} stretch two additional railheads were added, one at [[Woodside, Utah|Woodside]], and another {{convert|20|mi}} north at Sunnyside, named for its location on the sunny side of the Book Cliffs.

For over a century, Sunnyside was the leader in coal production in Carbon County. The history of [[coal mining]] in Sunnyside began shortly after Jefferson Tidwell and his three sons discovered coal in Whitmore Canyon in 1896. By 1898, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company had acquired the rights to the coal from Tidwell. On July 4 of that year, the Sunnyside railhead was abandoned by the D&RGW, and the coal camp located in Whitmore Canyon was named Sunnyside. By 1901, the D&RGW and its subsidiary, Utah Fuel Coal Company, acquired the operation.

Sunnyside was officially [[incorporated town|incorporated]] as a town in 1916, with a mayor and four trustees.

[[File:Some of the houses on this government housing project. Many miners from nearby coal mines live here. Sunnyside... - NARA - 540537.jpg|thumb|right|July 1946 photographs of government-built homes in Sunnyside]]
For fifty years, Utah Fuel operated the coal mines in Sunnyside, selling its interest to [[Kaiser Steel]] Corporation in 1949. The financial investments of these companies turned Tidwell's mining operation into a major coal industry, inextricably tied to Sunnyside.

Until 1994, the Sunnyside's mayor was not an elected official. Instead, the office was held by the Superintendent of Mines for Utah Fuel, then later by Kaiser Steel Corporation when it took over in 1950.