For sure, there are actually remnants of 15 kilns. The entire reason the Forest Lake (Reservoir) trail is in existence was to source timber for the kilns which was then turned into charcoal and used in the smelting process at the nearby Sultana Smelter.
Here is an excerpt on Forest City from an interview I did several years ago:
"Forest City
Forest City was the natural convergence of the various mining areas. With mines gaining in activity canyon wide, a supply center was a must and Forest City was born. The town site was situated near the mouth of Mary Ellen Gulch along the North Fork of the American Fork River. In 1871 the Miller Mining Company built the Sultana Smelter at Forest City, greatly increasing the need for manpower and supplies at the growing city. With the smelter came the need for charcoal and thus the Miller company built several dozen charcoal kilns, 15 at the Forest City site and the remaining kilns at Deer Creek City (now the site of Tibble Fork Reservoir). These mining companies had originally planned to bring the railroad up to Forest City, the canyons steep topography and tough winters made construction difficult and the railroad never made it past Deer Creek City. Rather than transport travelers by rail, the city was served by a stage which ran from the rail terminus at Deer Creek to Forest City. Ore from the nearby mines was transported by wagons in the summer months and skids over the snow in the winter months. In later years a tram was added from the Mary Ellen Mine to a load out tipple at Deer Creek.
As the mines ramped up, so did the activity and population of Forest City. Sawmills, saloons, a billiard hall, hotels, butchers shop, boarding houses, private residences, mine offices, smelter, a school building and even a bowling alley soon adorned the hillside. The Miller's smelter run ran until approximately 1875, the high elevation and long winters proved too difficult for the smelting process and the equipment was transported out of the canyon for use in another smelter. Forest City saw activity starting in 1871 and ending in the late 1890's however the majority of the town left when the mines saw a slow period in the 1880 time frame. At its peak the town had a population of 300-500, its fair to say that number may have included miners who frequented the towns hotels and saloons between shifts in the mine. All that remains of Forest City presently are the slag piles left over from the smelting process of the Sultana Smelter, foundations from the smelters kilns, some building foundations hidden in the trees and the nearby Forest City Cemetery aka Graveyard Flats."
Copyright - Kurt Williams 2010
