The mining industry began in the early 1860s with the arrival of Col. Patrick E. Connor,[7] commander of the Third California Volunteers, who had been sent to the territory[8] in 1862 to keep an eye on the overland mail routes during the Civil War.

Connor wanted to counterbalance his perceived dominance of Mormon leaders in the area by exploring and developing the territory's mineral wealth.

He posited that if precious metals could be discovered in Utah, the resulting flood of miners into the territory would overwhelm the Mormons, and outsiders would balance the Church's power.

So he sent the men under his command out to prospect, and they almost singlehandedly opened the precious metals industry in Utah in 1863 by locating deposits, staking claims, and establishing mining districts.

It was the first town in the Utah Territories to have its streets surveyed and named, and it later gained the distinction of being the first to get electric lights, and the first to get a telephone.

At the end of 2012, the following departments or personnel are also in existence: Stockton made headlines in 2009 after Mayor Dan Rydalch fired one of the town's five police officers for issuing his son a traffic citation.