The area surrounding Bingham Canyon was first settled in 1848 by Mormon pioneers Thomas and Sanford Bingham, who were sent by Brigham Young to graze livestock in the canyon. Though the brothers discovered mineral deposits, mining did not begin until the 1860s when soldiers stationed at Fort Douglas in nearby Salt Lake City, found gold and silver. Large-scale copper mining began in the early 1900s, when Daniel C. Jackling and Robert C. Gemmell introduced open-pit mining methods to extract the low-grade copper ore economically. The workforce at the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine was incredibly diverse and shaped by waves of immigration and industrial labor trends of the time. Many workers and visitors used the picture postcards of the area to write to friends and family, documenting their work and travel experiences.

Harold Stanley "Stan" Sanders (1927-2008) was a collector and enthusiast best known for his extensive, diverse, and personal collections, rooted deeply in Utah history and memorabilia. After collecting for decades, Stan assembled research materials and aftifacts to represent some of the most extensive collections available relating to Utah's dairies, breweries, saloons, drug stores, and the history of sports in Utah.