Many Oregon and California-bound emigrants passing through the Soda Springs area in the mid-1800s wrote in diaries and journals about ten- to twelve-foot-high white mounds and cones, and Pyramid Spring was often one of the first natural curiosities they encountered. In 1937, several local businessmen tried to find and divert hot water from Pyramid Spring to create a commercial bathhouse and health resort. On November 28, at a depth of 315 feet, the drilling rig struck a gas chamber, and after drilling stopped for the day, hot water began gushing upward more than forty feet. The next day, after the 3500-pound bit was removed, the ground shook as if it were about to split open and a roaring gusher more than 70 feet high streamed upward from the valve. After several days, the hissing hot water cooled and became laden with mineral content, making it undesirable for bathhouse use, and two weeks later the riggers finally capped the gusher. The tourists the businessmen expected never came, but the geyser drew attention, and within weeks the Secretary of the Interior sent a telegram to Soda Springs asking the city to turn it off because it was throwing the world-famous Old Faithful Geyser off schedule. Today, Soda Springs' Captive Geyser erupts every hour on the hour throughout the year by a timer on its valve.