Donald DymerIt was about a week ago that we took a two plus hour drive down a rough gravel road to visit the Kennecott Copper Mill at Kennicott. No its not a typo, the place is spelt with an “i” and the mill company used an”e”. The drive was through river valleys and by lakes and took us deep into the Wrangell St Elias State Park, the largest of all state parks in the U.S. It was an early morning ride so the light for photography was at its best, and I have included a couple of shots of reflections on lakes. For the photographers looking all were hand held as there was no time to set up tripods.
The copper mill was opened in 1906 when two prospectors found a seam of copper that was likely the richest seam ever found in the continental U.S. They sold their rights for $1,000,000, in todays values about $20,000,000. In order to get the ore out to the closest sea access the company built a railway, including over 100 trestles to carry it through this amazing geography. The mine was closed in 1938 when the workers were told the last train would be leaving tomorrow.
The company tried to sell the mill, but when all that failed they paid a local guy to destroy the buildings. It appears he stripped a lot of removable/transportable items of value, demolished two buildings, got bored and quit. That is why today so much is still in place, and is preserved and being made safe by the Park Service. It is truly a fascinating place to visit where the tour takes two and a half hours, and includes the fourteen story main mill building.
