Kennecott Mine

History

 In 1901 newly graduated mining engineer student Stephen Birch traveled to Alaska through some of the harshest wilderness there was in search of mining opportunities. He has heard rumors that rich copper ore had been found in the Wrangell Mountains. Once he arrived armed with financial backing from the Guggenheim family and J.P. Morgan, Stephen Birch  bought the mine claims from the original prospectors and work began to determine how to mine the copper and then transport it out of the remote Alaskan Mountains.

Abandoned Railway

A town and railroad had to be built in one of the most secluded areas one could find. This is a place where in the winter the sun only shines a few hours and temperatures can easily reach 60 below 0. Equipment had to be brought in on dog sleds and in 1907; construction on the Copper River & Northwestern Railways began.  The 196-mile railroad stretched from Cordova to Kennecott and included over 40 miles of bridges and trestles; it cost 25 million dollars to build. Construction of the railroad took 4 years and  over 1000 workers who had to work in dangerous conditions that included mountain drop offs, glaciers, snow, and avalanches, many workers lost their lives during constructions. The railroad called CR&NW for short was often referred to as “ Can’t Run & Never Will”.

The railroad was completed in 1911 and the first shipment of ore was sent out, over the next 27 years until the last train pulled out in 1938 the mine had gross revenues of over 200 million and net profits of over 100 million dollars.

During its heyday Kennecott had about 500 residents, the town had bunkhouses for the miners, a hospital that boasted the first x ray machine in the state with people coming in on the train from all over to have their x-rays done. There was a recreation hall, a dentist, a school and some shops as well. Towering over it all along the hillside sits the Mill. Today most of these building remain and visitors are able to walk inside getting a taste of how life might have been.
The mine closed only two days a year, Christmas Day and the 4th of July. The rest of the year miners worked 8 hour shifts with the mine running 24 hours a day.

The Mill

Main Street

 

On November 10, 1938 the last train left Kennecott, the few people left in town had only a few hours to pack their belongings and make the train or be left to find their own way out.  The town was left a ghost town with only three watchmen remaining until the mid-1950’s. The town then sat empty with just a handful of people who lived in nearby McCarthy or on private property in the area to keep an eye on it until the 1980’s when it became a tourist destination.

 

Today if you want to visit Kennecott, you must either fly on a small plane to McCarthy or drive McCarthy road, which follows the right of way of the original Copper River and Northwestern Railways. Even by Alaskan standards this road is rough with potholes, sharp rocks and warning of old railroad spikes that can easily take out a tire or two.

 

Along the way you can see the remains of trestles that were built and you will drive across the one way Kuskulana Bridge, a steel truss bridge that was built for the railroad in 1910.

Kuskulana Bridge

 

When you reach the end of the road, literally you must park and walk across a footbridge where you can catch a shuttle into either McCarthy or Kennecott.

Foot Bridge

 

Ghost Stories

On top of the mill

Inside the mill

The area is full of reports of unexplained events; many people have claimed to have seen tombstones alongside McCarthy road that disappeared when they came back. In the 1990,’s a housing project was started along the road and had to be shut down for a period of time due to workers refusing to come to back to the site after reporting they heard voices of people who were not there, tools going missing, and having the feeling that they were being watched.  In the wooded areas along the tracks,  there have been reports of full bodied apparitions.

 

While operating the mines and town would have seen many deaths to include two Swedish miners who suffocated to death inside one of the mines in 1912, an Italian miner who was buried in a rock slide and many others who fell to their deaths inside mine shafts, were hit and killed by falling debris or who fell from or were decapitated riding the tram to and from the mines.

Hospital and Dining Hall

Men came from all around the world searching for opportunity and higher wages, some left quickly finding that the harsh weather conditions and difficult work where not worth the “ higher” wage, others left when the copper ran dry and the mine closed, but some might still be there today, watching over the town and observing those of us who come for a visit.