Abandoned Mine
Robert Lee Hatcher discovered lode gold near the summit of Skyscraper Mountain in September 1906. After the discovery, the area sprang to life with industry and multiple mining interests. In 1938 the Alaska-Pacific Consolidated Mining Company united the Alaska Free Gold Mine on Skyscraper Mountain and Independence Mine on Granite Mountain to become the second most productive hard rock gold mine in Alaska. At its peak in 1941, the company employed 204 workers, blasted almost 12 miles of tunnels and recovered 34,416 ounces of gold, today worth almost $18 million. At the time, 22 families lived in nearby Boomtown, with eight children attending the territorial school. Business was booming, but when the United States entered World War II, gold production was deemed nonessential and the mines fell silent. The wartime ban was lifted in 1946, but gold mining was slow to recover. After the war, gold could be sold only to the U.S. government at a fixed rate of $35 per ounce. Post-war inflation raged, and gold mining became an unprofitable venture. Finally, in January of 1951, after mining nearly 6 million dollars' worth of gold, Independence Mine was closed
Independence Mine State Historical Park was established in 1980 and since then the state has steadily worked to restore the buildings and tunnels. But they have some way to go yet.....
Abandoned Mine
Robert Lee Hatcher discovered lode gold near the summit of Skyscraper Mountain in September 1906. After the discovery, the area sprang to life with industry and multiple mining interests. In 1938 the Alaska-Pacific Consolidated Mining Company united the Alaska Free Gold Mine on Skyscraper Mountain and Independence Mine on Granite Mountain to become the second most productive hard rock gold mine in Alaska. At its peak in 1941, the company employed 204 workers, blasted almost 12 miles of tunnels and recovered 34,416 ounces of gold, today worth almost $18 million. At the time, 22 families lived in nearby Boomtown, with eight children attending the territorial school. Business was booming, but when the United States entered World War II, gold production was deemed nonessential and the mines fell silent. The wartime ban was lifted in 1946, but gold mining was slow to recover. After the war, gold could be sold only to the U.S. government at a fixed rate of $35 per ounce. Post-war inflation raged, and gold mining became an unprofitable venture. Finally, in January of 1951, after mining nearly 6 million dollars' worth of gold, Independence Mine was closed
Independence Mine State Historical Park was established in 1980 and since then the state has steadily worked to restore the buildings and tunnels. But they have some way to go yet.....