Glen & Kris

Kennecott Mill

This is Liberty Creek just off the Edgerton Highway about 95 miles from the Kennecott Mill. The falls on Liberty Creek are a short distance back from the road. There's a campground and picnic area adjacent to the creek. A close-up of the falls. One more shot of the falls on Liberty Creek. I was playing with shutter speed to blur the moving water. We're on the road to McCarthy now. This is the Kuskulana Bridge spanning 525 feet across and 238 feet above the Kuskulana River. It was orginally built in 1910 for the railroad: now it serves vehicles with a new deck and railing. This is an abandoned railroad trestle across the Gilahina River. There's a footpath up to the old Gilahina Trestle. This is Kennicott Glacier seen a few miles out of Kennicott. The mounds of dirt in the foreground aren't from mining. They are glacial moraines ... dirt and rock left behind as the glacier retreated in the past. Here's another view of the vast glacial moraines in front of the Kennicott Glacier. We've arrived in the town of Kenn<strong>i</strong>cott to see the Kenn<strong>e</strong>cott Mill. The mill operator misspelled the town's name when they named their facility, but it stuck. Kennecott still operates mines today. Another view of the concentration mill. Copper ore was brought by tram from the mountains above to be concentrated here. This is inside the mill. Remarkably, most of the machinery is still in place. The mill operated from 1907 to 1938. Beginning in 1911, concentrated ore was taken by railroad to Cordova, then shipped by steamboat to the Lower 48 for further processing. Here are the stacks visible inside the mill in the previous picture. A machine shop and food store are in the foreground. The buildings of Kennecott are being stabilized and restored by the National Park Service. Here is the old Post Office. This is the Assay Office next to National Creek. It was severely damaged by recent floods. Here is a view from upstream of the Assay Office — the office is on the right just before the modern-day bridge. That bridge was recently rebuilt after being destroyed in a flood. <span class='myGreyFont'>[End of series. <a href='../index.html'>Return</a> to the Photos page.]</span>