Kennecott National Historic Landmark

Kennecott Mine Town Site

In June of 1998, the National Park Service acquired many of the significant buildings and lands of the historic mining town of Kennecott. Designated as a National Historic Landmark since 1978, Kennecott is considered the best remaining example of early 20th Century copper mining.

	The McCarthy Road Drive the old railroad bed to Kennecott
Guide to Kennecott Historical Guide PDF format	Map of the Historic Mill Town Historical Guide & Map PDF format
The "Kennecott Cable" Summer 2005 Kennecott Newsletter	How To Get To Kennecott/McCarthy Historical Guide & Map PDF format

The Kennecott Story

The historic mining town of Kennecott is an extraordinary piece of history in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The impressive structures that remain at the mill site and mines represent an ambitious time of exploration and discovery in Alaska and a feat of human ingenuity and perseverance in the face of extreme environmental challenge. Kennecott’s high grade copper ore, previously known and used by the region’s Ahtna native population, was among the richest deposits ever found in United States mining history. Looking up at Bonanza Ridge to the northeast of the present townsite, a visitor can note an abrupt change in rock color at approximately 6,000 feet in elevation. This contour line marks the contact between the Chitistone Limestone (light-colored sedimentary rock above) and the Nikolai Greenstone (dark-colored metamorphosed basalt below). It is this limestone-greenstone contact that USGS geologists noted and reported around 1899 as the dominate structure along which copper ore bodies formed.

In the summer of 1900, prospectors Clarence Warner and “Tarantula Jack” Smith were exploring the east edge of the Kennicott Glacier with this valuable information. As the pair drew closer to the limestone-greenstone contact, they could not miss the magnificent green cliffs of copper exposed on the mountainside. Their discovery, staked as the “Bonanza Mine Outcrop”, was sampled revealing up to 70% pure chalcocite copper, a good measure of silver, and a trace of gold. Stephen Birch, an ambitious young mining engineer, eventually purchased this valuable, yet challengingly remote, claim. Securing the financial backing of some of the most influential families of the time, Birch formed the Alaska Syndicate. This group, which included the Morgans and Guggenheims, became the Kennecott Copper Corporation in 1915. Along with building the mine and mill works, this corporation controlled the entire transportation route, funding the 196-mile Copper River and Northwestern Railway from Kennecott to Cordova and organizing a steamship line that shipped the ore to the smelters in Tacoma, Washington. Note: The mining company was named after the Kennicott Glacier. However, it was misspelled as Kennecott, with an “e”, resulting in spelling debates that continue today.

Successfully meeting countless challenges posed by the extreme Alaska setting, this system of mining and transport engineering operated from 1911, when the railroad was completed to Kennecott, to 1938, when the high grade copper veins were depleted. The total value of the copper extracted was approximately $200 million. Capital generated from the operation went on to stimulate mining endeavors in other parts of the United States and South America. Kennecott Copper Corporation remains an important name in the international mining community today.

More than just an industrial relic town, the mill holds stories of human community, past and present. At its peak, the Kennecott operation employed about 600 people: approximately 300 people in the mill camp, where the ore was processed, and 200-300 in the mines up the mountain. Operation and maintenance of the railway required an additional 300 people. During the mining era, Kennecott became a self-contained company town, complete with a hospital, general store, schoolhouse, ball field, skating rink, tennis court, recreation hall and dairy.

Following the boom-bust pattern common to mining economies across the American west, Kennecott became a ghost town soon after the last train pulled out in November of 1938. It was not until the late 60’s and 70’s that the area was rediscovered by surface mining interests and adventuresome Alaskans attracted to the remote and scenic wilderness setting. The creation of the surrounding Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in 1980 helped stimulate the growth in tourism that shapes the town today.

A Few Words of Caution

The historic buildings in Kennecott are in various stages of collapse and disrepair. With the very recent acquisition by the National Park Service, plans for improving safety around the mill site and the removal of remaining contaminants are underway. At this time, the doors of the buildings are locked. There is a local guide company that currently has permission to lead groups through the safer parts of the buildings. Feel free to explore the outside of buildings, but remain aware of the hazards that exist.

Debris is scattered throughout the area. Lookout for sharp or loose objects such as glass, metal scraps or nails underfoot. Avoid the steep slopes where loose debris is present.

Please keep to the gravel paths. Do not attempt to walk on decks or stairs attached to the buildings. Many of the boards are rotten and unsafe.

The Kennecott Copper Corporation conducted hazardous materials clean up of asbestos, oils and other materials between 1990 and 1993. Lead contamination is still present in the paint covering the buildings. Removal of the lead hazards is now underway.

If hiking to one of the mine sites, be aware that these same hazards exist. Often, these buildings are in a much greater state of disrepair and are more prone to collapsing than the mill site buildings. The mines themselves are collapsing and are extremely dangerous. Please keep children under close supervision.

Join a Park Ranger for fun, free, guided activities.

During the summer months, a concessionaire, St. Elias Alpine Guides, conducts daily tours through some of the old mill buildings. (907)-554-4445

	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve 106.8 Richardson Highway, PO Box 439 Copper Center, AK 99573 (907) 822-5234 e-mail us: wrst_interpretation@nps.gov