The Neversweat Prospect is located on the right bank of Eldorado Creek, a tributary of Moose Creek. The site is a landscape of the Kantishna Historic Mining District. The district is within the boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve, near Wonder Lake.
NPS
NPS
The Neversweat Prospect is a 4.3 acre historic site that contains a small collection of historic buildings and structures, small scale features, and landscape features associated with lode mining. The extant features consist of one building (a cabin) and 15 structures (three collapsed adits, one partially collapsed adit, one partially collapsed outhouse, a historic road, a historic trail, six rock retaining walls). The site is historically significant for its association with the Kantishna Historic Mining District for the period of 1930 to 1969.
Only a few of the site features maintain individual integrity. However, collectively all the features contribute to the historic character of the site and represent a complete and well-preserved example of a small-scale lode mining site from the period of significance.
The period of significance extends beyond the 50 year mark to 1969, the year the property was acquired by Jim Fuksa. It is representative of one of the few active lode mine operations in the Kantishna district whose operation spanned both the pre-WWII era and the post-WWII era. For many years, it was the only operational lode mine within the entire district. While very little, if any, ore was sent for processing from this prospect, it is nevertheless an important site from an era of district development with few representative examples.
NPS
The site is associated with broad trends of local history in that it is representative of a later era of mining in the Kantishna Mining District, just before World War II to around the 1970s. During that period, park development was underway and boundary expansions were being contemplated, yet active mining was still taking place within the district.
Although the era is sometimes referred to as a ‘golden age’ of mining in the Kantishna District by historians, there are few representative examples remaining from it. With its extant historic buildings and structures, a historic trail and road segment, and other features from the period of significance, the Neversweat Prospect is an excellent example of a small scale lode mining site from this era. While a few other sites of this type exist, such as the Alpha Ridge site and the Slate Creek site, the Neversweat Prospect is exceptional in its level of preservation and completeness.
Quick Facts
- Cultural Landscape Type: Historic Site
- National Register Significance Level: Local
- National Register Significance Criteria: A
- Period of Significance: 1930-1969
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Last updated: January 22, 2020