Tag: ruins

Mother Lode Mine

On a past visit to the area I had tried to find this mill building, I missed it by mere yards, a few trees away. This time I was going to succeed.

Mother Lode Mine mill building
Mother Lode Mine mill building

The Mother Lode Mine is a mercury mine in the Ochoco Mountians of central Oregon. Here cinnabar ore was crushed and roasted to release quicksilver that would have been used in the region’s gold mines.

First claimed as a gold mine in 1899, mercury was discovered in 1900, mining continued off and on under various mining companies until 1968. Total production was likely around 352 flasks, or about 2,900 pounds of mercury.

Continue reading “Mother Lode Mine”

Remnants of War

Yakutat, like several other towns and cities along the Alaskan Coast was fortified during World War II to prevent occupation by the Japanese. Many remains of this military station are still there to be found by those willing to poke about a bit.

A six inch gun emplacement
A six inch gun emplacement from World War II at Cannon Beach, Yakutat

Some of the remnants are well known about town. The long ocean beach in front of the town is called Cannon Beach for an obvious reason, two six inch gun emplacements are still present in the trees behind the beach, guns included.

The barrels have been torched off to deactivate these military weapons, but they are still there. There were additional gun emplacements on the point protecting the settlement and harbor, but these guns were removed with only the emplacements remaining.

Continue reading “Remnants of War”