When the road from Yellowpine to Edwardsburg was completed in 1933, it was a boon to the miners and ranchers along Big Creek. Big Creek is an area where there are literally dozens of mines dating from 1885 when gold was first discovered. Among the better known are the Cleveland Mine, the Red Metals Mine, the Wilson Mine, the Werdendorff Mine, and at the head of Smith Creek are the Independence Mine, the Ramey Ridge, the Golden Hand, the Copper Camp and the Snowshoe Mine, all in various stages of their former selves. The road in from Yellowpine is good as far down Big Creek as the mouth of Smith Creek. Beyond there the road is rough and narrow and not a place to be if trouble should occur.

Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.