BAKER MINE
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BAKER MINE |
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NAME: Baker Mine COUNTY: Box Elder ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Cold and snowy winter and Hot and dry summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: April-August |
COMMENTS:
There are no residents. The hotel has been blown down. The mine entrance is still standing, the cable tower is still in one piece. REMAINS: The mine entrance is still there. The hotel foundation and logs are still there. The cold room is still visible in the rock under a pine (eastside of the hotel). |
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Baker mine was an iron ore mine and at the bottom of the mountain you can find the smelter. They used a cable system to haul out the ore. There is no road. The only way in is by foot. The area is surrounded by cliffs. The hike in is a killer, its steep and rugged country. Submitted by: Ladd Darley UPDATE: The mine is early 1900 vintage. Baker mine was not an Iron ore mine, it never entered true production but was a copper/gold/silver prospect with several prospecting adits and a total of several hundred yards of tunnels and shafts. There was with little to no valuable production. The mine dumps adjacent to the portals show very little mineralization. Ore was transported from the mine located at 6,700' near the top of the Wellsville Mountain range to a small mill at the base of the mountain by small buckets that were part of a gravity powered aerial tram. Miners often avoided the extremely arduous hike up to the mine by riding in the empty tram buckets. The cables and buckets can be seen by hikers making their way up to the mine. Over time the original buildings at the site are now all mostly completely collapsed by snow. These include a two story boarding house, blacksmith shop, and mine office. Miners stayed at a two story boarding house (not hotel) located near the top of the mountain next to the mine. The boarding house was still standing although in disrepair until an avalanche in 1980 demolished it. Only logs, lumber and primitive foundation are found at the site today. I will look for an unpublished 1930's vintage photo of the boarding house that I used to have and send it to you. Here are references to some original photos on the www: http://library.usu.edu/specol/photoarchive/p0313/p03130301.html http://library.usu.edu/specol/photoarchive/p0313/p03130300.html http://library.usu.edu/specol/photoarchive/p0313/p03130302.html In the mine tunnels, ore cars were moved on rails by horse and human means. This underground mine is currently in a state of severe disrepair and poses a large safety hazard. Portals and tunnels intersect dangerous vertical shafts in several places. The air may be oxygen depleted in some portions of the passageways. This condition could cause asphyxiation to would-be explorers. This necessitates use the mantra - Stay Out and Stay Alive! Artifacts at the site are protected by law and should not be taken. This will ensure that others can experience the site with as much of the original context as possible. You must pass through private property along the base of the mountain to access the route to the mine. Get property owner trespass permission. Thanks. |
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