Kennecott Mines NHL: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Region 11 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2015. Kennecott Mines NHL: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 100123. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Alaska Regional Office, Anchorage, Alaska / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark encompasses 14,160 acres on Bonanza Ridge in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve. The landscape is defined by six component areas: Bonanza, Jumbo, Erie and Glacier mines; the aerial tramways which transported ore, people, and supplies between the mines and Concentration Mill; and the Kennecott Mill Town where ore was processed and shipped to outside markets. The Kennecott Mines NHL is historically significant under Criterion A as a landscape that is representative of an early copper mining camp in Alaska and under Criterion C as the site of the world’s first ammonia leaching plant. The NHL is significant for its camp and mine remains that include a wide variety of buildings and structures as well as a vast array of archeological resources that have potential to yield information regarding the domestic material culture of Kennecott. The buildings and structures exhibit a high level of sophistication in design and craftsmanship, and various artifacts illustrate the technologies and methods of copper mining utilized during this era. In addition to these resources, the landscape has an extensive circulation network of roads, railways, aerial tramways, and trails connecting the mining camps to one another and to the mill town below. The period of significance corresponds to over three decades of Kennecott’s discovery, development, and abandonment beginning in 1900, when prospecting activities were first initiated on Bonanza Ridge and ending with the abandonment of the Kennecott Mines in 1938. The Kennecott Mines were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1986. Although, the 1986 Landmark nomination narrative boundary description provides bearings and distances to recreate the boundary with, when plotted, the boundary does not include the Kennecott Cemetery and Erie Mine which are identified as contributing sites in the narrative.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Region 11 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2015-07-06
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- AKR , WRST
- Keywords
- Alaska Copper Company, Ammonia Leaching Plant, Bonanza Mine, Clarence Warner, Concentration mill, copper mining, engineering, Erie Mine, Glacier Mine, Historic Vernacular Landscape, industry, Jack Smith, Jumbo Mine, Kennecott Mill town, Kennicott, mill town, mining, National Historic Landmark, tramway