Kennecott - Kennicott

Around 1908 across from the Kennicott Glacier, 4.5 miles up the mountain from McCarthy, copper mines and a camp were established. The mine and mining company were misspelled Kennecott, but the town, river and glacier are spelled Kennicott.

 Kennicott
 

The Copper River & Northwestern Railway carried its first car load of ore from Kennecott to Cordova in 1911. Remnants of that original railway can still be found in the area.

No gambling or drinking were allowed in the company town of Kennicott, but not so in nearby McCarthy. Workers found McCarthy a pleasant change from the work in the copper mines.

It was a boom town which catered to the needs of the miners. McCarthy had over 800 residents and provided a newspaper, stores, hotels, restaurants, saloons and of course, a red light district.

 

 Kennecott copper mill
   
Kennecott mine

Kennicott, the company town, soon had homes, a school, hospital, gym, tennis court and silent movie theater.

From 1908 until its closure in 1938, $200 million in ore was extracted from Kennecott, making it the richest concentration of copper ore known in the world.

I've been told the mill building is 14 stories tall. It's definitely an impressive sight.

 

After the mines closed in 1938 both McCarthy and Kennicott became ghost towns.

In the last few years Kennicott and McCarthy have come to life again offering visitors a glimpse of Alaska's history.

We only had time for a self-guided tour of the mill but thoroughly enjoyed walking through the town of Kennicott and looking at the mill buildings. The guided tour and the guided historical tour both came highly recommended. Those we'll be sure we have time for on our next visit to this very interesting area of Alaska.

Kennecott mill
 
Local Businesses
 
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