• North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Welcome to the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark — Kennecott, AK.
    The mill town is set amongst amazing scenery — Kennecott, AK.Private homes in historic cabins — Kennecott, AK.Hospital (L) and bunkhouses with National Creek in between — Kennecott, AK.Ruins of the hospital, which had the first x-ray machine in Alaska — Kennecott, AK.National Creek was a reliable water source for mill operations — Kennecott, AK.Glimpse inside the general store — Kennecott, AK.Distances provided in precise numbers on the side of the train depot — Kennecott, AK.Steam and electricity produced by the power plant was distributed through utilidors — Kennecott, AK.Trains pulled into the shed at the bottom of the mill to be loaded with bags of ore — Kennecott, AK.

    DIY Exploring the Mill Town

    June 26, 2021 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    During it’s heyday, the Kennecott Mill Town had a population of 494 people (1920 census). All those people needed services ... places to live ... places to play (although this latter was accomplished in McCarthy, which was about 4.5 miles down the road).

    Back then, aside from the mill works, there was a train depot, a post office and a general store, a school, a dairy barn, bunkhouses and outhouses, a sawmill and a machine shop, a power plant, cottages, and the Silk Stocking Row ... which, as the name implies, was where the few who could afford silk stockings lived ... the higher echelon, if you will.

    Some of the structures from when Kennecott was a bustling mining town remain and have been restored by the National Park Service. Others, such as the saw mill, are a pile of rubble. Yet others, such as the hospital, are in dire need of restoration ... which may or may not happen before they succumb to the harsh elements of nature.

    Many of the restored buildings are open for visitors to peek into. Several of them contain exhibits about life in Kennecott back in the day. There is a DIY movie theater in what used to be the post office ... with a touch-screen TV from which visitors can choose to watch a number of videos. We opted to watch the movie about the Kennecott Mill.

    (The images shared are from our visits to Kennecott over a period of three days.)    Read more