Independence Mine State Historical Park

Cheeky Marmot at Independence Mine

Typical home of the married miner's family. The miners were allowed to build small privately owned homes for the family on company mining claims. No single females were allowed in the community, even at the expense of specifying a man teacher be employed. At one time 204 miners were employed.


Pussy Willows at 3,500 elev.

Independence Mine began with humble beginnings in 1937 at small placer mines along rivers where gold was found by panning. This gold find was different as the gold was being
found ringed in quartz veins hidden within solid rocks higher in the mountains. These lodes were the original source of the placer gold. The discovery changed mining gold from the streams to underground mining inside mountains.

Original Cookhouse and Bunkhouse

Engineering Office & Warehouse as well as the second floor being used as the territorial school.

Mill Complex Ore from mines were transported by aerial tram or train for processing the gold out of the rock and quartz by crushing, reduction to a form of slurry then flowing onto amalgamation plates that trapped the gold.

No. 2 Bunkhouse on left in picture; Mine Office & Commissary on right.

Amazing wage scale. Take a look...
More than 181,000 ounces of gold were extracted from the mine before its final closure in 1951. Miners earned between $1.04 to $1.10 an hour; room and board was between $350 and $450 a month.

Manager's House

BBYN, Karen & Don