Historic Mill Town Tour

An organized tour of the town provides an in-depth history of the copper mining operation and what life was like for the people in Kennecott in the early 1900s.

Although some of the historic buildings are open to the public, the concentration mill building can only be accessed on the tour. Walking through the massive, 14-story mill building is quite impressive and unique. Seeing the old machinery, artifacts and original wooden structures is something you will never forget. I highly recommend taking the tour.

The 2-hour tour is provided by St. Elias Alpine Guides through a concession with the National Park Service. Tours are given at multiple time daily from late May through early September.

Stephen Birch

The rich mining history of Kennecott starts with a young man from Brooklyn, New York, who came to Alaska during the Yukon Gold Rush (a.k.a. Klondike Gold Rush) in 1898 seeking his fortune.

He eventually found “gold” in the form of copper in what is now Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The Kennecott mines in Alaska produced approximately 15% of the world’s copper at that time and eventually made Birch a fortune.

Following the closing of the Alaska copper mines in 1938 he continued to be involved in additional copper mines in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Chile.

He founded the Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation in 1938 that funded health service, hospital and civic organizations as well as the Stephen Birch Aquarium in San Diego, California.

Concentration Mill Building

The main attraction of Kennecott is the massive, 14-story mill building. Built entirely of wood on a steep hillside overlooking the gigantic Kennicott Glacier, it is the most prominent structure in town.

It is impossible to miss as it towers over all of the other buildings and is certainly a marvel of early twentieth century mining and structural engineering.

What makes this building so special is that it is still largely intact in its original form with only minor structural renovations. It is maintained in a state of “arrested decay” to preserve the history of the building and the stories of the people who worked and lived there. Much of the original wood, artifacts and machinery remain in the building for visitors to enjoy.

The building is closed to the public but can be accessed on a historical tour through St. Elias Alpine Guides.

Post Office

The Post Office is open to the public and displays a variety of relic items that the mining employees would have purchased.

There is also a short film that explains the copper mining history in Kennecott and contains a lot of fascinating old footage from that time period.

NOTE: You do not need to take the organized tour to enter this building

West Bunkhouse

Although not open to visitors, the completely renovated west bunkhouse is one of two sleeping quarters in town where workers in the mill building would have lived.

It is located next to the Post Office.

Hospital and East Bunkhouse

One of the most noticeable things about Kennecott is that all of the buildings are painted red with white trim., except for one. The hospital is painted white to easily, visually distinguish it from the others. Why? To make it easier to find of course.

The hospital was quite modern for its time especially considering it was located in the middle of some of the most remote wilderness in the world. A doctor and nurses were on staff full time and it housed Alaska’s first x-ray machine.

It is located just before the mill building next to National Creek, the only water source in town.

General Manager’s Office

This was the first structure built in Kennecott and was constructed in a log home style. Later, additional sections were added in the building style of the time. It has been completely restored and remodeled in its original form.

The General Manager’s Office is were the boss, Stephen Birch, worked. It is open to the public and contains several maps showing the progression of building the town during its operation from 1911 - 1938. There are also several historical displays and an walk-in enormous vault for storing valuable items.

NOTE: You do not need to take the organized tour to enter this building

Ammonia Leaching Plant

At first upon entering this building you might think it is an old brewery. The leaching plant is filled with big iron tanks that were used to extract copper from the low-grade tailings following passage of ore through the mill building.

When Kennecott initially began its mining operation in 1911 they were unable to remove copper from the tailings. The existing leaching technology was useless due to the nature of the limestone host rock. Simply put, they had no way to get the copper out of the small pieces of rock.

Since the extraction of copper through the mill building was only about 80% efficient they were motivated to find a way to get the remaining copper. After only a few years they developed a new leaching method for large-scale commercial use. This ammonia-based technique improved their copper yield to nearly 95% and it’s the same method that is still used today in copper mining.

The ammonia leaching plant is not open to the public. It can only be accessed through the organized historical tour.

Power Plant

All of the power for the town, the mill building and the five mines was generated here.

The building contains four huge boilers and a mix of steam and electric-powered generators. Many of the old machinery can be viewed from a landing at the front entrance to the building.

Although the landing is open to the public, entrance is not permitted inside the building.

Exhibits

Historical exhibits in select buildings provide a glimpse into the lives of the people who lived and worked in Kennecott during its mining days in the early 1900s.

The following buildings contain exhibits and are open to the public:

1. Post Office

2. Recreation Hall

3. General Manager’s Office

4. Flotation Plant

Tailings

When you arrive in Kennecott you will immediately be walking on history…literally. The road through town was initially a raised railroad trestle. Kennecott Copper Corporation continued to dump the tailings from the mill building under the trestle until it filled up to the level of the rails.

Now the road through town itself is essentially a road of tailings. So be sure to look down at your feet as you walk through town. You will quickly notice small, grey pieces of rock with bright green and blue markings. The green-colored malachite and the blue-colored azurite are the two forms of oxidized copper in limestone.

NOTE: Please do not take the tailings for souvenirs. They are historical artifacts. Feel free to pick them up, study them and take photos. But then please put them back where you found them for others to enjoy.