Actually it is a little older but the townsite of Gowganda was laid out 100 years ago. In its early beginnings there was a rush of prospectors searching for silver deposits. Some of them found claims that were very rich in silver. Mines sprung up all around the Gowganda townsite and some lasted for many years. Today only more exploration is being done and there are now no active mines in the immediate area.
Paul Trudel and I ATV'ed down the Mann Ridge Road which is famous for for it's namesake years ago as a prosperous mine. Further south on the west side of Gowganda Lake near it's southern boundry was the Bartlett mine. Records show that production began in the year 1909 when two tons of ore were shipped from this mine. It was the first recorded shipment of ore from a mine in the area
This started the Gowganda silver mining and from 1910 to 1925 several mines produced over 8,420,509 fine ounce of silver, this is exclusive of other shipments that were not recorded.
Our trip was to find what was left of the Bartlett Mine. Most of the area has all been recently cut for timber but we found the site beside a small pond. The tailings pile stands out the most as it is a large esker shaped pile of broken rock. At one end are large concrete structures that held up the headframe, and the shaft which has several pipes sticking out of it, these were to supply air pressure for their drills and possibly water. It was hard to get an overall picture of the site as it was so grown over with old growth,
After leaving the mine site we ventured up to a high viewpoint that overlooks Hangingstone Lake and Frying Pan Lake.
2 comments:
Doesn't take long for man's marks to weather away does it?
Brook
So true.
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