JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau | Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 12:00 am
SOUTH PASS - It was called the Carissa Lode by newspapers back East.
The lode's vast gold deposits were allegedly discovered in the South Pass area in 1842 by a trapper working for the American Fur Company along Willow Creek.
The trapper, however, was killed by local American Indians before he could dig his mine. And so the gold rush at South Pass didn't begin until 1867.
Regardless, the historic Carissa Mine became the chief mine at South Pass City and served as the main economic engine for South Pass for nearly 80 years.
For the past few years, the state has been working to stabilize and restore the Carissa Mine as part of a four-phase project spearheaded by the Wyoming Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the Department of Environmental Quality.
The public will get a chance this month to view firsthand the state's extensive, approximately $2.3 million restoration effort of the Carissa Mine site, located about two miles south of State Highway 28 south of Lander, according to state historic officials.
In 2003, the Wyoming State Legislature purchased the approximately 201-acre Carissa Mine site to complement the existing South Pass City State Historic Site.
The AML division began restoration work at the mine in 2004.
The work had included the removal of hazardous waste from the mill house and mine property; the stabilization of foundations and the repair various buildings at the site; the closing of vertical mine shafts and the installation of safety railings; and the rebuilding of the head frame, shaft house and trestle, which were originally built in 1929.
Critical link
Officials said the head frame, shaft house and trestle served as a critical transportation link between the mine's operating shaft - where ore was extracted - and the mill house, where ore was crushed and gold recovered.
Historically, the ore was hoisted from the mine to surface cars at the head frame. The shaft house was used to sort the ore and direct the cars to the trestle.
Once loaded on the trestle, a worker pushed the car across the trestle's 400-foot span into the mill house.
The trestle was replaced with a conveyor belt in the late 1940s, while the head frame and shaft house were destroyed in the 1980s. The remains of the conveyor, which had collapsed over the years, were removed as part of the project in 2005.
Officials said a new head frame was assembled in Riverton and moved to the site this spring. Foundations and retaining walls are being constructed this summer over the 400-foot deep operating shaft.
Once the foundations are ready, the 5,000-pound timber head frame will be lifted by crane and set over the operating shaft and the new trestle will be constructed, according to plans.
Abe Knapp, AML project manager, said the reconstruction of the three structures will close a major gap in the public's understanding of mining at South Pass City.
Once completed later this fall, visitors will be able to trace the course of ore production from start to finish and to see the charismatic viewshed that was synonymous with the mine and South Pass City, Knapp said in a release.
Officials said public tours of the ongoing restoration work at the Carissa Mine site are scheduled for each Saturday in August. Tours are limited to 20 people and reservations can be made with the South Pass City State Historic Site by calling (307) 332-3684.
Southwest Wyoming Bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.
The latest: Construction on the prefabricated units of the head frame was completed in March by a Riverton company.
What's next: The new head frame and trestle will be installed at the mine site later this summer.]]->