Dark Tunnels
The identity of the mystery building yet to be determined, turned our attention back to the goal at hand: finding the hoist. While we knew that the hoist had to be in the direction we were heading, the woods were become thick and impassible. Instead of fighting our way ahead we decided to take the easier route and head out to the road. While we say road, it isn’t exactly that. It is the same dirt two track that ran between the shaft building and the dry, now heading east towards what we hoped was the hoist. (why else would the road be here we reasoned) We weren’t disappointed.
Arriving at the end of the road we noticed it on our peripheral vision. Stooped low in the field on the edge of the woods, we almost missed it. Like a concrete mushroom, the building sprouted out of the ground only a few feet. But once we got up close we saw that the building was sitting at the bottom of a ridge, and was in fact a good ten feet in height. The walls and roof were intact, and made from what appeared to be poured concrete. On the wall facing us was an open doorway, inviting us to take a look. We did.
Inside was dark and damp, and we almost stepped off a five-foot drop before we realized we weren’t at ground level. The sound of dripping water could be heard, and the echo from our voices traveled back to us from far away. There was a hallway – or tunnel – that seemed to run around the perimeter of the building. Looking up at the ceiling we could see that it was in fact made from wooden floor joists, on which corrugated steel had been laid. On top of that the concrete roof (or floor) was poured. Not wanting to jump down into the tunnel without first knowing if there was a way to easily climb back out, we decided to walk around the perimeter of the building to see if we could find another entrance.
It was on the next wall (west side) that we found a larger opening, this one closer to the ground. This looked like a loading door perhaps, much larger than the previous one we peered through. Dropping down to the floor we splashed into a half-inch of water. While rather warm outside, in here the temperature was a little nippy. We walked around the tunnel perimeter, the floor covered in water and debris. At one point I almost stepped on a frog that hurriedly scampered away. Above us a few pipes dropped from the ceiling and exited a wall. Perhaps this was a maintenance corridor, or steam pipe tunnel. Whatever it was, there was nothing left in it now. Turning a second corner we found our way blocked by a large amount of debris and brush. However, the outer wall at this point seemed to be missing – a perfect spot to take a climb to the top.
Climbing back out from the tunnel, we walk our way around the far side of the building towards the broken wall. Finding it, we carefully climbed up the crumbling remains to pull ourselves on top of the concrete roof. At this point what the building must be becomes apparent. The roof is in the shape of a “U” with metal anchor points on its four corners. Sitting in the hole in the middle of the structure, sat two metal pedestals: one long and thin one and another tall and narrow. In front of those, a large concrete pit was filled with green swamp water and cattails. (Now we know where the frog came from) Two holes on the roof look like they once support metal staircases – now long gone – that allowed people to move down into the tunnels below us.
It was clear to us that this was our missing hoist building. The concrete roof we now stood on was in fact the floor of the building, the tunnels below us being the basement. The swamp hole in front of us once held the large hoisting drum, and the engine used to drive it sat upon the metal foundations around us. The building itself was probably similar to the other buildings at this mine, metal framed and covered in metal sheathing. The buildings frame, and hoist engine, were undoubtedly removed at some point since – probably for use as scrap metal. Now all that remained was the basement and support structure for the massive engine. Time had taken the rest.