Along No. 5 Road
What was left of the #6 Rock House sat at a crossroads. Nearby was the snowmobile trail coming up from Traprock valley on its way north to Mohawk. In fact these ruins were being used as a makeshift sign, as someone had pointed out the direction of Calumet and Mohawk on its walls. Also nearby – the building was almost right on top of it – was Number 5 Road, also on its way to Mohawk. Knowing that the rest of the Mohawk Mine would be in that direction, we headed out along it to see what we could find.
Before we could do that our attention was diverted to a small building sitting down in a ditch along the snowmobile trail. Half buried by dirt and brush, the building was a squat rectangle with a few small openings along one wall and a larger opening on one end that we entered through. Inside it appeared as if someone was living in it as an old couch was set up against one wall and a recliner sat in the middle of the room. A string of beer bottles that lined one wall suggested a possible teen party spot, which most likely it was.
Moving on up the road we soon came across a stone building sitting a little bit back from the road. The thick walls, lack of windows, set of vents along the upper wall, and large hinges that once supported a heavy door all point to its identity as a powder house. Mines bought their explosives (first black powder, then later dynamite) from suppliers and stored them in above ground bunkers called powder houses. These were usually placed far from people or other buildings, as this one appeared to be sitting between the #6 and #5 shafts. The buildings were built without windows or doors and in case of explosion were designed to channel the explosion upward through the roof. Unlike other stone buildings, Powder houses were usually equipped with a series of vents along the tops of the walls to allow dangerous fumes or vapors to escape.
Moving further along the road we come to a slight curve and find a familiar structure – which must have been the #5 rock house. Almost an exact copy of the #6 we saw back down the road, the only difference being the missing steam hammer pedestal. Closer inspection, however, revealed that pedestal to be intact but laying on the ground nearby. Unlike the #6, this rock house had a second ruin sitting right behind it – almost where the shaft building would have sat. Across the road a line of intact railroad ties suggested another ruin hiding in the woods – perhaps the hoist building. We investigated but were unable to find any evidence of any building.
Heading back to the road we decided to call it a day. We would return, however, to find the remaining shafts still left to explore.
Monday: Along the Mohawk rock piles…