A Mine at Boston

It was almost two years ago now that we set out to find the Boston Mine along the shores of Boston Pond. (so these pictures are very old, bear with me here) The pond itself is man-made, built to serve the nearby Boston Stamp Mill built along her shores. The pond provided a constant supply of water for the mill as well as a convenient dumping ground for waste. Those tailings have since been covered with rock and topsoil, and the mill itself was reportedly burned down decades ago. But there are still remains of both the mill and the mine, if you look hard enough.

From the old Mineral Range mainline we found an old spur heading off into the woods. Following it we soon came across what we were after - ruins. The ruins mainly consisted of a large open area, surrounding on all sides by short walls built from poor rock. The ground was covered by a thick layer of red sand - very similar to the sand that once chocked the nearby pond. At the time we weren’t sure what we had discovered, but now I’m pretty confident this was the stamp mill itself. (Take a better look with this PANORAMIC.

The walls surrounding the mills main processing floor was not completely intact, or very tall for that matter. As you can see above it was only about two feet all, consisting of a few layers of poorly stacked rock. The stamp mill itself was built sometime around 1860, and was similar in design and construction to the Central Mill. These short foundation walls would of supported a minimal wooden structure, which would of succumbed to the elements rather quickly.

As with the Central Mill, the Boston Mill would of most likely used the older Cornish style of stamp. These were supported in wooden boxes, and would require very little in the realm of foundations. Atop a short hill at the end of the mill opposite the lake we found this sea of iron bars. These could of been what remains of those Cornish stamps - as this is about all that would be needed to mount them. The stamps themselves were probably removed after the mine closed and used elsewhere. But these could also belong to the steam engine that was needed to run those stamps - it could go either way.

Speaking of that steam engine, nearby stood what remained of the old smoke stack for the mill. The metal portion of the stack was gone, but the sandstone base remained. Here’s a shot looking inside the flue of that foundation, into which the old steel stack would of stood. The stack was probably scrapped during the war (along with the steam engine and boiler that belonged to it).

Moving further away from the lake and past the mill ruins, we discovered a rather large structure in our path. It stood a good six feet in height, and except for a single window on one side looked like a simple concrete box. Peering through the window we could make out a series of concrete foundations inside, as well as a tunnel running underneath them. I crawled in to take a look.

Making my way over a large pit filled with tires and a good deal of water, I made my way to the tunnel and walked through. You can see what it looked like above. The tunnel was a good six feet tall but only 3-4 feet wide.

The top of the tunnel was capped by what looked like a line of wooden posts, which seemed odd inside a concrete footing. This was probably used to form the tunnel and was never removed. (or couldn’t of been removed)

Beyond the tunnel I was able to climb up to the top of the foundation, and discovered something that since that day I have become accustomed to seeing: a hoist foundation. The classic “H” shape was there, with the drum hole being a little shallower and narrower then what I would expect. Take a good look for yourself with this PANORAMIC.

Sprinkled atop the foundation - along where the engine itself would of been attached - was a series of these interesting footings seen above. No idea what they are, but they must of been related to the hoist engine in some way.

What’s most interesting about this foundation is the fact that its made from concrete. If this hoist belonged to the Boston Mine, the materials are all wrong. Concrete foundations didn’t come into major use until after the turn of the century, and this mine operated in the late 1800’s. Also these materials in the hoist foundation don’t match with the materials used in the nearby mill which would of been built around the same time. It’s as if the hoist and the mill were from two different era’s. My guess is that C&H or some other mining company did some late exploration work at this site long after the original Boston Mine closed down. That would explain the more modern hoist foundation, while the stamp mill was more ancient. Or this hoist didn’t belong to the Boston Mine at all.

UPDATE:

Thanks to some diligent work by both Gordy and Dave (thanks guys!) the hoist ruin in question belongs to the Franklin Jr. Mine AND the Boston and Albany Mine. The two mines are the same, having worked the lode at two different times. First to arrive was the Boston and Albany Mining Company in 1865 which worked the mine until 1882. In 1895 the mine was sold to the Franklin Mining Company which opened the Franklin JR on it. The concrete hoist technically is part of the Franklin JR No. 2 surface plant.

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