Boston Wyoming Smelter Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Grand Encampment Mining Region: Boston Wyoming Smelter Site
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 Location in Wyoming
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| Nearest city | Encampment, Wyoming |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1902 |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001927 |
| Added to NRHP | July 2, 1973 |
The Boston Wyoming Smelter Site was a special place where copper was made. It was a smelter that took raw rock, called ore, from the nearby Grand Encampment Mining District in Carbon County, Wyoming. This happened a long time ago, in the early 1900s. The site is close to a town called Encampment, Wyoming.
What Was the Smelter?
A smelter is like a big factory that uses heat to separate metal from rock. This smelter was built in 1902 by a person named Willis George Emerson. It was connected to a big mine called the Ferris-Haggarty Mine Site. They used a special 16-mile (26 km) long aerial tram to move the ore. This tram was like a giant cable car system that went over the Continental Divide, which is a high mountain ridge.
How the Smelter Worked
At first, the smelter made something called "matte." This was an early step in making pure copper. In 1903, they made the smelter even better. It could then produce "blister copper," which was much closer to pure copper.
To make blister copper, they needed powerful air blowers. The power for these blowers came from a water turbine. This turbine was at the end of a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide wooden pipe. The pipe brought water from the South Fork of the Encampment River, about 4 miles (6.4 km) away. The smelter was very busy and could process 300 to 400 tons of ore every single day!
Challenges and Closure
Even though the smelter was impressive, it faced many problems. The price of copper went down, and the mines didn't produce as much copper as expected. Bad weather also made things difficult. The company also had money troubles, especially after it was sold to new investors for a lot of money in 1904.
In March 1906, a big fire destroyed most of the smelter. They started rebuilding, but another fire in May slowed them down. The smelter was rebuilt, but the company didn't have enough insurance money to cover all the damage. By 1910, the company that owned the smelter, the Penn-Wyoming Copper Company, went out of business. The smelter was closed down and taken apart in 1913.
What's Left Today?
Today, all the buildings from the smelter are gone. The area is now used as a place to dispose of waste. However, you can still see the old foundations of the buildings. The Boston Wyoming Smelter Site was recognized as an important historical place on July 2, 1973. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
