- Kennedy Mine
Infobox_nrhp | name =Kennedy Tailing Wheels
nrhp_type =
caption =
location=Jackson, California
locmapin = California
area =
built =1914
architect= James Spears
architecture= No Style Listed
added =July 07 ,1981
governing_body = Local
refnum=81000146cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Kennedy Gold Mine is agold mine inJackson, California , one of the deepest mines in the world. It closed in1942 and together with nearbyArgonaut Mine , is registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #786. It has since been re-opened as a tourist attraction.The mine is named for Andrew Kennedy, an Irish
immigrant , who reportedly discovered aquartz outcropping in the late 1850s near what is now State Route 49. The Kennedy Mining Company was formed in 1860 when he and three partners began digging shafts near today's mine property entrance. The mine operated sporadically until it closed in 1878. In 1886 fifteen people invested $97,600 to reopen the mine under the corporate entity of the Kennedy Mining and Milling Company.In 1898 the company began sinking a new shaft 1,950 feet (591 m) east of the original shafts. This East Shaft would eventually reach a vertical depth of 5,912 feet (1,792 m), the deepest vertical depth gold mine in
North America at the time. In 1928 a surface fire burned all the structures except two. All other buildings and foundations were built after 1928. The company operated the mine until 1942 when the U.S. Government closed gold mines because of the war effort.On August 27, 1922, when forty-seven miners were trapped by fire in the nearby Argonaut Mine 4,650 feet (1,409 m) below ground, rescue efforts were launched from the Kennedy Mine to connect the tunnels of the two mines. Unfortunately progress was slow and rescuers arrived too late to save the miners in the Argonaut.
At the time of its closing, the mine had produced some $34.3 million (according to the California Department of Conservation) when gold was valued at $20.67 and $35.00 per ounce. The company paid its stockholders $5.8 million between 1886 and 1937. Over 95% of these dividends were paid at $20.67 per ounce.
References
*cite web|url=http://ci.jackson.ca.us/Information/mining_history.htm|title=Mining History|publisher=City of Jackson, California|accessdate=September 16|accessyear=2005
External links
* [http://www.kennedygoldmine.com/ Kennedy Gold Mine]
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