The Boston Wyoming Smelter Site was the site of a
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
smelter
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...
that processed ores from the nearby Grand Encampment Mining District in
Carbon County, Wyoming
Carbon County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,537. Its county seat is Rawlins, Wyoming, Rawlins. Its south border abuts the north line of Colorado.
...
in the early 20th century. The site includes the former town of Rudefeha and is near
Encampment, Wyoming
Encampment (also known as Grand Encampment) is a town in southern Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 450 at the 2010 census.
History
Known also as " Grand Encampment", this town along the Colorado-Wyoming border was, a ...
. The smelter was constructed in 1902 by Grand Encampment promoter Willis George Emerson, connected to the main
Ferris-Haggerty Mine location by a
aerial tram
An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
over the
Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
. The smelter initially produced
matte
Matte may refer to:
Art
* paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection.
* a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame
Film
* Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology
* Matte p ...
, an intermediate product in copper refining. In 1903 it was upgraded to produce
blister copper. Power for the blowers needed for the blister refining process came from a water turbine at the end of a diameter wood-stave pipe from the South Fork of the
Encampment River
The Encampment River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 21, 2011 tributary of the North Platte River. The river's source is east of Buck Mountain in the Park Rang ...
, away. The smelter could process 300 to 400 tons of ore a day.
[ with ]
A decline in the price of copper, poor yield from the mines, bad weather and financial difficulties plagued the mining venture, particularly after it had been sold to outside investors for $10,000,000 in 1904. A fire in March 1906 destroyed most of the smelter, and another in May set back reconstruction efforts. The smelter was rebuilt, but was under-insured. By 1910 the Penn-Wyoming Copper Company was bankrupt and the smelter was shut down and salvaged in 1913.
All smelter buildings have been removed and the site is used as a trash dump. The foundations remain. The smelter site was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on July 2, 1973.
References
External links
Boston Wyoming Smelter Siteat the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
at Wyoming Tales and Trails
{{NRHP in Carbon County, Wyoming
National Register of Historic Places in Carbon County, Wyoming
Buildings and structures completed in 1902