Town of McCarthy

The McCarthy road ends at the Kennicott river. You must cross a foot bridge and walk the next 3/4 mile into McCarthy. When the mine was in full operation there were two towns -- the town of Kennicott was a completely company town, but the town of McCarthy was free and open and full of everything was not allowed in Kennicott -- saloons, brothels, and such. Today McCarthy is still the independent town with those free spirits that are happy to live in a town where if you want electricity you must supply your own generator and your heat is generated by the firewood you cut yourself.

We stayed at Ma Johnson's Hotel, a clapboard building near the end of main street and the only place still open this late in the season. There were maybe a dozen rooms, a couple of shared bathrooms are across the hall. Most of the rooms had two single beds, or you could opt for a full size bed (no queens and certainly no kings). I never figured out who was Ma Johnson; the proprietor a redhead named Neil.

Most businesses have closed for the season, but across the road from the Ma Johnson's Hotel is the McCarthy Lodge. I'm not sure why it is a lodge; it does have a bar/saloon and a restaurant. The bar is filled with locals so Rebecca, the bar tender, opens the dining room for us. Neil is cooking. They are planning to close during October and November so the menu is limited. We each have a really great hamburger and a mug of Black Butte Porter. Who could ask for more?

The Milepost listed the population of McCarthy at 42, but Doug told us proudly that the population was all the way up to 63 year round residents now. Originally the town was called Shushana Junction. It had restaurants, pool halls, hotels, saloons, two newspapers, a dress shop, a photography shop, garage & auto repair shop, shoe shop, and a hardware store to serve the 800 people that lived in the area. (I think that 800 included the people that actually lived at the mill & at the mines).

We walked around town, enjoyed the yellows of autumn and the smell of cottonwoods, then found a couple books from the hotel lobby and went to bed early. Our room had only one ceiling light, no television, no radio, no alarm clock. We didn't mind.

Around town in McCarthy

Main Street McCarthy

Ma Johnson's Hotel

Our Room at Ma Johnson's

Lobby Ma Johnsonn's

McCarthy Lodge

McCarthy Lodge interior