Other Buildings Around Kennecott

The chemical processing plant was probably the operation that kept the mine operating in its later years. The highest grade ore had been found and extracted in the early years. But this fancy new ammonia process removed the copper from the low grade ore.

Since they were shipping all this liquid ammonia to the mill anyway, they also used it for refrigeration. There was a whole building devoted to refrigeration for the camp.

One of the other major obstacles of an operation this large was the need for power. The power plant had 4 huge boilers that created enough energy to run all the mill operations. The mill and the mines ran 12 months a year. Steam was piped from the power plant to the other buildings for heat. The company wanted to get the most out of their workers, so they tried to keep the buildings cold, around 40 degrees or so. Apparently they thought that if the workers were too warm they were less inclined to stay busy.

The power plant also had a Pelton waterwheel. A tributary to the Kennecott River ran down from the mountains between the mill and the bunkhouses. Water was diverted from this stream to power the waterwheel that also created electricity. To keep the water from freezing in the winter some of the excess steam from the boilers was piped back up the mountain to a small reservoir above the town. This kept the lake just warm enough that it didn't freeze solid in the winter.

The Pelton waterwheel is not much different from those still made by Pelton today. The Park Service has been looking into repairing the old waterwheel and using it as the main power source for Kennecott today.

The park has been restoring the buildings in Kennecott. They have done both the school houses, the post office, and general store. They are working on the refrigeration building and one of the office buildings. The old maintenance shop is now being used as, you guessed it, the maintenance shop. So far the only work on the mill has been stabilization.

Not all the buildings are federally owned. There are a few private residences and the Kennecott Lodge is privately owned.

Conveyor in processing plant

Ammonia tank

Power plant

Boilers in Power Plant

Spruce grouse along the wagon road