The Chemung Mine tells two stories, and neither one ends well. The first is about phenomenally rich gold ore that someone discovered in 1909 – ore so valuable it ran "several hundred dollars per ton" in an era when that meant real money. The second story is about a mining operation that officially recorded only $60,000 in total production over nearly three decades of operation. Either someone was cooking the books, high-grading the best ore for themselves, or they spent far more developing this remote site than they ever pulled out of the ground – possibly all three.
What you'll find today makes the mystery more intriguing. Two substantial mill buildings dominate the site. Both structures were built to withstand harsh winters at 8,300 feet and designed for year-round operation. The smaller mill represents the original 1922 five-stamp operation, while the larger mill housed the sophisticated 1937 processing equipment. This wasn't some fly-by-night prospect. Two separate operations invested serious money in substantial structures over fifteen years, yet both mills now stand empty of equipment. The buildings are falling apart from decades of target practice, scavenging, and harsh mountain weather, with at least one structure having completely collapsed.
