Vulture Mine and tourist attraction
There are so many cool photos this is 3 pages long.
While yes,,, the Vulture Mine is a tourist attraction it is soooo off the beaten path and outside a small town in AZ very very few hardy souls actually make the trip.
This site has a nice history and lots of info. Mineralogy data is here
What is nice is you pay your money to a very nice couple, John and Marge Osborne, who have been the caretakers and hosts at the Vulture Mine since 1970. They live on site. The office where you pay is a stunningly wonderful place packed full of history. The mine is very much like their child and they are proud of it.
BUY THE DVD not only is it very cool, it also supports them and supports the mine.
Quick history, the discovery was in 1863. Production was from 1867 thru 1917, but most ore was pulled from before 1879-1888. All together almost $7 million in gold in 1900's dollars.
This is a well documented ghost haunting. There is a hanging tree where many miners where hung for stealing. Many people come here for the ghosts. There is a movie that was shot here, The Graves
Once you pay your money you are free to wander as you want to.
The assayers office is stunning. Its made from the mine ore. The walls are worth a lot of money.
Its perfectly preserved inside. This is more of a scientific place where they checked the quality of the ore.
Everything in this building was toxic. Real 1900's toxic,, no regard for safety at all.
Upstairs was cool. It housed offices and people lived there.
There were many people who lived, worked and raised families here. There is s school bldg and no doubt many children lived here.
Amazingly worn stairs. MANY people walked on these stairs.
Various other buildings are everywhere. There must be a dozen or more. Each with its own function.
1900's era cars
This is the famous rocking chair. MANY people have seen ghosts in it rocking. On the set of the movie shoot described at the top of the page, many people were spooked by this chair rocking by it self.
As with all gold mines, cyanide is everywhere.
Hyper hazardous chemicals were off limits in a locked room that smelled REALLY weird and nasty. The stuff in the wooden barrel appears to be glowing.
The amount of "stuff" and debris everywhere is amazing.
Huge wonderful machines from the 1880-1900's are everywhere. Almost all of it had dates from 1902-1904. Some stuff was 1892.
BUT everything paled by comparison to the power plant generator.