Site: Kirwin, WY
County, State: Park County, Wyoming
Years of Occupation: 1880's to 1907, periodic activity from 1910's to 1960's
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 3
Type: Mining
Remnants: Numerous structures and equipment related to mining operations
GPS Coordinate: 43.8763° N, 109.2979° W
NRHP Reference#: n/a
Date of Last Visit: July 30, 2016
Site history
From the Forest Service website:
"High at the head of the WoodRiver, just below the timberline, sleeps the historic town and mining district of Kirwin, Wyoming. This small ghost town is a treasure trove for historians, with much to tell about the area's settlement and development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photo to the left is of the Tumlin Mineshaft. Kirwin sprang to life after gold and silver were discovered on Spar Mountain in the mid 1880s by William Kirwin and Harry Adams while on a deer hunting trip. Rumors of a rich gold strike spread rapidly after Adams boasted of their find. Streams of prospectors flooded in, staking claims all over the surrounding mountains. In 1891, the Wood River Mining District was formed
At its peak, about 200 miners and their families lived in Kirwin. The town boasted a hotel, a boarding house, two general stores, a sawmill, an assay shop, a headquarters building, a post office, and a variety of cabins, stables, and meat storage sheds. Stagecoaches made the 34-mile trip between Kirwin and Meeteese every other day.
Life had its rewards and disappoinments for Kirwin's miners and their families. Although summers were pleasant in this high mountain valley, winters could be brutal with deep snows, freezing temperatures, long months of isolation, and the threat of avalanches. Sitting at the base of 12,000-foot peaks, Kirwin was continually menaced by avalanches, the "white death."
On February 5, 1907, after several days of heavy snowfall, a massive avalanche roared down Brown Mountain, sweeping several buildings into the Wood River and killing three people. Most of the miners and their families decided they'd had enough. That spring, they packed up and left. A few attempts were made to revive the mines in later years, but nothing came of them."
Site status and condition
"Stabilization and restoration of Kirwin began in 1999 through a cooperative effort between the Shoshone National Forest, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and numerous volunteers from Wyoming and across the country."
Further Reading:
PBS Documentary about Kirwin
Wyoming Tales and Trails
Directions to Get There:
From summitpost.org
"From Meeteetse, 32 miles south of Cody, turn west onto the signed road for Wyoming 290. In 6.4 miles, turn left onto Wood River Road. At 11.6 miles, the pavement ends. The national forest boundary is at 21.7 miles. Pass Wood River Campground at 22.4 miles and Brown Mountain Campground at 24.8 miles. The road now gets a little rougher, but it is not real 4WD stuff. At 26.8 miles is the first of four stream crossings. This one is short and usually shallow. The second river crossing is at 27 miles. This one is wider and deeper. The third crossing, which is actually two crossings in quick succession, is at 29.3 miles. These are broad but shallow. The last two miles to the trailhead are rocky but not anything to get nervous about. There is one more stream crossing just before the trailhead, but it is a tributary stream and may even be dry. The trailhead is at 33.1 miles (in another vehicle, I got 34 miles). It took me 75 minutes to make the drive."
Headquarters Building
Storage Buildings
Mine Managers House
Wolf Mine Shaft House
Tumlum Mine Shaft House
County, State: Park County, Wyoming
Years of Occupation: 1880's to 1907, periodic activity from 1910's to 1960's
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 3
Type: Mining
Remnants: Numerous structures and equipment related to mining operations
GPS Coordinate: 43.8763° N, 109.2979° W
NRHP Reference#: n/a
Date of Last Visit: July 30, 2016
Site history
From the Forest Service website:
"High at the head of the WoodRiver, just below the timberline, sleeps the historic town and mining district of Kirwin, Wyoming. This small ghost town is a treasure trove for historians, with much to tell about the area's settlement and development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photo to the left is of the Tumlin Mineshaft. Kirwin sprang to life after gold and silver were discovered on Spar Mountain in the mid 1880s by William Kirwin and Harry Adams while on a deer hunting trip. Rumors of a rich gold strike spread rapidly after Adams boasted of their find. Streams of prospectors flooded in, staking claims all over the surrounding mountains. In 1891, the Wood River Mining District was formed
At its peak, about 200 miners and their families lived in Kirwin. The town boasted a hotel, a boarding house, two general stores, a sawmill, an assay shop, a headquarters building, a post office, and a variety of cabins, stables, and meat storage sheds. Stagecoaches made the 34-mile trip between Kirwin and Meeteese every other day.
Life had its rewards and disappoinments for Kirwin's miners and their families. Although summers were pleasant in this high mountain valley, winters could be brutal with deep snows, freezing temperatures, long months of isolation, and the threat of avalanches. Sitting at the base of 12,000-foot peaks, Kirwin was continually menaced by avalanches, the "white death."
On February 5, 1907, after several days of heavy snowfall, a massive avalanche roared down Brown Mountain, sweeping several buildings into the Wood River and killing three people. Most of the miners and their families decided they'd had enough. That spring, they packed up and left. A few attempts were made to revive the mines in later years, but nothing came of them."
Site status and condition
"Stabilization and restoration of Kirwin began in 1999 through a cooperative effort between the Shoshone National Forest, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and numerous volunteers from Wyoming and across the country."
Further Reading:
PBS Documentary about Kirwin
Wyoming Tales and Trails
Directions to Get There:
From summitpost.org
"From Meeteetse, 32 miles south of Cody, turn west onto the signed road for Wyoming 290. In 6.4 miles, turn left onto Wood River Road. At 11.6 miles, the pavement ends. The national forest boundary is at 21.7 miles. Pass Wood River Campground at 22.4 miles and Brown Mountain Campground at 24.8 miles. The road now gets a little rougher, but it is not real 4WD stuff. At 26.8 miles is the first of four stream crossings. This one is short and usually shallow. The second river crossing is at 27 miles. This one is wider and deeper. The third crossing, which is actually two crossings in quick succession, is at 29.3 miles. These are broad but shallow. The last two miles to the trailhead are rocky but not anything to get nervous about. There is one more stream crossing just before the trailhead, but it is a tributary stream and may even be dry. The trailhead is at 33.1 miles (in another vehicle, I got 34 miles). It took me 75 minutes to make the drive."
Headquarters Building
Storage Buildings
Mine Managers House
Wolf Mine Shaft House
Tumlum Mine Shaft House
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