Forum Index > Pacific NW History > What is this wooden thing on a roof? (Monte Cristo)
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philfort
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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 3:09 pm 
This is an image of the upper Del Campo mine bunkhouse (I think... Monte Cristo experts feel free to correct me).
The question I have, is what is the wooden structure on the roof? Is it a smokestack? (But there's already a metal smokestack behind it). It looks like it's supported by a wooden beam (or two), coming out of slats on the roof.

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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 7:04 pm 
Entry/exit during deep snow? Best.

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veronika
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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 7:49 pm 
That building looks a little shady to me. paranoid.gif

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philfort
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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 8:09 pm 
Hahaha... come in like Santa Claus! I suspect they didn't spend the winter there though...

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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 9:57 pm 
What a perch. I wouldn’t want to make any missteps, or go wandering around in the dark !

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philfort
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PostTue Jun 18, 2019 11:31 pm 
Could it be for water storage? What I thought was a "brace" supporting the "chimney" might be a pipe or sluiceway coming out from the roof of the cabin (those two slats), fed from a stream entering behind the cabin (or a pipe from a stream - almost looks like a pipe going from upper right to lower left behind the cabin)

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GC99
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PostWed Jun 19, 2019 7:50 am 
I’m pretty sure the thing in the front is a chimney for a forge or larger stove. Most mines had a forge to heat drill steels for sharpening and general metalwork. They also could have had a big stove for the cookhouse, although I’d say a forge is more likely based off of the small size of the mine. The smaller pipe in the back would be for a smaller heating stove.

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philfort
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PostWed Jun 19, 2019 9:45 am 
Why would they enclose it in wood?

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Kim Brown
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PostWed Jun 19, 2019 12:01 pm 
philfort wrote:
Why would they enclose it in wood?
To keep the snow and rain out, I bet. Is it ventilated?

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GC99
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PostWed Jun 19, 2019 5:12 pm 
philfort wrote:
Why would they enclose it in wood?
They would put the cap on it to stop rain and snow from getting in, and surround the pipe with wood to reinforce it. The pipe inside is usually fairly flimsy and prone to getting bent from wind and snow. The planks in the back would have helped hold it up also

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Schroder
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PostThu Jun 20, 2019 8:10 am 
I can't answer your question but that part of the building encloses the entrance to the shaft. It's probably for some equipment.

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philfort
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PostThu Jun 20, 2019 9:50 am 
Schroder wrote:
I can't answer your question but that part of the building encloses the entrance to the shaft. It's probably for some equipment.
I thought the mine shaft was lower down in the gully, and that cabin was just the bunkhouse?

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Jun 20, 2019 10:03 am 
Seems like a poor choice for a bunkhouse but a logical choice for a tunnel.

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philfort
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PostThu Jun 20, 2019 10:18 am 
Malachai Constant wrote:
Seems like a poor choice for a bunkhouse but a logical choice for a tunnel.
I disagree. The mine tunnel (at least one of them) is at the bottom of the gorge below the cabin. Any structure built there would probably get destroyed by snow slides. The location of the cabin pictured actually seems to be a relatively safe spot from avalanches. And I don't see how a cart track could get in there, so I doubt there was a mine shaft there.

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philfort
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PostThu Jun 20, 2019 10:39 am 
Here's a pic of one of the mine shafts there, next to the river: https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wastate/id/866 I guess it's possible there was a second one in the building?

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Forum Index > Pacific NW History > What is this wooden thing on a roof? (Monte Cristo)
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