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At Encampment (307) 327-5308
Deep Snow Plumbing — Though most dwellings in the mining communities in the hills above Encampment in the early days were settled on solid earth (many of the nearby Chic-Sale structures were designed in higher fashion) to overcome the problem of deep, drifting snows. Some of these outhouses were erected high atop a base of cribbed up logs; others were slender, silo-like creations with doors opening high up on their fronts; a few were even impressive with newly shingled exteriors. Most were approached by wooden steps leading up five or six feet to railed platforms in front of the doors; others were reached by railed ramps from building to outhouse.
This two-story outhouse is part of the display at the Grand Encampment Museum complex.
History Of The Area
An abundance of fine pelts drew the first white men into this valley, long held sacred by the Indians. The trappers’ day soon passed, and was succeeded by others, equally brief. Tie cutters, cattle barons, and hunting expeditions came and went. Thomas Edison accompanied one of these expeditions, taking time to do some fishing in Battle Lake. Homesteaders and ranchers, the first permanent residents, began to arrive in the 1870s.
The year of 1897 produced an electrifying change. A rich copper strike in the Sierra Madres precipitated the new city of Grand Encampment and several satellite settlements. The smelter was supplied by a 16-mile aerial tramway — longest in the world. Power was provided by water through a 4’ wooden pipeline. The S & E Railroad was constructed, but its completion came a little late.
In 1908, the company which had produced two million dollars in copper ore, was indicted for over- capitalization and fraudulent stock sales. The mines closed, and Rudefeha, Dillon, Copperton, Rambler, Battle and Elwood became ghost towns. Encampment and Riverside survived but the “Grand” was quietly dropped.
Reprinted from museum brochure.
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