Monday, June 11, 2012

Missouri Mines State Historic Site


If you live in the Midwest or are planning a trip to the region soon, an interesting, out of the way place worth checking out is the Mine Museum a little north of Farmington, Missouri. Don’t roll your eyes at me; it’s actually quite fascinating. My parents and I originally planned to stay about an hour, but we got a private tour with a guide who couldn’t have been more knowledgeable or passionate about the mines’ history. Three hours later, we knew everything there was to know about lead mining in Missouri. Which is a lot.

Some highlights:
·      The region produced over 100 consecutive years of large-scale commercial mining—an unheard of feat
·      Silver is oftentimes a by-product of lead mining
·      The Rockefeller family had a monopoly on zinc and at one point sought to corner the market on lead as well
·      Superman can’t see through lead—this wasn’t on the tour, but it’s a fun fact I remembered while on the tour