Mount Harris was founded in 1914 as a mining town supporting three coal mines in the area. In it's hayday Mount Harris was a large bustling town with 3 boarding houses, a post office, drug store, many dry goods and general stores, a school, a couple of churches and of course several saloons. The one thing it didn't have.... a cemetery! For a town that lasted 44 years, this is a bit unusual. It has been said that if the family was involved in the mining in their town, the Harris brothers paid to have the body of the deceased taken to Hayden for burial.
The Wadge mine explosion on January 27, 1942 was a defining momenty in the history of this small town. 34 miners lost their lives that day, but the lives of every resident in the town was changed forever. The entire town was auctioned off on May 20, 1958. Many of the houses were moved to nearby Hayden and are still inhabited today!
Hwy 40 goes through the middle of where the town was. If you look across Hwy 40 from this parking lot, you can see where the old road went around the town (County Rd 52), and if you look to the right of the road, almost directly across from the cache, you can see a cement wall (it had bears painted on it at one time). This wall was part of the foundation of the school!
All of the land across Hwy 40 and surround this historical site pulloff, is PRIVATE LAND -- PLEASE RESPECT THIS and STAY AT THIS SITE!
Enjoy this beautiful spot and the sign with tons of information. Have a picnic lunch here and spend a bit of time, but PLEASE take your trash with you!
We dropped 3 travel bug/trackables in the cache the day we placed it here, with the hopes of many more visits to come! A highway with a pulloff between a major airport and a world renowned ski area should be a great place for some TBs to get a great ride!
***Please note -- if your coordinates are taking you off the steep hill, they are incorrect! Make sure these are your coordinates - N 40° 28.756' W 107°08.417'!! It's changed on some sites and not on others! **