By: Luke Anderson
Photograph by Richard Collier
Not far from Guernsey in southeastern Wyoming, you will find the Sunrise Mining District, another industrial heritage gem. This area has attracted people seeking copper-bearing minerals for thousands of years. Native Americans came here for ochre to use in their religious ceremonies. Early prospectors found stone hammers, used to break loose the minerals inside existing underground chambers. In 1899, copper mining operations began in earnest with the founding of the Sunrise Iron Ore Mine, which functioned until 1980. Covering some 225 acres, the now abandoned sites sits at the base of Eureka Canyon. The old company town and the mining region, along with a railroad and maintenance yard to serve the area, comprise the National Register-listed historic district.
