Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Bonne Terre Mine began in 1864 by the St Joe Lead Company and was operational until 1962-just 2 years shy of its 100th anniversary. The mine was subsequently purchased by Doe Run and then leased to West End Diving in 1976 who now operates scuba diving and tours of the underground sections which are now mostly flooded with crystal clear water. Much of the town of Bonne Terre now sits directly above this flooded mine.
I finaly got to scratch this off my to-do list recently and booked a tour of the place. I highly recommend it to anyone who's in the area. Now I just need to get into scuba diving and see what it's like beneath the water.
BONUS: Space Museum!
If you go to Bonne Terre mine, you have to visit the Space Museum because it's just down the road from the mine and there's no damn reason not to, damnit. I didn't take many pictures, but it's got some cool stuff in there that's worth seeing.
Labels: 1800s, mine, underground