Opened in 1963 and closed in 1990, this iron mine stretched over 4,000 acres of land, and featured six open pits. The deepest of these pits was 600 ft. The largest pit was almost a mile in length.
This site was also the centre of heated debate when it was suggested that Toronto send its garbage as landfill in these excavated pits. Plans for this were already being drawn up as early as 1989, before the mine had even closed.
We drove down the bumpy dirt road specifically to see this house. This would be a first for me. I've explored hundreds of abandoned buildings, but never one once owned by family. We reached the end of the road, and I saw the house, and the barn.
There had, apparently, been another house on the property that had belonged to Stephen Brown who had arrived at this community around 1859. This house had belonged to one of his sons, Walter, who may have built it some time in the 1950's.
I had spotted this place in one of my frequent scans of Google Earth, looking for interesting things to check out. There really weren't any clues from the imagery as to what it was, but I could see that there was a path leading to it. It would all come down the the Mk I Eyeball.
We parked on the side of the street and took a quick hike down the trail to find a set of disused railway tracks. I doubled back, following these to where my map indicated that I should turn off into the bush. And there it was.
After a quick bite to eat, we continued on to rail spur where a couple of rail cars stood neglected. The caboose, while apparently in good repair, had clearly suffered some damage, and from what I've read, it is unlikely to be resume service any time soon.
It was a fairly short detour, but so worthwhile. You just don't see many of these anymore.
This house was on one of the main roads, and so presented no real challenge in that respect. When I was there, there was no easy POE, but the property itself yielded a number of treasures that included the contents of a barn, some very old farming equipment, an ancient delivery van, and an even older truck that had been converted to drill wells.
Update December 8, 2019:
I had known about this place for quite some time, as I had been visiting nearby several times per year. It hadn't been accessible, however, and I assumed it still wasn't until I saw photos from another explorer, and instantly recognized the place.
It was a warm August day and we decided to wander off from our campground in search of a place I had sought out once before. It had eluded me then, but I was determined to have another look.
Founded in the 1840's, Petites, Newfoundland, has been home to generations of weather-hardened souls who made their living on the sea. By 1859, a methodist church was constructed that later became the Bethany United Church. There were 212 people living here in 1946, and only 146 by 1956. In October, 2003, the last remaining residents of the community were resettled.
I had the privilege of visiting the remains of this abandoned town with my father, and spent two days exploring and photographing as much as I could.
Once again, I am reminded of my own rule... "Nothing is ever as easy as it appears on Google Maps."
There is conflicting information as to the purpose of this building. Some information seems to indicate that this site was a World War II-era radar site. Perhaps a transmitter site, associated with the large antenna atop the nearby mountain-top.
Other information suggests that this building was part of the communications system assembled by railway that would bring Newfoundland into Canada, and part of the viewership of the CBC. Its proximity to the former railroad does seem to support that.