Historical site in Mineral County to be repaired

MINERAL COUNTY – A historical site in Mineral County is getting some protection from the elements soon after it was discovered the roof of the Louisville/Cinker jailhouse built in 1869 had collapsed.

According to a letter from the Mineral County commissioners to Superior District Ranger Carol Johnson, the jailhouse up Cedar Creek is one of the last remaining structures from when the area was a booming mining operation in the late 1800s. Members of the Mineral County Historical Society initially approached the Forest Service about performing the work necessary to protect the jailhouse. They were told the Forest Service could not allocate resources until 2017.

Historical society members determined by then, the elements could have caused damage to the structure that was deemed, “vulnerable to rain and snow.” A group of volunteers was gathered to obtain supplies and provide labor to construct a temporary roof over the jailhouse to provide protection from the elements.

In June 2015, the work was halted when a Forest Service representative was sent to the site of the jailhouse and ordered construction to halt. According the commissioner’s letter, the Forest Service had one primary concern and that was the work needed to be performed in such a way as to not harm the integrity of the jailhouse walls.

The Forest Service told the volunteers there were two conditions that needed to be met before work could recommence. First, the temporary roof repair needed to be supported by wooden poles and not the jailhouse walls. The second was the Forest Service wanted to have a representative on site to supervise the work. The historical society agreed to both these terms.

The work was stalled once more when it was determined by Forest Service representatives they were unable to allocate human resources at this time due to other more pressing projects. It was at this point historical society members asked the county commissioners to step in and facilitate the project. Commissioner Roman Zylawy said the project is expected to move forward.

“The historical society didn’t want to lose this,” Zylawy said. “It was decided to build a temporary roof until a permanent one can be built in 2017.”