This 150-Year-Old Abandoned Missouri Mine is One You Can Visit

Most of the abandoned Missouri locations I've shared are not places you should ever try to go to. However, this more than 150-year-old abandoned Missouri mine is one you can and should visit if mining history is something you're interested in.

I was reminded of this place by a brand new drone video of what remains of the St. Joe Lead Mine. It's an official Missouri Mines Historic Site.

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Wikipedia shares the backstory of the St. Joe Minerals Company which was founded in 1864:

The company acquired a lead mine at Bonne Terre, Missouri. The mine had numerous problems including Price's Raid by Confederate States Army General Sterling Price. However under first president J. Wyman Jones and new mine manager Charles B. Parsons began using new diamond drilling techniques the business prospered.

There was a fire in the mine that nearly bankrupt the company in 1883. But, it survived and Wikipedia says this mine at one time was responsible for 70% of the country's lead production all by itself.

The Missouri State Park's website mentions what this facility is now:

The mine’s former powerhouse has been turned into a museum that interprets the area’s lead mining history, displays actual machinery from the mines and houses one of the Midwest's finest mineral collections.

Translation? You can go see it for yourself. It's an easy day trip from Hannibal located south of St. Louis and just north of Farmington, Missouri. It's the one abandoned Missouri place you can and should see to find out about the history of mining in our part of America.