October 1995

Cranberry Iron Mine Abandoned Equipment

Not sure what year truck this is, although I think it's a '59 or '60 model. And that dates the last major operation in the Cranberry Mine. Probably would have been a trip driving a truck like this in some of the close quarters at the back of the mine. Note that the bodywork on the truck is not pristine. This and several other abandoned vehicles, including some bulldozers and hoists were sitting where they left them in various states of repair or disrepair when we visited the mine in 1995. In the spring of 1997 all the mining buildings and equipment, these vehicles too, were taken down by Elizabethton Herb and Metal, scrap dealers. These dump trucks were used by the last company that worked the mine to haul ore out of the mine and down to the mine buildings to be crushed and concentrated. I've heard some stories but I'd like to hear more about this operation, what exactly they did, how they did it, and what years they operated. I believe the very last operation at the Cranberry Mine (maybe in the early 80s) used some of the leftover mine buildings in some sort of business involving hauling in and bagging sand. I don't think the sand business involved the mine itself, though, only the old outside equipment.