As we embark on another investigative assignment at the Hanging Flume next week in Colorado, we found this interesting article from Bob Silbernagel of the Grand Junction Sentinel: Gold ambitions led to Marvel of Engineering in Dolores Canyon.
A century after the flume was abandoned, an effort began to preserve it. The nonprofit Interpretive Association of Western Colorado, working with the Bureau of Land Management, and with assistance from a Colorado State Historical Grant, the JM Kaplan Fund and John Hendricks of Gateway Canyons Resort, contracted for studies of the flume’s construction and its history. In 2012, 48 feet of the flume were rebuilt, using construction techniques similar to those used in 1890 and 1891.
The flume is listed on the National Register of Historic Structures and is the longest historic structure in Colorado.
We’ll be joined by Anthony & Associates and Alpine Archaeological Consultants as we return to the Hanging Flume for continued investigations. Read more about the efforts to document and understand the mysterious construction methods of this historic marvel: