Sitting uncomfortably close to the Central School and nestled between a pair of rocky cliffs lies the Central Mines powder house. In this building was stored the mine’s supply of black powder, placed a safe distance away from the mine and town. The building is designed from the ground up to help contain any explosion that might occur inside. A major component of that design – its three foot thick walls – has helped it survive over a century and a half relative intact. Getting a closer look reveals a few other design elements unique to a powder house such as this.

A closer look at the front door of the powder house showcases how thick the walls of the building really were. The building was designed to hold any explosion inside and force it out through the roof where it would cause minimal damage to surrounding structures. The first step in this containment is these 3-foot walls.

Driven into both sides of the brick frame which forms the doorway into the building are a series of iron hinges. These were used to support a pair of iron doors, one on the outside and one on the inside. These large and most likely heavy doors were needed to hold back the blast from inside if it were to occur.

On the outside of the door we find this iron bracket, most likely used to brace the door shut.

On the opposite side as the bracket sits another piece of iron. This looks like it was used to lock the door, the whole receiving a pin or lock of some type.

Besides the main door there was also a rear window on the building. This probably was there to keep any explosive gases or fumes from building up inside, or just to let some light in. Either way it hadn’t survived the years as well and had partially collapsed.

On the back side of the window an iron bracket might indicate a iron shutter or other barrier on the window.

Along the upper wall around the powder house we found a groove cut into the rocks. This channel was most likely for the roof to sit in. Unlike other buildings were wooden beams supporting the roof were buried into the wall itself, this roof was designed to easily pop off in case of an explosion.