Amador County – Dozens of people attended the grand opening of the Kennedy Mine Foundation’s new archive building last weekend and viewed its digital capabilities, which foundation members hope will be a boon to visitors to the Mother Lode and Jackson.

The 1,200-square foot, state of the art Archive Building was built to store historic mine records dating from 1860 to 1942. It was built with a grant form the California Cultural and Historic Endowment, along with matching fund from local donors, and from start to finish was managed by volunteers.

Speakers included Mimi Morris, executive officer of the CCHE; Jackson Vice Mayor Keith Sweet; Foundation Advisory Board Chairman Bob Devlin; Chief Archivist Alden Sklensky; William P. Braun, the project manager and fundraising coordinator; and Amador County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Plasse.

Plasse, president of the Kennedy Mine foundation board of directors, said Thursday that everyone was very complimentary in their addresses. He said his comments centered on giving recognition to Bill Braun for his efforts of initiating the process, managing the grant application and its administration, and seeing through the completion of the project. Plasse said he was thankful of the effort Braun “had put forth from vision to completion.”

About 70 people attended and the dedication ceremony included catering by Jason Wolin’s Angus Mutton Barbeque, donated by Plasse. There were also demonstrations of the computerized network search-ability of the archived documents, and all of the photographs that have been archived and that are now digitally accessible at the facility.

Plasse said the decision also has been made by the Foundation to name the building the “Kennedy Mine Foundation Mining Archives,” with the aim being to try to have the building and facilities become the repository of historic mining records from all across Amador County and the Mother Lode, not just the Kennedy Mine.

The Foundation really sees it as being a potential tourist draw for people seeking access to research their relatives who worked in mining. There is ongoing interest in mining research, Plasse said, and when they finally get the building open and furnished, it will make the information available to people around world, who visit Jackson and the mine. He said the public section is not yet open, though the amenities have been acquired but have not been installed.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.