Paul’s Goddess is always watching jeep photos. This photo includes a good story. This photo and story was assembled by Laurel Bill and posted to Facebook. I couldn’t locate an original story and link on Laurel’s website.

“A group of Cordova Airlines passengers boarded jeeps at the May Creek Airfield in 1953 to go check out the ghost town of McCarthy and the old mining town of Kennicott where the Kennecott Copper Mine had operated. The two men in uniform were the pilots of the plane that flew these folks to the area, and the caption said they were having just as good a time as any of the passengers.

McCarthy was the turnaround station for the Copper River Northwestern Railroad, and hotels, restaurants and stores quickly popped up. Since no gambling or drinking alcohol was allowed in the mining town of Kennicott, McCarthy offered many diversions for the miners and railroad workers with its saloons and “red light” district.

At its peak, about 800 people lived in the town. But when the copper mine closed in 1938, McCarthy became a ghost town.”