This is the remains of the Knapp Homestead, Rib Mountain, WI. It was left to rot in 1901. Ludwig and Katherine Knapp emigrated from Germany to the area in 1886. In 1891, they settled here on Rib Mountain. They built a house, root cellar, barn, and several out buildings. We were only able to locate the house, and an unidentifiable out building. About the same time they settled, mining operations began on the mountain for quartzite, a mineral used in grinding, polishing, sand paper, and pool coatings. In 1901, the mining operation bought them out of their property, and the homestead was abandoned.

Here is the remains of the house:

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.



And here is the only other foundation found on the homestead. Uncertain as to what it was:

6.


7.


8.


9.



A widowmaker just dying to live up to its namesake loomed overhead as we left the area:

10.



On the other side of the mountain, we found the remains of the last quarry on site. It was operated by 3M from 1939 to 1956, with the last of the quartzite removed in the early 80's. Now I am not quite certain as what that line means - perhaps the quartzite was last mined in 1956, and just stockpiled or stored here with the last of it hauled out in the 80's? IDK...

11.


12.


13.



Dodger the Urbex Dog packs in his own lunch and snacks...

14.


15.



We counted 6 turkey vultures circling the rim of this quarry. You can make out one on the right rim here...

16.



As we finished the day's hike, we came across the remains of 3M's dynamite storage building. What appears to be blast proof doors lean on their side against a tree. I can't explain what good blast proof doors do in a wooden structure. But I do know this was indeed dynamite storage as the historical marker on the trail noted it as such. The building was demo'd by the DNR - unclear when or why, but it is safe to assume the why is because it was ready fall over on its own....

17.


18.


19.


20.

I love exploring old ruins. You can piece together so much, what it was like back then. Image #7 proves that the trees you see all around were probably not, all around. I don't believe in psychic ability I know I don't have any but my past as an investigator lets me gather a lot of the information and my imagination processes it all together. Sometimes Im even right!

Blast proof doors? That's a relative term. Maybe theft proof. I don't know about this site but a lot of explosive storage buildings are designed to come apart in a specific direction if things go wrong. Up, out the back, sideways, anything is preferable to in your face LOL! i.e. those walls were probably not strong nor fastened together strongly.

Nice hike thanks for sharing the history too.

Posted by 2Xplorations I love exploring old ruins. You can piece together so much, what it was like back then. Image #7 proves that the trees you see all around were probably not, all around.

Ditto. Urbex is awesome, but I seriously live for this shit here. Even better if you had no clue the ruins were there. I have a couple spots where I seriously wonder if ANYONE knows they even exist, as they are off the trail. And strangely enough, I almost prefer when there is no history - there is something seriously romantic about the mystery, and piecing your own story together.

I think it is safe to assume NONE of the trees in any of the homestead shots were there. The guy did have a barn, which means he had to be doing some sort of farming. In 1891 central Wisconsin, this guy was definitely not riding into town for biscuit mix, corn, and cattle feed - the land had to have been cleared.

Thanks for stopping by and dropping a note 2X - much appreciated!

Posted by 2Xplorations I love exploring old ruins. You can piece together so much, what it was like back then. Image #7 proves that the trees you see all around were probably not, all around. I don't believe in psychic ability I know I don't have any but my past as an investigator lets me gather a lot of the information and my imagination processes it all together. Sometimes Im even right! Blast proof doors? That's a relative term. Maybe theft proof. I don't know about this site but a lot of explosive storage buildings are designed to come apart in a specific direction if things go wrong. Up, out the back, sideways, anything is preferable to in your face LOL! i.e. those walls were probably not strong nor fastened together strongly. Nice hike thanks for sharing the history too.

I wuv old sites like this.
Always look for the site's trash dump. These can be the funnest part.
Literally never know what you will come across.

I grew up in Rib Mountain and spent many hours playing in those woods! I remember hiking up to that quarry when I was 12 years old! The dynamite storage building was an interesting place to visit. I haven't been up there in years, but I should go sometime next time I'm in town.

If you go to the base of the furthest east ski lift, there's a tree with a faded yellow ribbon tied around the trunk, or at least there was a few years ago. That marks the trailhead of a small foot trail that serves as a shortcut to a small neighborhood. Along that trail sits a concrete porch surrounded by cinder blocks and rusted pipes poking out of the ground. Local rumor has it that it used to be a milk barn.

Sometime in the early 20th century a fraudster dug three exploratory mine shafts in the mountain looking for gold, then planted gold there to "find" to keep investors investing when nothing turned up. That part was well documented, and information can be found at the ranger station. Supposedly the mine shafts have all been sealed, but when I asked the head ranger about where they were he clammed up hard and changed the topic, so make of that what you will. There were also rumors of small quarry lakes on the south side of the park, but I think those are probably false and attributable to an actual abandoned quarry lake on the north side of town I found several years back.


Growing up with a state park nearby sure was a great experience, even if we were shooed off the ski hill whenever we tried to sled down the runs. There's also plenty of old forts in those woods built by various children over the years- I know because I built one, and found many others.

Posted by Aran Along that trail sits a concrete porch surrounded by cinder blocks and rusted pipes poking out of the ground. Sometime in the early 20th century a fraudster dug three exploratory mine shafts in the mountain looking for gold There's also plenty of old forts in those woods built by various children over the years- I know because I built one, and found many others.

This is cool stuff Aran - thanks for chiming in! Do any of the loop trails pass by the base of the ski run you speak of? https://dnr.wi.gov...s/ribmtnsummer.pdf

I read about the fraudster guy on one of the historical markers on the Turkey Vulture Loop. The scam is called "salting". I never even considered the fact that the shafts are still there somewhere, even if they are sealed. I may do some research on that - even if I never find anything, the research and hunt would be fun!

My childhood was pretty awesome through grade school. Lots of BMX trails and forts. But I cannot imagine having a state park/mountain in my backyard. I would give anything to go back to those days.....

Posted by blackhawk Always look for the site's trash dump. These can be the funnest part.

100% agree - I have dug through more than one in my time, even as an adult. One in particular was from a bottled spring water plant. I took several of my finds to the State Forest Headquarters, where they have a small museum. 20yrs later, the forest has swallowed up that dump, and I cannot even find it anymore. However the items I turned in are still on display.

Side note for anyone else stopping by this post. "Mountain" is a loosely used and relative term in Wisconsin. Rib Mountain is only 1942ft (592m) high, and is less than 10ft shy of the tallest peak in the state. Most of you guys would call this "mountain" a hill....

Nope, none of those trails run anywhere near this one. There's a lot of unmarked trails crisscrossing the park that you won't find on any maps, including some old logging roads. This one in particular starts at the base of the Cupid lift.

As for the mineshafts, I think I might have found a collapsed one along an official trail near the fire tower, but it's been so long that I don't remember where exactly it was anymore. It was just a square indentation in the ground about 10x10 ft, but it's quite possible that I'm wrong about that one. It would take a lot more research to find the exact locations of the mines in historical documents, though I'm sure they exist somewhere.

Posted by Aran Nope, none of those trails run anywhere near this one. There's a lot of unmarked trails crisscrossing the park that you won't find on any maps, including some old logging roads. This one in particular starts at the base of the Cupid lift. As for the mineshafts, I think I might have found a collapsed one along an official trail near the fire tower, but it's been so long that I don't remember where exactly it was anymore. It was just a square indentation in the ground about 10x10 ft, but it's quite possible that I'm wrong about that one. It would take a lot more research to find the exact locations of the mines in historical documents, though I'm sure they exist somewhere.

Google earth it, look for old roads, rail spurs, and infrastructure.
Then run down best prospects on foot.

Posted by blackhawk Google earth it, look for old roads, rail spurs, and infrastructure. Then run down best prospects on foot.

I'm looking at local historians, libraries, and town/county records. Not a chance on sat images - the shafts he is talking about were abandoned 100yrs ago. Logging roads were covered with quartzite tailings, trails cut across with ski runs literally 80yrs ago and still operating. Not to mention pretty much every tree that stands on the mountain now wasn't there at the time of gold prospects - the mountain was stripped by loggers before any mining started here, and after the miners left, a road was paved to the top and the hikers and skiers came - again, 80yrs ago....

Posted by Mr. Bitey I'm looking at local historians, libraries, and town/county records. Not a chance on sat images - the shafts he is talking about were abandoned 100yrs ago. Logging roads were covered with quartzite tailings, trails cut across with ski runs literally 80yrs ago and still operating. Not to mention pretty much every tree that stands on the mountain now wasn't there at the time of gold prospects - the mountain was stripped by loggers before any mining started here, and after the miners left, a road was paved to the top and the hikers and skiers came - again, 80yrs ago....

Read between the lines... if they were shallow test mines may little in the way of visual aids.
Better to spend your time elsewhere.
Plenty of holes in the earth.
Word; trailing piles

Posted by blackhawk Read between the lines... if they were shallow test mines may little in the way of visual aids. Better to spend your time elsewhere. Plenty of holes in the earth. Word; trailing piles

I chose to spend time on it because it interests me - not because I expect anything exciting. Kinda fits with the theme of the post, eh? When I wonder about things, my brain just has to know whether it be some amazing revelation or meaningless detail.

In regards to "trailing" piles, they are indeed called tailings:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailings

Posted by Mr. Bitey I chose to spend time on it because it interests me - not because I expect anything exciting. Kinda fits with the theme of the post, eh? When I wonder about things, my brain just has to know whether it be some amazing revelation or meaningless detail. In regards to "trailing" piles, they are indeed called tailings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailings

Thanks, still waking up.
Point is there's a time limit on good sites, get 'em while you can.
After long they will look like this or worse.

Posted by blackhawk Thanks, still waking up. Point is there's a time limit on good sites, get 'em while you can. After long they will look like this or worse.

Point taken, and true!