MentalMetal314 Relic Revelation: Visiting a Dynamite Factory From Long Ago

Climax back the day 1890-1907

I grew up in a small town called Emporium located in North Central PA. As a kid, I spent a lot time roaming what we call the "Endless Mountains" of Cameron County. When you are a kid you really don't pay too much attention to brick walls that stand in the middle of the forest or that pile of bricks covered by moss just laying in the middle of nowhere but maybe I should have.

Every year I try and make it back to my old stomping grounds at least 3-4 times a year to visit family and friends but to also stomp around the old woods that I find very familiar and welcoming. Its nice to get away from the doom and gloom of the crazy world we live in and step back into a world that just seems right.

Since I took up metal detecting, I started seeing things in the woods that have always been there and I never paid too much attention to them until the last couple of years. For some strange reason I wanted to know more about where I grew up and what went on there in the old days. I was amazed at some of the things I've learned over the last couple of years. One place that really stands out that my buddy Greg and I had the privilege to explore was the ruins of an old dynamite factory in Cameron County known as the Climax Dynamite Factory.

Some of the Climax foundations

We were surprised to see how wide spread the ruins spanned across the area. It was definitely a big operation during its time. However, it did come with a cost. Several workers died while working at this factory due to several explosions and fires. There is a timeline of events that the Cameron County Historical Society put out on their Facebook page related to these factories. There were 7 factories operating in Cameron County around the same time period with Climax being the 1st. You can find it here.

As we explored the ruins, we were also given permission to metal detect the area and anything we found we would go back to the owner or possibly the historical society. We didn't find much for the time we spent there but we did manage to pull up a couple of keepers.

For the short time we spent at the Climax, it was enjoyable and educational in so many ways. We would like to thank George Jones Jr. for allowing us access to this amazing site. We look forward to visiting it again sometime. We put out a video on YouTube that you can watch and see what we encountered during our visit to Climax.

Climax video on YouTube

The Cameron County Historical Society has more information about Climax.

Below are some additional photos we took of what we found that will be given to the owner of the propert (Mr. Jones). The last photo is me holding up whats left of the Climax.