Swansea is located in the middle of nowhere. The copper mining camp was founded in 1907, when the Arizona and California Railroad was completed. Before this time, only little mining activities took place due to the high costs of transporting ore from such a remote place.
George Mitchell, a metallurgist and the principal promoter for the mining company, named the community Swansea for his hometown in Wales.
A row of quarters for single miners stands out in the desert.
Ruins of a reverberatory furnace where high quality copper was made.
George Mitchell built Swansea's large smelter primarly to impress investors.
It was far too large and inefficient for the operation. The cost of producing copper was 3 cents per pound higher than its selling price.
The walls of the mine manager's home, a company store and a train depot are crumbling down.
4 miles north is the Bill Williams River and the remnants of a pumping plant.
