By 1911 the industrial production of coal at the Aladdin Mine was dwindling. Later coal mining at the site was for domestic coal for heating and cooking. The coal was reportedly "a good coal which burned so hot it made the stove top rattle." The concrete and wood remains (south of your location) are all that remains of a truck scale used to weight coal as it left the mine, The mining for domestic coal stopped in the early 1940's and the mine entrance was blown shut in the late 1940's by an area resident concerned with the potential hazard of an open adit.
The immediate valley at the turn of the century boasted an estimated population of 500 inhabitants. Various coal mine settlements sprang up in the area with names such as Barkertown, Barrett Town and Hat Creek. The area settlements had company-built homes, a school, hotel, boarding house, saloon, barber shop, general store, post-office, drug store and dance hall.
The coal tipple is at the site of old Barkertown. Aladdin is the only coal mine settlement that remains. The population of Aladdin is currently 15 (1992) The Aladdin general store and post office, built in 1896, is truly worth a visit and will lend a better understanding of the area's coal miners and homesteaders and their way of life.
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