Help Restore Monighan #318

Help restore the only remaining walking dragline left in the entire United States. I'm raising money to benefit Sumpter Valley Community Volunteers (SVCV), curators of the Cracker Creek Mining Museum here in Sumpter Oregon. (https://travelbakercounty.com/cracker-creek-museum-of-mining/ )

Any donation will help make an impact and we appreciate all donations!

We recently began doing some research on the Monighan #318 which was abandoned and donated to the museum several years ago. What we found out from the Historical Construction Equipment Company located in Bowling Green Ohio was that it is the last remaining surviving walking drag line in the US and one of 6 known units in the world.

Sumpter is already well known for its restoration of the Sumpter Gold Dredge https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=174

and Sumpter Valley Railway http://sumptervalleyrailroad.org/index.html

and we believe restoring the Monighan #318 to the operating condition will give visitors another glimpse of the ingenuity and hard work of our early ancestors.

What will the funds be used for? Here are a few of the things needing to be done.

1. The Monighan is currently partially sitting on city property and needs to be moved approximately 100 feet to be completely on Cracker Creek Museum Property. This is not an easy task, as this thing weighs in at an estimated 100 tons and will require some very large equipment to get it into its final resting spot. Fortunately, it is resting on a solid steel sled that can be moved and remain in position which will allow the machine to be elevated enough to operate the unique walking feature that gives the unit its name.

2. To ensure the unit stays level and doesn't settle into the ground and allows us to elevate it for future simulated operation, two concrete pads will be poured which will be engineered to support the massive weight of the machine.

3. The interior parts are mostly complete, however, they will need to be cleaned, lubricated, and refurbished as necessary to be made safe for operation.

4. Exterior refurbishing. There are some repairs needed to the sheeting, windows and doors, then the entire exterior will need to be cleaned and painted.

5. A electric motor with geared transmission will need to be added to the interior to operate the unit by belt drive.

6. A viewing platform will need to be built to allow people to safely view the interior workings of the Monighan without allowing them to access the interior.

7. Fencing will need to be erected around the Monighan for safety

8. Signage will need to be added to list the history and explain how the Monighan operates

Here is a short video that shows how a walking dragline works. https://youtu.be/SSosMCljKEM

Thank you for helping preserve a small part of Oregon's Rich Mining history.

Sincerely,

Ron on behalf of the Sumpter Valley Community Volunteers