Once the deepest gold mine in North America, now offering monthly paranormal investigations tied to the 1922 Argonaut disaster that killed 47 miners next door
12594 Kennedy Mine Rd, Jackson, CA 95642
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Daytime guided tour: $15/adult, $7/child (6–12). Paranormal night investigation: $75/person ($50 for Amador/Calaveras residents). Gold panning: $12.
Access
Limited Access
Uneven mine grounds, unpaved paths, mine tunnel simulation. Paranormal investigations on foot in the dark.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1860 · California Historical Landmark No. 786 · National Register of Historic Places · Deepest gold mine in North America at closure · 1922 Argonaut Mine disaster rescue tunnels
The Kennedy Gold Mine began operations around 1860 in Jackson, Amador County, drawing on the same ore bodies that drew prospectors throughout the central Mother Lode. Over the following eight decades it would become one of the most productive and deepest hard-rock mines in the state, eventually reaching 5,912 feet — deepest in North America at the time of its 1942 closure by the War Production Board, which halted non-essential mining operations to redirect labor and materials toward the war effort.
The mine is inextricably linked to its neighbor, the Argonaut Mine, located roughly a mile away on Jackson Gate Road. On August 27, 1922, fire broke out in the Argonaut at a depth of approximately 4,650 feet. Rescuers drove tunnels through the Kennedy mine trying to reach the 47 trapped miners. After three weeks of tunneling, rescue teams found that all 47 men — mostly Italian, Spanish, and Serbian immigrants — had perished within hours of the fire's start. It remains the worst gold-mining disaster in California history.
The Kennedy Mine Foundation, a nonprofit, operates the property today as a heritage site and museum. The standing headframe, stamp mill, and steam boiler building are original structures. Kennedy and Argonaut mines share California Historical Landmark designation No. 786 and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures filmed at the property in 2018.
Monthly paranormal investigation nights are ticketed through FareHarbor, limited to 18 participants, and draw on the mine's documented history of fatal accidents across its eight decades of operation.
Sources
The Kennedy Mine Foundation hosts monthly paranormal investigation nights in part because of the mine's documented death toll across eight decades of operation — accidents, cave-ins, and equipment failures that killed an undocumented but significant number of workers. The proximity to the 1922 Argonaut Mine fire, in which 47 men died within hours of a fire starting at 4,650 feet while Kennedy rescuers worked to reach them through connecting tunnels, gives the site a specific historical anchor for paranormal interest.
The Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures filmed an episode at the Kennedy and Argonaut mines in 2018, documenting reported activity at both properties. Local paranormal investigators George and Cara Schopplien of the Paranormal Ghost Society conducted earlier investigations at the site and documented their findings on record.
The monthly investigation events, offered since at least 2024, are staffed by professional paranormal investigators who guide participants through the mine office museum, headframe area, and grounds from 7pm to 1am. The investigations are capped at 18 people and require participants to sign a waiver. No specific named entity dominates the reported activity; accounts describe unexplained sounds, equipment responses, and visual anomalies in keeping with the industrial history of the site.
Media Appearances
A 90-minute guided tour of the mine grounds covering the Mine Office Museum, 1914 footage, stamp mill, steam boiler building, and a simulated tunnel experience. The Kennedy operated from 1860 to 1942 at a depth of 5,912 feet — deepest in North America when it closed.
Monthly after-dark investigations led by experienced paranormal investigators, 7pm to 1am on the third Saturday of each month. Space limited to 18 participants; advance tickets required. Signed waiver mandatory. Age 18+.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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