"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." (Pearl Buck)
A visit to the museum.
In another life, it was the headquarters for the mining operations of Tennessee Copper Company and its successor, Cities Service Company.
Today, the old mine office building at Burra Burra is filled with the artifacts and memories of those mining operations. You'll probably want to start with the short audiovisual presentation, just to get a historical overview. Then, either with a museum guide or on your own, it's time to go exploring.
You may already have started, in fact: in the area bordering the parking lot, where the museum's larger artifacts are on display and where the collapsed and flooded portion of the Burra Burra mine works are still visible from the overlook. But that really is just the beginning.
Inside, artifacts, exhibits and photos will transport you back to a time when the copper beneath these hills was known only to the native Cherokee tribes. From there, you'll move on to discover more about the area's now-legendary mining and sulfuric acid industries, the thriving communities that grew up around them, and the human beings who made it all happen.
To schedule a group tour, call us any time during normal business hours. If your group has a particular interest (geology, for instance, or a visit geared to a younger school group), just let us know.
For a charge of $15 per person, the museum offers an adult program to an outside mineral collecting area. This program is for parties of 12 or more and is only available by advanced booking and during our normal hours of operation, The ore collection pile is located in a gated area off-site so participants must provide their own transportation to the site and tools/gear for "rock-pecking". This area is overseen by Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc., and visitors will be accompanied by either an employee of Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc. or a member of the museum staff. Please keep in mind the museum does not supply any tools or supplies for collecting.
We hope to see you soon.
