Page 50 - Liberia Exhibit Magazine Issue1
P. 50
HistoricalSites
CURSORY REVIEW OF
Yekepa
Past and Present
Yekepa, a small province in Liberia’s Northern County of
Nimba, close to the Guinean border, is surrounded by
mineral-rich hills and lush, dense jungle. It was a shadow
of itself until in 1955 when the Liberian American-Swed-
ish Mining Company (LAMCO) began mining operations
following the discovery of the Nimba ore body by Geolo-
gist Sandy Clarke.
During its heydays, the by bush including the residential
town was a major hub of area occupied by ArcelorMittal
attraction for jobseekers employees.
and tourists from the 1950s until
the civil war came knocking in This world of iron ore, in the
1989. world of Scottish geologist,
Sandy Clarke, was heralded as a
On the town’s outskirts, jungle paradise on earth before the war.
encroaches on remnants of that The relic of the area still paints
time – a vast art deco swim- a glamorous picture of what
ming pool, rusty trains, and the existed before.
whitewashed skeletal remains
of buildings picked clean by Area F, which was the resi-
looters. dential location for expatriates
and once boasted an Olympic
Even though the concession size swimming pool, a number
area is overtaken by Indian of leisure facilities, including a
steel giant ArcelorMittal, the golf course, cinema, air strip and
once famous mining town in still library is mostly in ruins. The
struggling to resuscitate from the dense foliage and destroyed
shackles of the war. buildings make it difficult to be-
lieve that these were once habit-
Yekepa is virtually swallowed
50 LIBERIA EXHIBIT | JANUARY - JUNE
CURSORY REVIEW OF
Yekepa
Past and Present
Yekepa, a small province in Liberia’s Northern County of
Nimba, close to the Guinean border, is surrounded by
mineral-rich hills and lush, dense jungle. It was a shadow
of itself until in 1955 when the Liberian American-Swed-
ish Mining Company (LAMCO) began mining operations
following the discovery of the Nimba ore body by Geolo-
gist Sandy Clarke.
During its heydays, the by bush including the residential
town was a major hub of area occupied by ArcelorMittal
attraction for jobseekers employees.
and tourists from the 1950s until
the civil war came knocking in This world of iron ore, in the
1989. world of Scottish geologist,
Sandy Clarke, was heralded as a
On the town’s outskirts, jungle paradise on earth before the war.
encroaches on remnants of that The relic of the area still paints
time – a vast art deco swim- a glamorous picture of what
ming pool, rusty trains, and the existed before.
whitewashed skeletal remains
of buildings picked clean by Area F, which was the resi-
looters. dential location for expatriates
and once boasted an Olympic
Even though the concession size swimming pool, a number
area is overtaken by Indian of leisure facilities, including a
steel giant ArcelorMittal, the golf course, cinema, air strip and
once famous mining town in still library is mostly in ruins. The
struggling to resuscitate from the dense foliage and destroyed
shackles of the war. buildings make it difficult to be-
lieve that these were once habit-
Yekepa is virtually swallowed
50 LIBERIA EXHIBIT | JANUARY - JUNE
