The powder house was a small structure build out of locally quarried sandstone. It housed the blasting powder used in mining operations. Later it was used as a cool storage for hundreds of tons of dynamite.
Miners were issued brass tokens that were used to “buy” the powder. Brassing was a way to keep track of who used the powder and how much they used.
The powder house located between Ronald and Roslyn posed a significant concern during Ronald’s Still Explosion. For more information on Ronald’s Still Explosion visit: https://www.historylink.org/File/10016