Blackwood Mines

Fictional record. This page describes a mine from a fictional setting, not a real place. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.

Overview

A tin and radium mine — formally the North West Mines, universally known as the Blackwood Mines — dug into Blackwood Mountain and owned by Jefferson Bragg, the same man who later built the Blackwood Pines Hotel and Sanatorium above it. A December 1951 cave-in trapped a specialist blasting crew of thirty miners underground; twelve survived by resorting to cannibalism, and Bragg's subsequent cover-up and experimentation on the survivors set in motion the Wendigo transformations at the centre of Until Dawn's plot.

History

Tin and radium discovered inside Blackwood Mountain drew a mining boom to the area, and Jefferson Bragg established, owned and operated the resulting mine. Bragg's fortunes from mining let him diversify: after hot springs were also found on the mountain, he opened the Blackwood Pines Hotel and Sanatorium in 1922 as a resort, presiding over both operations at once. In December 1951, a specialist team known as the Blasting Crew drilled and dynamited deep into the mine in search of further tin and radium; the ground around the workings was unstable, and a sudden cave-in trapped all thirty of them underground. Rescue did not come for weeks — see Disasters, below — and by the time it did, twelve miners had survived only by resorting to cannibalism of the other eighteen, who had been killed or had starved. Bragg had the twelve survivors brought to his own sanatorium rather than a proper hospital, using their unexplained ongoing physical changes as grounds to study and experiment on them in secret. By February 1952 the miners had completed a transformation into Wendigos, broke out of confinement, and killed most of the sanatorium's staff and remaining patients before vanishing into the mountain, where the mines became their lair for decades afterward.

Workings

A complex of natural caverns linked by man-made tunnels, drilled and dynamited deeper by specialist crews such as the Blasting Crew in pursuit of tin and radium seams; connected underground to, and reachable from, the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium above.

Closure

Never formally closed or reopened for mining after the 1951 cave-in; work simply never resumed once the surviving crew were taken into the sanatorium and their fate became the mountain's larger secret.

What became of it

By the time of the game's present-day events, the mines lie effectively abandoned as a working site and serve as the Wendigos' lair, connected underground to the ruined sanatorium and reachable from the Washington family's lodge.

Disasters & major incidents

• The Blasting Crew Disaster
  13 December 1951 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 18 fatalities
  A specialist blasting crew of thirty miners, drilling and dynamiting the North West Mines in search of tin and radium, were trapped underground by a sudden cave-in; only twelve survived, by resorting to cannibalism, before rescue reached them weeks later.

Recorded claims

Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.

• Formally the North West Mines, universally known as the Blackwood Mines; discovered for tin and radium and established, owned and operated by Jefferson Bragg, who also founded the Blackwood Pines Hotel and Sanatorium above it in 1922 after hot springs were found on the same mountain. (explicit canon)
• In December 1951, a specialist team known as the Blasting Crew was drilling and dynamiting the mine in search of tin and radium when a cave-in trapped all thirty of them underground; twelve survived by resorting to cannibalism of the other eighteen, who were killed or starved. (explicit canon)
• Bragg had the twelve survivors brought to his own sanatorium rather than proper medical care and secretly experimented on their transformation; by February 1952 they had fully become Wendigos, broke out, and killed most of the sanatorium's staff and patients. (explicit canon)

Sources

1. (interpretation) Jefferson Bragg — Until Dawn Wiki (Fandom)
2. (interpretation) North West Mines — Until Dawn Wiki (Fandom)

Record created: 26 August 2026 · Last researched: 26 August 2026