Srigninally Affeered in F,Opyri$Hted/Fublished by the Matrix Printing

Home , Isaac Tyson

This article wes reFrinted with Fermissisn and srigninally aFFeered in ' MATRIX: A Jsurnel of the History sf hlinerals f,opyri$hted/Fublished by the Matrix Printing Co. Valume 3. Hurnhers 4 and 5, Fall, 1gS4 o r l:=' .. t.= .'.... lt ',.. tt't,,. 84 MATBD( UOLUME 3 . , ,,..ai . ,,-

A History of Ghromite and Gopper in Maryland: The Tyson Years

by Sally Newcomb

lntroduction the Geological Society of America. In- 1798 in the Ural Mountains (Ostran- A complete history of chromite and dustrial histories contain information der et al. 1946,41is the double oxide copper mineralogy and mining in of interest as do books that include FeO'Cr2O1, with substitutions of other Maryland would necessarily indude drapters about germane topics. An- *2 and *3 cations. It has been wdt- a portion atrout the history of geol- other source, historical journals, pre- ten as (MgFe+2) {crAl,Fe+}}2o3. The ogy itself. There are multiple levels of sent interesting and important topics, substirudons determine the suitability information available, from the local and that is also true of articles found of different ores for different uses. For and derailed through those concern- in popular magazines about the state. example, to be used as a refractory ing regional implications, and on to There are also newspaper stories and material the aluminum content must the broad theory about origin that personal communications, such as be high, while for metallurgical use could be applied both to other occur- letters to consider. Some of these are the chromic oxide content must be rences of these minerals as well as to recent and some date back to the high. For chemical use the aluminum basic questions of rock emplacement. ninefeeilh century. I have seen one content should be low, but the iron Ir this article I will discuss some spe- comment written by a man whose content is not a concem (Pearre & cific locations o{ chromium and cop- family was personally involved in Heyl r96O,730). per and their associated minerals, mining. As a perpetual reminder for In the reference material I used their history, and their mineralogy. the necessity of caution with sources, there was some disagreement about The driving force behind chromite his first sentence contained two er- the discovery of the first chrome min- and copper exploration and mining eral. The Allied Chemical reference was, of course, economic. While uses says it was first described by Lehman for copper certainly evolved during 'Although he traveled widely in 1762. Ostrander et al. said it was the nineteenth century, copper as the in pursuit of his many i,efitures, done by Pallas in 1765. The mineral metal and in compounds has been his letters reveal a n an who was was the brilliant orange-red crocoite known since antiquity. Chromium touchingly devoted to his family." found in the Ural Mountains. The had recently been discovered, and mineral was analyzed by Marquart much was leamed about its chemistry and Vauquelin, and in 1789 they re- and uses during the nineteenth and rors about mining history that con- ported "this mineral was an intimate early twentieth centuries. The cur- tradict numerous other primary and combination of the superoxygenated rent environmental implications of secondary sources. Information con- oxyde of lead and the iron of alu- the long history of metals mining and cerning ownership, royalty pay- mina." (Vauquelin 1789+,279) The treatment in the Baltimore area will ments, and environmental problems, earlier analysis proved incomplete and also be discussed. can be found in legal and court incorrect. Vauquelin later reported the records. The final source, is manu- results of a series of analyses that Literature scripts. Those I know of are in state demonstrated the presence of a new There is a wealth of literature avail- historical society libraries. The refer- metal and characterized its chemical able; including Maryland and U.S. ence list for this artide contains only reactions. There is some argument Geological Survey reports, bulletins, sources I used. about whether he or Klaproth was and information series papers, that 'first" and also over whether range from the very technical to the Uses of Ghromium and Vauquelin's method produced rhe easy to read. Among these are de- Its Gompounds metal or the carbide, but credit usu- tailed reports done before suburban In order to understand the increased ally goes to him for the metal. On the development obscured many of the use of chromium ore in the U.S. advice of Fourcroy and Hauy, sites. There are publications in tech- through the nineteenth century it is Vauquelin called it "chrome,' not for nical journals such as the Ameriun helpful to review its discovery and the color of the metal itself, but for the Journal of Science, Econamic Geology, why rhere was a growing interest in colon of its many compounds. This, and in journals and special papers of chromium. Chromite,,- discovered in and the function of the compounds in other chemical processes, led to im- mediate uses. Chromite is found in much larger masses than crocoite, and is the only ore of dtromium. The literature records the rather slow beginning of the chrome chemical business. A few places in Europe, and later in the U-S., were able to ef- fect the "openiag- of the recalcifiant ore. The first process required potas- sium nitrate, which was expensive. Later, less expensive methods were found. In terms of uses, it is interesting that as late as 1916 it was stated that "metallic chromium has no di- rect uses." (Ries 1916,791) Electro- plating of the metal was not effective until a few years later. Early applica- tions included using the ore as a refractory for lining blast furnaces, adding it to an increasing range of chemicals, providing a substitute for more toxic pigments, and, somewhat later it was added to toughen chrome steel. By 1928 Singewald stated that its major use was in metallurgy. By 1960 Allied Chemical listed an extensive range of uses for their chrome chemicals including dyeing, tanning, electroplating, and many others.

lsaac Tyson, Jr. The many threads of chromite exploration and development in Mary- land and Pennsylvania, as well as those of copper and iron mining and smelting, were brought together by Isaac Tlson, Jr. (Fig. l) Tlson Figure 7. Issac Jr. Photo engraving from a ptivate colledion- (1792-1861) was more o{ an indus- \son, trialist and a technologist than a sci- entist, although knowledge and re- tion, Tlson predicted that eventually to produce bi- or dichromates at his spect for science played a large role production of chrome chemicals Back Bay location. He was finally suc- in his successful career. He led and would be more profitable than min- cessful in 1845. A statement by Glenn participated in a multiplicity of activ- ing the ore and shipping it elsewhere. ln Maryland: Its Resources, Industries and Instiations, Baltimore, 1893, credits ities that included mining and min- 'The manufaaure of chemicals, paints, medi' erals exploration, metal smelting and dnes, etc, was cammenced at Baltimore, by Tlson with being the first American lroduction, and the establishment of Messn. Howard Sims and Isaac T)tson, who manufacturer to employ a technolog- necessary industrial and transporta- ereded a laborunry on Pratt street. They af- ical chemist trained at a university Avenue, and tion facilities- He read copiously, in' terward remwed it to Washittgton (Yale); his name was W.P. Blake. In were incorporated in 1822. They became ex- 1827 Tlson received a patent for cluding cherished copies of Les An- tensive manufacturerc of copperas, and of (Abbott nales des Mines. For a while he was chromate of potash, chrome yellow, and other making copperas, FeSOa president of a fire insurance company chromic pigments from the chromate of iron at 1965b,t9). In l83l he was chairman in Baltimore (Abbott 1965b,23). He is Bare Hills, Maryland, and in Chester County, of the Committee on Chemistry of the ' Pennsylvania." (Bishop 1868] 1966.23 I ) best known as the person who rec- [ General Convention of the Friends of ognized, explored for, and exploited 'Opening" of the ore to produce pig- Domestic Industry. This committee's chromite and other metallic ore de- ments was expensive at first, but de- report, given in New York, described posits in Maryland, Pennsylvania, spite supposedly improved processes, the necessity for a domestic supply of California. and elsewhere. In addi- Tlson made three different attempts chemicals for both financial and de- r 'ilf.tait rE*

fense reasons (Haynes l954,V.l,2OTl. Tlson was aware of the presence of Chromite In 1834 Tlson received a patent "for chromite at Bare Hills north of Balti- Reports of the discovery o an improvement in the mode of heat- more as early as 1808 or 1810. chromium inMaryland are somewha ing and applying heated air to blast Tfson's first big commercial-size dis- confused. I have seen three differen: tumaces" (Tfson Ie75,4OTl. This covery of chromite was in 1827. Rec- dates given, from 1808 unril 1827. I. method required the use nf anthracite ognizing the connection of serpentine the earliest dates are to be believed, coal. While it is very difficult to es- barrens to chromite, he explored the frrst discovery location was Bare tablish "first" a for the use of either from Montgomery County in Mary- Hills, north of Baltimore. There is alsc hot blast or anthracite in tllis applica- land through the state line district in some disagreement about the begrn. tion, Tyson is credited with probably Pennsylvania, and became the first ning of chrome chemical manufac. being the first to apply it to copper (as chief supplier of chromite ore in the ture. One of the earliest references tc opposed -and to iron) smelting. world, later the major producer the chrome discovery was that of H.H, Tlson was born in Baltimore to a of chrome chemicals in the U.S. Hayden in 1833. Ir seems probable family. Quaker His father, Jesse, was Also in the 1820's, \son became that he was correct, since he alsc a grain and flour merchant who involved in mining and smelting cop- wrote an earlier article about Bare transparted his wares in a fleet of clip- per Along with others, he owned or Hills, published in 1814 in The Ameri- per ships. The "Jr." is apparently in leased most of the copper sources in can Mineralogical Journal- In 1833 he reference to his grandfather, another Maryland. He invested in copper re- returned to Bare Hills in order to write Isaac. Although he traveled widely in fined from copperas production in a more complete description. Hayden pursuit of his many ventures, his let- Veimont, and it was there he built his ( f 833,149) credited a Mr. Henfry with ters reveal a man who was devoted hot blast, anthracite-fueled copper the disgoysry of chrome, titanium, to his family. Tko of his sons entered smelter. It is interesting to study the and other minerals. In other accounts family businesses, and had distin- inception of companies that we are Henfry was identified as a gardener guished careers. Jesse became his fa- familiar with in the twentieth cen- who worked for Isaac Tlson, Jr.'s father's partner in the chemical busi- tury during the early production of ther at his summer estate in Bare Hills. ness, while James owned and meta-ls and chemicals in the eastern From England Henfry had worked operated mines and furnaces for the United States. While largeq, more with chrome chemicals, recognized Tlson firms. They were abolitionists economical chromite and copper ore the dark, heavy chromite, and and some accounts state that they sources were later found and ex- showed it to ttiLe younger Tlson who employed no slaves in mining, al- ploited, smelting and chemical pro- had studied chemistry by that time though Maryland is south of the Ma- duction remained in Baltimore for (Ostrander et al. 1946,7). There is son-Dixon line. many years. some disagreement among sources

- ":-"-"*--?"-:"--- ;r-i*'"-'" l_"*$;-.*or4 :&' z ,:"L ,lr ) \\L*t # d\ tr e-?--d1 L Elchison ond Grlftilh mitrrg lF 4 2. Hcrric ond Wclr mlnos "1." 3, Colhoun mlnc t., iii '<) 4. Choolc nin! -t ,-r^/ \.- qrtrAi, 5. Bors Hills mincs i; -,.." 6. RGGd ond Wlltlns min!r | ) " " "{/1/'i\ 7. Ayrar minc j i aord'.'. Dcrirh! 8- Ghcrry Hlll mina 9. Llns Plf minc t I Dlrt'ict t Xr \ lO. R.d Pilr Wrl Pil.Rock Springs, Jrnhins. t )r/r,- h ( R?tnolds, ond Wolt minrs ll. Wood, Hiltsid., Co(t€r, Coctus, Dog, Cos, ond Tcrot minca 12. Scoll o.!d l(irh mincs 13. Pinc Grovc ond Hitomon mines 14. lVhllr Borrrn3 ploc€.F ond mincg q 5 o t5 20 MTLES

SERPENTINE r CHROMTTE MtNE(S)

Figure 2. Index map of Maryland and Pennsylvania chromite mines and their retationship to ultramafic rock, after Heyl and Pearre, 196A. aboul when TYson actually became involved in mining chromite as well as the time and sequence of chrome chemical manufacture.

Chromite location and origin Chromite occurs in Maryland and Pennsylvania in a somewhat dismem- bered band of serpentinized ultramafic rocks that stretdres from Montgomery Counry Md., to the northeast into Pennsylvania (Fig. 2). More detail is shown in some plates in Pearre & Heyl, 1960, as well as in county and quad- rangle maps, .An entire article could be written concerning the history of ideas and the origin of these rocks and their subsequent emplacement. These ideas represent a very interesting case re- garding change in interpretation of geology itself, as well as being intimately entwined with the interpretation of broad questions in the regional geology and chronology of the Piedmont.

Bare Hills Hayden included in his article a map showing approximately a mile and a half near Falls Turnpike at Bare Hills, and identitied rock t1ryes and mineral locations (see Fig. 3). His excellent mineral descriptions were keyed to map locations. The current Falls Road still crosses the summit of what Hayden called the serpentine formation, and on either side are old quarries. Until fairly recently the quarry on the east was not posted against trespassing. These quarries for building stone were probably begun 1890's, by the 1950's in the and were Figure 3. Hayden"s map of the Bare Hills area, 18J3. 1: Foot path; 2: Road no longer in use (Pearre A Heyl leading to gunpowder works; 3: Small house in woods; 4: Railroad; 5: Eastern 1960,7261- A retired stonemason in slope of Bare Hills. one of my classes spoke of working with stone from these quarries, and was delighted to return to the source pentine is here traversed by veins of indurated trander et al. (1946) said they found r and discuss current thinking about its talc. Many of the crysuk are injured by attri- 32 mining localities, some large. some geologic emplacement. the gran- tion. They are mixed with sand and small. Pearre and Heyl mapped the Cleaveland included a description ular variety- The granular variety occurs either main workings in the 1950's, and in- of the chromites at Bare Hills in his loose, as already mentioned, or is dissetninated indurated steatite serpentine. The cluded them in their 1960 publica- 1816 treatise on mineralogy. After dis- in an or atrorphous vaiety is associated with tak, tion.In the mid-1980's I attempted to cussion of the chemical characteristics steatite. etc. in serpentine." (Cleaveland find some vestige of these workings of chromite in its various forms he [18t61 t978,507-8) and was not successful. There may quoted the earlier article by Hayden: In 1833 Hayden cataloged a num- well be some remains, but suburban "In Maryland, at the Bare Hills, near Balti- ber of places where chrornite had expansion, commercial creep with its more, all its vaieties occut and some of them been removed or prospected for at accompaniment asphalt, and No abundantly, in veins, or in masses, in serpen- of Bare Hills. He mentioned one open- tine. The crystals are found in channeb, worn Trespassing signs, combine to dis- by water in the sides of the hill, and the ser- ing of about 80 feet in depth. Os- courage exploration. The east side quarry is best for seeing minerals typical of serpentinite. It would probably be difficult to find many of the minerals Hayden de_ scribed in 1833. He recognized ,real, serpendne, and that much of what he saw was instead an aggregate. He said: 'It is true that real serpentine exisa in this tnd, dis_ and that even noble setpentine, in small specimens has been found here; tut, tn, in_ g.regate mass of the rock of these hilts, aaoid_ ing to the classification of Brongniart, to wh;ich t.Know oJ no one that is preferable, falls an_ der the denomination of' opirutite' i;iiri' i, de:mles -a as b.eing paste of serpentine en- vetoptng oidulous iron and other accessory minerab disseminated: -_Hence frongniir-t as !tt:f!:: ."principal varieties,' fr*;i;;; op!t!r-t.k, chromiferous ophiolite, dialtasic opnrche and garnetic ophiolite___alt of wh{ch, wth .the exception of garnetic ophiolite, are p_una, at nearly every point of the Bare Hills.. (tiayden Figure 4- Rhodochrome (chromian t633,Jjt). antigorttQ from the choate brine, 2 x 4.. .ophiolite. t##!r corec*d w L-8. *rather. tiziiiuii The word has had i")ii;;r";;; photo by Gary changed genetic meanings over time, but seems always to have trast' to nearby, been ap_ normal, fertile soils. leading to the discovery plied to the same sort There, of and the of rock and opening of the mineral assemblage. Soldiert nefght mines 'lhe.forest trees were of stunted as well as exploration from In 1946 Ostrander et al. said growth, dis_ Mont_ that a. gomery Ita{nS novVpr of limbs and of foliage whiclr County to and across the while Bare Hills had been a popular mdtcated a deficient supply of iatuial susu- border into pennsylvania. collecting site, good Of grass mineraG iould yany.. and of herbage there ocisted The Reed still but httle; and, Mine was said to be one be found. He listed six kinds of ilconsequence, the face of the Iand was of the mo$ productive. Apparently serpentine, chromite, talc, hyalite, scaned with paths formed b-run_ nng waters." (Glnn 1996,<187) pe or9 body was "e0 feer-l,ong chalcedony, opal moss-agate, sepio_ :i feer wide, and 4 to g feet thickltt is lite, magnesite, ddorite, rhodoctrome T}sgn immediately bought the farm said that the total ouipur was about deweylite in chalcedony, pyroxene, a1d began shipping ore to Balrimore, l0O,00O tons." (Knopf 1922,86) This hydromagnesite, and somithing he where it was then eventually shipped information is quoted by pearre and called dendritic wad. In the ISSOI to Glasgow where chrome chemiials Heyl Pearre in t960, while Knopl her- and Heyl could stjll see some were made. Tlson also made tle con_ self cited Glenn (1395) and Oav of the mine dumps and listed miner_ nection between .serpentine bar_ (1883-4). Glenn said that besides thi als there. While not nearly as nu- rens" and the ptesence of chromite, larger ore body, nearby there were merous, typical minerals such as chromite in disseminated grains, ser_ pentine, magnetite, talc, chlorite, and magnesite can still be found in the quarry.

Reed Mine, Harford County r ln 1827, at a Baltimore market, Tlson identified some heavy dark rocks used to keep a cider barrel from rolling as chromire (Glenn t8g6,4ST). Glenn gave a detailed description of what Tlson found when he traced those rocks to their point of origin at a farm in Harford County, 27 miles northeast of Baltimore- He found a great quantity of chromite on the sur_ face .strange in a woodlantl in con- Figwre 4. chromite crystats dissminated in serpmtine, the Photo courtesy of the'Natur"t Hitoi-;oci"ty'"f i"ryilii.'from "* choate Mine. two smaller snss. gingewald included a sketch of the surface of the mined area" and noted that *the mine was worked at two dffirent peri- ods, for a number af yearc upon its discovery and again some time afier 1860 until it was abandoned about 1880." (Singewald 1928,181). At this time the dump induded fresh serpentine, talc, and disseminated ore. Some of the latter was shipped to a concentrating mill (Singewald 1928,182). The Reed mine was one of those reopened in L922 after World War I. While the main shaft was filled wirh water when Pearre and Heyl investi- gated, in oral communication with local people they learned more details about the mine and the ore body. They had a sample of massive ore from a dump analyzed, and reported seeing talc, kdmmererite, chromian antigorite, serpentine, magnesite, and brucite (Pearre E Heyl 1960,7641. Figure 6. Crystalized btucite from the Wood Mine, 2 x 4.' Specimen, Jay Lininger collection, photo Ellis Wolfe. The Wood Mine W About the Wood mine, in Lancaster 1922,97) Co., Pa., Knopf said: ally well-defined for a podiform There chromite deposit. The mine had"been "It contained the largest were two shafts, and mine single body ofchrome flooded, dewatered, then later re- ore ever known, and some yearc duing the depth reached 720 feer. In t92Z for flooded. probably early prospoous days of the Pennrylvania Knopf reported massive dumps, but It was the last of the chrome chrome industry it furnished practimlly the en- the good ore had been well sorted mines of this region to be de- tire world's supply of chrome ore." (Knopf ouL The main ore body was unusu- watered in the twentieth centurv, as

Fiqure l. View of the water-filled entlance to the Wood Mine, circa 1920. Photograph courtesy of the philadelphia Mineralog ical Society Archives. g0 ' lIlAnD( .r lFtdstE,S. late pearre as the l9l0's.In 1960 and land. Compared to the Wood and in some the ore was exhausted, there Heyl summarized virtually all :he Reed mines, it was one of the most was litigation over mining rights, mis- good descriptions of rhis mine {see productive. Tlson spd his sons owned m.rnagement by the Tlson heirs, and Fig. 6). The mine was a favorite of and operated those mines also. There the Civil War was disruptive. mineral But collectors, and minerals are open or filled shafu of five mines, most importantly larger supplies of found on the dump included brucite and the remains of two concentrating the ore had been discovered else- (see Fig. 7), deweylite, magnesite, hy- mills. Tlaces of the darn that held the where. While T\rson agents did not dromagnesite, zaratite, genthite, millpond and the millrace used to op- make the initial discoveries of possible olivine, uvarovite, dino- erate one of the mills are still visible. chromite in California, they found chlore, antigorite, lavender fibrous There are well-marked trails to two more sources and Tlson quickly chromian antigorite, deep-green ser- of the mines. There are no dumps as bought andlor mined those ores. It pentine, penninite, kdmmererite, cal- mapped by Pearre and Heyl (1960), was more economical for him to ship cite, dolomite, and magnetile (pearre and the indined shaft of the Choate ore from California to Baltimore by Heyl 1960,778|. 6 At that time they mine (see Figs 8 and 9), when not means of his transport network than noted that most could still be found underwatel should not be entered to continue mining in Maryland. The on the dump. In an arricle first pub- because of rotten timbers and falling chromite was then processed in Bal- lished 1958, and reprinted in 1974, rock. Both an old inn where church timore. Ore was also discovered in Lapham reported on the geologic set- services for the miners were held and Thrkey and numerous othet places ting, the petrography o{ country and the chapel that was subsequently and shipped to Baltimore. ultrabasic rocks, and the paragenesis built are in the neighborhood. This of the deposit ar the Wood mine. chapter of regional history left a last- Copper This article by r.apham about the ing impact on the state (Newcomb Location chrome mines is somewhat incom- 1987;1988). Copper was mined in Maryland in plete. Among the omissions is men- Chromite and copper mining in a belt ttrat went {rom Washington and tion of the Soldier's Delight area west Maryland virtually ended during the Frederick counties in the west to Bal- of Baltimore which is a Natural En- last decades of the nineteenth cen- timore county in the east (Fig. 6). vironment Area for the state of Mary- tury. Mines were difficult to dewatel There were three districts, the

Figure 8. The and weathered entlance to the Choate Mine at Soldier's Delight, circa I92O. photo W E.kI. Palmer, coartesy of the Natural History Society of Maryland. with the advent of the dam down- s$eam, there are still dumPs above and below the dirt access road- This mine is in the Sykesville district, one of several copper mines in a band of ultramafic rock. Both mineralization and rock tyPes and structure have been the subject of recent investiga- tions of Piedmont geology (Wylie et al. 1987; Muller et al. 1989). This mine was opened before the Ameri- can Revolution, dosed when its owner returned to England, and reopened in 1849 bY 1}son (Pearre 1964,L5r. In their 1965 publication. Heyl and Pearre included maPs and descriptions of the workings (Fig. I t ). Mineral Hill mine is an excellent place for students to study structure, do soil analysis, and identify minerals. In recent years my students have identilied chalcopyrite, pyrite, mag- Figure 9. Interior of the choak Mine showing avry o( y"Y in the back' giound. Phon rcirtcsy of the Natutal History Soeiety of Marylnnd' netite, bornite, covellite, calcite, antigorite, malachite coatings, and examples of a typical tranded iron for- Iinganore through In the L97O's a geologY grouP using farthest west, mation (Newcomb f988b,l). A stu- to Bare l{ills nor-ttr of Balti- the old maps looked for the mine and Sykesville dent has shown examples of cuPrite Copper mining and smelt- found themselves on an asphalt park- more city. found nearby. ing had been done in Maryland before ing lot. In 1964 Pearre wrote that the Revolution, but Tlson was cred- while there is no mention of iron ore ited with reviving the industry. After being produced there. magnetite was Environmental LegacY 1835 he reopened the New London found on the dump (P. l8). Ore was We are now very concerned with and in mine in the Linganore district, fol- discovered there about 1839, the environmental implications caused lowed by the Liberty and DollY HYde 1844 the lease was transferred to by mining and manufacturing activ- mines in the same area. In 1849 \son Qson (Moore L935,49\. Moore's ar- ity. Anyone who has read even a lit- included maps opened the Spdnglield mine near tide was detailed and tle history is aware that this is not a and Sykesville for iron, but dtalcopyrite of the area, the surface works, new problem. But as a societY we are are extensive, amounts increased with dePth and the mine. The records far mote concemed about it now and, litigation copper ores became the main product partially due to constant inadequate as some measures are for (Heyl & Pearre 1965,53). In the same about the mine lease. It was one of enforcement and cleanup, in the year, Tlson reopened the Mineral Hill the few copper mines in Maryland nineteenth century the problem was mine in the same district. Tlson got that was successfully worked until al- immeasurably worse. It is often the lease for the copper mine at Bare most the end of the nineteenth cen- thought of as a time when robber controlling in- Ilills in fS44. Mining continued spo- tury. Tyson held the barons in oil railroads, and mining, radically in the l.inganore districr un- terest until about 1855. The ore at could circumvent laws by using their til the first decades of the twentieth Bare Hills consisted of chalcopyrite, wealth and influence. century, but large copper dePosits bornite, and some primary chalcocite In that context it is interesting to were found near Lake Superior in the (Heyl A Pearre 1965,61)- HeYl & note one legal arrangement made bY of the J840's, cutting profitability (Pearre Pearre also discuss the rocks Isaac Tyson, Jr., and his partner Evan of L9641- I will discuss just two of the disuict, mine history, and theories T. Ellicott concerning a copper min- mineral mines, one for its interest and accessi- ore origin with the expected ing agreement in the Linganore dis- bility. and the otherbecause it has one sequence. trict in 1819. In it they agreed to fill of the few extant mine dumps where Mineral Hill up holes and restore the grass and minerals can still be found. Mineral Hill mine on the north side grain on land they mined, if the so, and Bare Hilk of Liberty Reservoir, just off Maryland owner requested they do allowed the ovrm- The Bare Hills coPPer mine was just Highway 32 is one of the few mines Tlson and Ellicott plant the land was needed across Falls Rd. from the chromite where there is still a mine dumP to ers to until Hist. Soc. Ms'863). mining area. The only current record be explored. While Part of the mine for mining {Md. great contrast to a de- of its presence is Copper Mine Road. workings were flooded in the 1950's That was in itc r rurArrtrr^ : r,Y=YEr:.t

scription of tl e copperas works in teresting. Second, it explains how to for rhe Board of World's Fair. Chicago. ores of southeast- Vermont that TYson dealt with com- find areas and remains that are pafi Knopf, E.B. 1922. Chrome em Pennsylvania and Maryland. U.S.G.S. case, mercially and eventually directed lor of a region's history, in this min- Bull. 725-8. 85*99. a period in the 1830's. After a de- ing and mineralogy. Next, it explains Iapham, D.M. [f 958] 1974. Preliminary report scription of the method employed to regional development, the pace and on rhe chromite oscurrence at the Wood produce copperas from pyrites it was location of settlement, and the devel- mine, Pennsylvania. Pa. Geol. Sur. Progress Report 153. stated: opment of transport networks and in- Locke, J. 1821. Some account of the copperas provides "The salphurous acid produced had run down dustrial history. And last, it mines and manulactory in Straffor4 Vt. the side af the hill below, and killed the grass insight into current problems con- Am. J. Sci. r, ,26-t3O. and leaves of the treu for several rads, as @m- cerning land use and the historical Moore. H.C. 1935. A briel history of the cop- pletely as though they had been scorched by and future health of the Bay. An per mine at Bare Hills, Maryland. Mary- fire. It was even dangerow to approach it ex- equally important condusion is that land Nat. Hist. soc- Bullerin 5:9,49-57. cept on the windward side. I thrust a stick into Muller, P.D., P.A. Candela and A.G. Wylie. early publications and maps are in- it and it was charred to blackness in a few min- 1989. Liberty Complex; polygenetic utes." (Locke 182 1,327) valuable. In addition to the most cur- mdlange in the central Maryland Pied- research, I hope our libraries can mont. G.S.A. Special paper 22A, ll3-l)4. Pure sulfur was deposited in some ar- rent continue preserve and recognize Newmmb, S.E. 1987. Soldier's Deligbr. Earth eas, iron rust coated most surfaces, to the importance of archival material, Scimn 4O:2,24-5. and incredibly acid wat€r ran into the 1988a. Soldier's Delight, serpentine bar- so we can use the past lor the streams after extraction of more cop- Pre- rens northwest ol Baltirnore, Md. Non&- peras. sent. - eastern Geology lO:1, 7 4-79. 1988b. Mineral Hill mine: copper and There has been a continuing imPaa iron minerals in the Maryland Piedmont. on Baltimore harbor and the Chesa- References Northeastern Geology 1O:1, 6&-7). 1965a. Early copper smelting in - peake Bay from chemical manufac- Abtlott, C.M. Ostrander, C., L.B. Mather and E.M. Palmer. vermont. Vermnnt History 11 :1, 2jJ-242. metal smelting. The sedi- 1946. The history of chromite mining in ture and Jr. Pioneer mining 1965b. Isaac \son, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Md. J. Nat. ments of the Bay generally show a engineer and metallurgist. Md. Hist. Mag. level of heavy metals, both in Hist. 16:1. l-24. high - 60. 1515. Pearre, N.C. 1964. Mining for copper and re- Industrial Chemicals situ and in areas where harbot dredge Allied Chemical Corp. lated minerals in Maryland. Md. Hist. Mag. chemicals. Techni- spoil has been dumped. A number of Div- 196O. Chromium 59. l5-13. cal and engineering service bulletin 52. studies have been done, one of which Pearre, N.C. and A.V. Heyl. [959] 1974. The A hktory of Ameican Bishop, J.L" [868] 1966. hisrory of chromite mining in Pennsylva- is titled "A pollution history of Chesa- 1608 to 1860. v- tr. New manufadures from nia and Maryland. Penn. Geol. Survey. In- peake Bay," by E.D. Goldberg et al., York: Kelley. formation Circular 14. 1978. An elementary trea- in 1978. Cleaveland, P- {18161 1960. Chromite and other mineral de- geology. New York: The chrome chemicals operation tise on miwralogp and posits in serpentine rocks of the Piedmont Amo Press. passed to the Tlson heirs and to sev- - upland, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Day, D.T. 1985. Chromium. U.S.G.S. Mineral Delaware. U.S.G.S. Bull. 1 082-K, 7 07 -Att. eral chemical companies before being resources U.S., 1883-4, 567-j7t. Ries, H. 1916. Economic geology. 4th edition. phased Early details of D.W. Yalentino. out in 1985. cates, A.E., P.D. Muller and New York: Wiley. and tectonics of the Mary- the operation are in the reference, 1991. Terranes Singewald, J.T. 1928. The chrome industry in and E. Haynes, 1954. In 1992 a newsletter land Piedmont. IN A. Schultz Maryland. In Maryland, Md. Geol. Sur. v' (editors). evo- noted: Compton-Gooding Geologic 12, pafi 2, 9l-124. of the Sierra Club United Sratrs. Virginian lution of the eastefi Thompson, Z. 1E53. History of Vermonl, natural, " has been processed History Guidebook Since 1845, chromium ore Museum of Natural civil and statktical. Burlington: Thompson. at the l9-acte site by numerous companies, No.2. l-28. Tlson I, Jr. In Maryland Historical Society, ending in 1985 when Allied Signal {formerly Glenn, W. 1896. Chrome in the southem Ap- Mss.863. Mining Eng. Allied Chemical) closed the plant pertnanently- palachian region. i4rr. lnst. 1815. specilicarions of a patent for an From the yean ofprocessing chronriun and the Tfans. 25,481-499. improvement in the mode oI headng and protec' pollution history result of non-existent environmental Goldberg, E.D., et al. 1978. A applying heated ai: to blast fumaces. Tlla et Cos' - tions, the ite now leal