WBfe MS % A • | If* *"» /*%. \Jf ',*% „ from this room 'MM* * /•% /V **i*S, • S'l, « -..giw.145 SkyUnds Road Ks sJ AJ I \ „„ aa SKETCH PL. AM MINK AKKA J»f».0PiXTY «IN0WO0O T t'If-'
Diggings, Started in 1740/ Served In Many Wars, but Vicissitudes of FOR REFERENCE Time anf Man Have Taken Their Toll ^ By Sally TrusseH NOT RINGWOCft)'.'.— The tall, gaunt framework of a tall TO ;BE TAKEN MOM THE ROOM building, a t&iering ramshackle ramp, a few water-filled holes, some brown shingle houses and a host of memories'! .. . .all that remain of the formerly busy Btogwood Mines 'whose employes dug high grade :ron ore from deep within the earth for Welting in furnaces all up and down New Jersey^ y , . ~ -^—— What happened to force the shutdown of a once-prosperous RINGWOOD PUSUC t»RARY venture? Fast, cold and accur- ate, says that the ore had to be 145 Skylamfe Read mined from too great a depth to make it profitable to continue. Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 Fancy, sometimes more realistic than fact, wonders if perhaps the mines, which hadu served' their country so nobly in every war up to Worlji War H and iwere ready to go, again when that con- flict ended, were not just a little er "~ Tftese mines, Sow filled with, water seepage and in an Appal- ling state of decrepitude, have added no small amount of his- tory to the ever-unfoMing story of New Jersey in their long years of service. Indians Saw Ore First The first toe a white man heard of the precious ore was tft 3T^, when fptewHy Indiafls
. _..— _ ^ MUTE TESTIMONY — Caimoa Mine toler stands gaunt and lonely and idle, sorroandei onlj by siteaceJ " :.„ • ^ . •- -'— -'
•ft :/
Formed American Company Sterling. The new owners Bis persuasive tongue aad c wealthy aad were resoonsi- guise of honesty caused a ftery We to- the real start of the iroa in British court circles, and peers industry in tfie aorthera part of aad noblemea begged for Hie ep* New Jersey. After greeting a fine P&rtunity to become shareholders maaor house, near the Site of toe jtfcough••'Hasencfever had: nothing present Ringwood Maaor aad but promises to. show them. Ac- smaler housej for their miaers, cording to legend, even Queen they established a lively trade Charlotte and some of her court m forged iroa, packed by male- retinue subscribed to . the aew train to poiats along the Passaie and aebulous venture. Hasencle- aad Baefceasaci: Rivers w*©re ver not only succeeded in rais- jtte ©re was put aboard b«ats ing the necessary money to ptif* Ifor further sAiiMnafeat. ^ ebase tte- Ogden enterprises bvA Far ffce aext 20 years, t^e d#. ajs© was successful in getting dea enterprise prospered greatly. himself appoiated as resideat ma- Word pi »e s«eeessssftil veature ia aager. All this was on tfe@ im wilds of New Jersey reached Strength of a surmise that the the ears of Peter Haseaelever, n Ogdens would tire of the-profit's* shrewd Ger>man promoter and, as bie Venture! Snags later proved, a 'bungling Hasenclever's foresi^it wa« provea aeeueate in March oi Aeting ©a the tee premise that ^fwhen the "New Yorfe Mer- jss&aer or later the Ogden iatey- cury" carried aa advertiseraeal |ests wouM inevitably be o«©red ofteriag the Ogden properties fo* sale, Haseaclever saMed for sale. Kasenclever purchased- th« " % to raise the necessary eatire enterprise, including 15,- s© as to be ready wiea W® aeres, of land, . im 5,888 HaejliBfs eame up lor pounds."... *«.
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[ J • -. i: i " I . Mi.ur hmiLins lift nrr tilth r»m/n i>n7 air drill in i •iii.nni Msur. Itehich hegan operation on June 23 after being closed since 19311
fwswf pan Qome Home AgaifJE It was ore _ mining wilhoul modern embellishments jected Bl •"• " years ago m blood every icl93*jf'the juginhe history of the mining stop ie town mines reaches back 200 years it languished- .= 23 Mr. was not until 1763, when a Lon- Moran into the don syndicate purchased the mines. .„, Ringwood property,.-that the written record of ttgraflnes began who smarted wor_ The syndicate,_c|Sl^gTitself, the wood miaes when American Iron Company, sent and is nbw general superintendent, Baron Peter Hasenclever here to said: "They opened the mines, manag^ii^mines. He maintained and it meant we could -come home a German Band to serenade him, again. JSvee though we stayed tat sent little profit to London, her6" and lived here in Ringwood and was.; replaced by Robert we weten't home when the mines jErskine, a Scottish mining engi- were closed. Now we can work neer, who improved the mines and where we belong; wiere we should rehabilitated the company's fi-'. live andvwork." ^M. ; nances, He explained flflft the mfeers Joined the Works Projecf " ministration in 1931 and found their way into fa when the war began. / „*.. The miners will live in the, sMy- seven company houses on the 877 acres of mine property between j? green hills of the Hope and ^WhaJebackmountains. - • 98 iron Mine, Famous foi^lH Ghost Revolutio nary Cannon, Is Being; Revived
The mill of Ringwood Mines, lite., at Ringwood, N, /., inhere the iron ore is ground nnd sepa- rated. The shaft tttjhe lower left leads to the Peters Mine, which is not yet in operation
OU A WIDE CHOICE Jersey Town, "Dormant S rVQHTSWESTs ; Since 1931, Lives Again;' 3 MtS. 20 MJNS. $39.65 plus tax 9:45 PM 11:3OPM // fight Time
10HRS. 5SMIHS. $U3.65 plas tax
11 firs. plus tax 3 WMTI $34.05™- plus tax
?HRS. SMINS. IX c <**,, Iron Mine/^s Federal Gov't Takes Over Dn Auction Ringwood I ron Mines Again Block Again Holds $1,685,367 Judgment on Them, Federal Gov't Has No Other. Bidder at Auction Yesterday ) PATERSON—The historic Ringwood Mines, which had $1,659,187 Lien; : Ringwood $70,000 an important part in the Revolutionary War, have been bought at auction by the U.S. Government. RINGWOOD — The Siagwood 1,685,367 Judgment Iron Mines are up for sale to- Iron Mines, Inc., beaded by morrow for the second time {. The government • the only Lewis Sanders, New York min- within a year. The federal gov- bidder- • purchased the mines bought them from ernment is offering the mines to yesterday for $1,685,367.43. This the government for $1,500,000. satisfy a $1,659,187 mortgage. (was the amount due a judgment The government took a $1,- the government obtained against 400,000 mortgage from the pur- If na bid above the mort- chasers. ' With operating costs gage amount is made, fee gov- the mines July 2. - , Purchase of the mines by the high, the mines shut down last ernment will elaim the mioes and year wife promise of early re- sell them privately. A govern- government set back Ringwood Borough's hopes for a tax wind- opening with a new type morej ment spokesman said the mines economical operation. still contain good quality ore. fall. The former mine owners owe Borough Foreclosed A United States marshal will Ringwood »more than $100,000 auetk» off the property at 2 pjn, back taxes and, according to That never materialized and at the Passaie County sheriffs John WalHsch, borough attor- Ringwood Borough put the mines office, Paterson. ney, Ringwood officials were on the block for biaek tqxes. RingwoQd Borough' i hopeful the mines would be pur- There were no bidders last Be-* to sell the mines last December '.ehased privately so the arrears eember, and the borough lofe- 30 for $70,000 baek taxes. There ,eould be collected. were no bidders and the 'borough This is the sixth time since Ringwood held the mines until foreclosed. of World War II the mines last summer when the federal The federal government go: have changed hands. The gov- government obtained the judg- title to the mines from the bor- eminent sold the mines twice ment against the owners. ough after it went to'court earliei JEor $700,000 and $1,297,000 and Submitting the bid for the r> this year. got them baek when the projects government was the General •> With the mines up for sale 'failed. Services Administration. Paul '• borough officials have'theh? fin- i Two years ago the Ringwood CirLUo, government attorney, gers crossed, hopeful for one re> said his agency has no plans to suit*—that somewheres along thi operate the mines but, hopes* to line tiie borough will eollect thi sell them to a private owner. tax arrears due it. The mines, whieh date back to 1739, cover 877 acres in Ring- iwood and five miles of roads. [Little mining has been carried out there in recent years al- though Donald C. Fulkerson, manager of government prop- srties, said there was sufficient ire. Lack of baeklog capital hadf slowed operation, he believed. From ore at the mines, can- ions were forged for Washing- Historic Ringwood Mines »n's army and -for the deck »uns of "Old Ironsides", of 1812 lame. The chain which closed the Sol dto US at Auction Hudson River to the British /warships in the Revolution was The United States Governmentlby the government to operate tits jforged from ore from the mines. Ringwood Mines, Inc. which Tfee ortgage was transacted ia ides 877 acres d ...... August of 1951 aad the $1,685,367.43 miser*! rights to 232 awes and a offered by the government in the five-gafle spw right of -way foreclosure proeedings included the of fie Wanaque-Midvale mortgage itself, the interest -tad gwersmeni, ttaaagii M&m easts. General ^^^iServices • * ' .* AdministrationV . . B • iF t4 i ,•••* ThWife Borough of Ringwood has FOR REFERENCE the lone 6 approximating $103,000 to satisfy a _ --„_„- en the prsperty agates* ting ti were Leo Ringwood Mines, of $1,659,187.44. amaiflt mi Wffliam f. &©Iy, dep- "*•' '"' was SBbuaittM at a ' 0 S bl the 209 years of its exis- held yesterday after- e Ringwood mines have NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM U. S. marshal in the office of financial assistance from TattemlL the government and from private OAT. NO. 23 012 funds as efforts were made to for tfie »jii*e fte rfcfc iron ore there. While the deposip t is a rich one, the operp - hopes to dispose of the property ational costs are too to make as sooa as it eaa fey safe, tease'- . — or otherwise. He said at fito pees- ogeratott was darJteg World War
eat time he knows of n ••*• of barbed wire stretched around Up-Counfy Orbit K- Mints tie whole business. The-ordinance states that Kis- k has 30 days to start safe- Ringwood Steps Up guarding the mines. But, sur- prise. The code provides no com' Mine Closing Bids pletion date. Nevertheless as one By PETER A. DVARACKAS council source said, "that's not HeraH-News Staff Writer i going- to stop us from giving Kis- A will be interesting to see how seriously owners of lak a subpoena if they suspend >• the Ringwood minelands take renewed threats by, W- ' • caLofficials to safeguard the gaping shafts there. The outcome at this point can I - Council Threat t~~ be determined by time. This time the Borough Council on "The riddle we can guess, we > has ordered the J. I. Kislak others with a few strands .speedily despisje~$ot anything :, Corjj>., the firm which plans to ' eventually construct a $50 mil- ,; lion commumtv complex on the w' 900 acre mine Iproperty, to •C \ fence or fill in •the abandoned ' mine shafts . . . i; or be taken to , court to explain :.why not. '." Residents arc, •; beginning to be • lieve that wh'l 'such a waimn: '•• sounds great Dvaraukas r and, looks fine m headlines, it is •actually the same tune Ring- ''.'. wood folk have been hearing for ,; years. '<. The movement to safeguard !the mines had been most elo- -•quent when 15-year-old Harold %Van Dunk perished under tons ••; of mud and stone in one of the ','. shafts. Officials then adopted -; an ordinance which stipulated !;that mine openings be filled or ! fenced. theji, municipal officials cajoled^ threatened and ] demanded action from the own- 1'ers of the mines. However, the, ; shafts, after all the talk and 'i frustration, remain just as dan- ; gerous. I'-. Residents wouM hate to be- •! ,lieve that the latest threats have ,; been whipped up for the ap- j proaching election. •| According to one official, the ': governing body has activated ,! the code which regulates the :;mines, and that specifications i have been sent to the Kislak firm ;• outlining what the borough wants \ to have accomplished. r-. These include concrete caps
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WOW REFERENCE
OAT. NO. 23 012 •«*#» «**• Ringwood Mines Go on Auction Block Tuesday RINGWOOD _ A U. S. mar- shal will rap his gavel on a table wood ore taketenn frofromm find out w£ai1 will be the fate in the sheriff's office at Paterson some of these very holes served of their mine. Cornelius Board, on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to open the the nation well and faithfully dur- the Welshman who started it way bidding on this borough's famous ing the Revolutionary War the, back in 1738 ... thth e OgfeOfea [iron mines. They are being of- Par of 1812 and the1 Cavil War, family ... Peter Hasenclever, fered by the government to sat- There are two completely sep- the German promoteper r who ran isfy a mortgage ot $1,659,187.44. arate mines in the Hingwood area,, thth e minei s frofm 176g untiil he re- Cannon. Mine and Peter's Mine turned toEurop e in 1768 If there are no bidders, the Fed- Robert Erskine, the young Scot eral government will be forced Th3 reasons for the names are whose shrewd and canny man- to claim them for the above fig- shrouded in the mists of the years' agement of the mines made him jure and then attempt to sell them but the two mines still exist, one' of such inestimable value to the jprivately. mile apart. TIK deepest level in the Ringwood mines is 1809 feet, infant nation during the Revofar Asked why, in recent years the although other Novth Jersey iron . . Martin Ryerson, mines have been operated only the mines in 1807 «-•— go mueh deeper. It has them with huge and sporadically, Donald C. Fulker- _ rumored that the great sae- son, manager of the depth has had something to do years . ,.. . j for the government, replied that with the recurrent failure of the' bumanitartaij and (iitt certainltil y isn'i't t ffo r lack of ore capital was lor for lack of quality in the is sot and Fulkerson said that he according to Abram Hewitt, a relation by d i marriagmariage of CCoopero , h.who man- lack of backlog capital „, „„, aged the mines for several 3 main reason why operations iterated .^^^v^,. iJHB 5_.^ All these spirits will be Wat recent years have fizzled out.! descends into the earf. e**** a* t SUIAJEa L *ad listening with great in! During the dull slaek periods .degree angle for 5,6® feetw.,..,,[as the auctioneer opens the sale. the operators "have not had suf-troraneaes at fourteen ^different ficient funds to - absorb the lows! levels. Ore can? teofcthe miners with the highs. - \$own to the work level Although the mine area ProPerl^g*^^ the^mtaeVas'c to Ask Court s like a western ghost town with atjng_ u RINGWOOD --* Borough "At- nicipalities in the nation with drants was unanimously passedT""1* torney Louis A. Wallisch at last similar problems, although none The, second ordinance, which night's meeting of the Borough with as great an .amount of back offered 15 roads to be taken into Council, gave a detailed report taxes as Ringwood's $90,000.00. he borough road system, was on the negotiations presently un- Although all has been done abled until next month due to derway between the borough and that is possible at this time, Wal- he fact that a dozen drain ease* the various agencies of the fed- ments were handed in just prior eral government in the matter of liseh stated categorically that if o the meeting and three more the Ringwood Mine area and the necessary more trips to Washing- easements are still needed. The staggering amount of back taxes, ;on will be undertaken until there roads in question are portions of to date uneollectable by the bor- $ an equitable settlement Underbill Ter., Overlook Ter., ough. reached. Jine Pi., Orchard Rd., Sunset Hearing in November William Donaldson, of Cupsaw Rd., Bellot Rd. and Summit Rd., Working from every conceiv- Lake, asked about the exact able angle, Walliseh is processing all at Erskine Lake; Duffy Rd. the borough's appeal to the U.S. status of the people who live in at Cupsaw Lake; and Valley Rd., Circuit Court of Appeals and said ;he mine area, or as he put it, the Welch Rd., Zuk PL, Hiekory Rd. that he anticipated a hearing on 'Federal Reservation". He want- and Birch PL in the Carletondale the matter in November. How- sd information on police protec- section. • ever, in order to leave no avenue ;ion given the area, what fire A discussion was set off when unexplored, Mayor Elmer Van protection there is, >if any, con- Council President Frank Burns, Voorhis, John Walliseh and the ditions relating to sanitary in- who presided iia Mayor Van Voor- borough attorney made a trip to stallations, and the number of iis' absence, read a letter from the nation's eapitol, where they children from that area who at- ;h© 'Lakeland Regional High had conferences with the two tend the public school. Although School Board of Education re- Senators from New Jersey and he gave no reason for his de- questing $17,000. At last month's Congressman William B. Widnall, meeting, a request for $15,000 who represents Ringwood in the tailed queries, all seemed to be was granted. The council mem- House of Representatives. To- answered to Ms satisfaction. Wal- bers questioned the huge expen- gether with representatives from liseh stated emphatically that all diture in the short interval • of the General Services Administra- phases of the mine area problem time, and voted unanimously to tion and the Justiee Department, had been discussed during the withhold forwarding the funds the two loeal officials went int( Washington conferences not only until they had received an ade- the possibility of congressional the tax question. quate explanation, inasmuch as action or of persuading the Gen- Adopt Ordinance the entire budget only totals eral Services Administration to $39,000. pay a lump sum to the borough Public hearings were held on The accident rate in the bor- in order to alleviate the tax bur- two ordinances, one of which ough is surprisingly low, accord- den on the residents. was adopted by the council, the ing to the police report. During During the course of his re other being held over until the the month of July, customarily search for his brief, which must September meeting. An ordi- one of the' heaviest travelled be filed with the Court of Ap- nance granting the Windbeam peals,'.Walliseh said that he hat Water Co. the use in perpetuity months in the year, there were been surprised to discover tha of certain roads in the borough only six accidents, while 56 sum- there are at least 1,000 other mu for the installation and main- monses were given out for mo- tenance of water lines and hy tor vehicle violations. FOR REFERENCE RINGWOOD PUBtIC LIBRMY 145 Skytands Rdadl c Ringw©©4 Ntw Jersey 07456 NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM BAT. NO. 23 H12 RINGWOOD I^uriee UUps -' RiNGWOOB -» Tfee:; i®7 ••»*•; nicipal - budget - was ' aceepteji Court Rules That US Friday Bight' without opposition $M&, ;». 'putolie hearing."' ffee UJ te#g^ «als $2W,3#7, an ia- &mm <<£ $lf^§f mm last. js6!S»«. 0 Aiaaaigfe «a$; w ajeaa ap- prtxjsiailely Ringwood Mines To Be Sold by GSA Next Month (Special to tite News) NEW YORK — General Serv- in Mines in Top Court ices Administration announced 1 here today that about 878 acres ' of government-owned surplus Borough to Skirt New Action to Collect property in Ringwood will be sold after the opening of sealed $147,000 Taxes Claimed on Gov't Traet bids next month. , The bids will be received un- RINGWOOD—The Borough Council is taking its fight -jtil Feb. 28 at the administratlonts offices at 250 Huds&n St., New for $147,000 taxes on, the Ringwood Iron Mines to the York, and opened in the after- — ' \U. S. Supreme Court. noon. Pleading by Wallisch The property, known as Riag- Louis Walliseh, Jr., borough iwood Mines, contains twe fcnovn attorney, was authorized last ore deposits totaling 232 acres. 1 Included ateo is the governments night, to start the court action. interest in Peter's Mine spur He is' qualified to argue cases' right-of-way and about five mites before the high court. of right-of-way north of Waaaque- The council is seeking a re- Midvale. connecting with the Erie versal of a Federal Court de- Railroad. cision January 20 in favor of the The imp-roved property con- government. tains 32 service structures and The government argued 65 one and two-familv dwellings. mortgage holder of the defunct Included in th* sale are items of mines it was not a full owner production equipment. and not responsible for delin- Interested persons may wr*te quent taxes. the administration here. Inspec- The government has held the tion can be arranged by asidng Government Pays mines since 1949. Before that th for the maintenance superintend- General Services Administration ent at the property. i Ringwood $13,510 owned the 878 acres several Washington Bureau times since 1941. The govern- WASHINGTON—The Depart- ment is taking sealed bids for the ment of Health, Education and mines February 28 in hopes of Welfare has certified payment of putting them' back in private $13,510 to Ringwood, 'N.J, for ownership. schools. Wallisch said the lower court's refusal to rule on the borough's The law covers aid for federal- i claim that the government had ly impacted school districts. The •jbeen a "continuous holder" of money is part of $18,013 claimed the mines since 1949 leaves "the for fiscal year 1958 by the Ring- Idoor open to further action. wood Board of Education. I If the hearing (not expected Last year the board received (before next October) goes against $11,584 from the federal govern- ithe town, Wallisch said • at- ment for. educating 167 children tempts will continue to get pay- from the government's tax-free Iment in court, on the prior mine area. , [claims stand, or by congressional Pupils from the mine are one- iaction: . third the school enrollment Wallisch wants residents to Supreme Court The mines were foreclosed by write U. S. Senator Clifford the federal government in 1955 Case and Representative William RIK^fWOO fhe Borou# when the borough tried to' take has taken its case of $147,000 In B. Widnall, asking them to speed back taxes on the Ringwood Iron them over from the Ringwood bills to provide for payment of Iron Mines Company, which the taxes. Mines to the 13. S. Supreme Conrt. owed $100,000 taxes. The taxes The Borough Council last week have not been collected arid the authorized Borough Attorney Lou- borough is contesting the govern- ts Wallisch, Jr., to start court sec- ment's right in a U.S. Supreme tion. case ; The borougb contends the gov- C* - Aff/t' ernment has been a continuous holder of the mine property sinfee 1949 and is therefore responsible for tae taxes. The government has argued it >s a mortgage holder of the mtoe property and not a full owner and :herefore not responsible for the lelinquent taxes. FOR REFERENCE NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM TjHE ROOM OAT. NO. 33 ma Town Appeals BINGWQOD State to Check Federal Rule Expeet Vote ihgwmd Mhos , RIMSWOOO —-• Arrangements are being made to have a sanitar- JtT Monday on ian of the state Board of Health ^afce a joint inspection with Wil- $103,000 involved liam Kircher, Borough health in- [ In Gov't Priority Tax spector, of the local mine area, ae- RJMCJW06D'-* A vote is ex* cerdtog to Bernard Kaplan, dis- metM MoaJay, ©mgressaan ; Over West Milford wattam 3lv Wii&an (13 said y«a» " • • " -'•-- gi environmental f RINGWOOD — The Borough terday, on a bill which would •Council has appealed a federal send the borough's tax claim cat flbe inspection steins from a ra- judge's tilling which does'it'out the Ringwood Mine property to quest by .CouneilBaan Jerry Pat* •iM IS.:' $.. <3oart «£ f&ams jTcar .fiisr; ria to the state board. Pafcria saM of $103,000 taxes owed by the pgsitlott. >. %' •" ' [defunct Ringwood Iron Mines. fee look his action after the Bor- I Louis Wallisch, Jr., borough Asteoad Mlwill M Si?afte4 ough Coatisil rejected Ms re- | attorney, has filed a brief wife later when the court makes its qsest for m inspeetton with the recommendation oh the tax claim. local Board of Health. jthe Circuit Court of Appeals, The borough claims $146,133,06 [Philadelphia. He expects it .will in unpaid taxes for pan of 1953 toe heard in October. ttartih tm. , Patria said he has been "trying ,'WaIliseh said the council will The borough elates that fami- for an extended period of time to (take the tax battle to the United wes i^sMting on flwn® propraw fef i have something done about the IStates Supreme Court if the '^is^^ - services - 'saeh: :««• seaaol*! deplorable conditions in the mine I jpresent ruling is upheld. and poiiee wsd fl^ pyotiB^tea area." The councilman also con- Last May, Judge Alfred Mo- ile test was paid by these resi- tended that the local health ordi- 'darelli, U. S. District Court, tt$ t& the' -fove*am:es!t mH$$i: nance has not been'enforced. Re- gd/tiepropel bnt didaot pay ruled the federal government held garding his complaint of uncovered had priority over the borough in taxess©s» to, fte feo^raA. Aage caa isrtolations, Patria said financial matters- of the elosed : ->here hasn't -been a summons is- iron mines. bued in ll°y(iars." The mine owners hadn't paid He said the conditions in the taxes since 1953 and the bov- mine area include broken steps, . ough holds the federal govern- broken ceilings, broken windows I (ment should pay the bill as the and doors hanging le FOR REFERENCE PUBLIC yiRAIY 145 Ringw©©4 New Jersey 07456 NOT TO BB TAKEN FROM THE ROOM OAT. NO. 23 012 0 •_/*• Ringwood Tax No Operation RINGWOOD Measure Gets Plans, Mine Couff of Claims Past House Owners Say loHearRisigwood Now Up to Senate No Demand for Ore; Mines Tax Claim Whether $146,133 Ringwood Property r A tion EINGWOOD—The ILS. Court r ? 9,3 « Proposed Skyline BillJ5oes,to Court Will Stand Idle :of dates W hear portion «%£& SfmorWSaS Herald-NfeVs Wa'sfiington Bureau the Dorougfis tax elaim ease on is received and until the Indus- [ WASHINGTON — The House RINGWOOD — There is no the Ringwood Mines tat New trial Committee reports on its jof Representatives yesterday ap- plan for immediate operation of the Ringwood Iron Mines, ac- York City, Louis Walliseh, bor- advisability. proved a bill which provides for oagb attorney,, said this week a< In a. report of meetings be- sending to the Unitea States eording to E. T. Binger, 'secre- tween council members and own- Court of Claims the $146,133.08 tary of the Pittsburgh-Pacific a meeting of the Borough •Couneil ers of the proposed company, it claim of the Borough of Ring- Company, of Hibbing, Minn., and a hearing may be held in was stated that the owners had wood, N.J., against the govern- their new owners. Ringwood. agreed to guarantee, that water ment for back taxes on the1 de- Binger said the mines would Walliseh told the couneil he rates would not be raised for a funct Ringwood Mines property be held for a time on a "striotly had initiated action the Court five-year period. The measure now goes to fee maintenance basis'?. He said the of Claims at W: last This is the period of the con- Senate for action, decision was result of decreased Thursday by filing a petition. A tract recently signed by Skyline The Ringwood elaim covers a demand for iron ore, and not bill, approved by tha House of Lakes residents with Wanaque Jperiod of from the middle of 1953 until there is a demand would Representatives, has been re- borough, which supplies their ^through 1957. Borough officials the mines go into operation. ferred to tiie court for payment water. The company would also jsought originally for legislation, to the borough of $146,133 due in maintain the same rate or lower jwhieh would make the govern- Binger met yesterday with back taxes on the iron mines. if the area is cut off from Wan- ment responsible for paying the representatives of the General Whea the ease is scheduled * or aque before the five-year period full claim, Such a measure was Services Administration, admin- Pretoria! hearing, the _ attorney is over, it was reported: sponsored, by New Jersey Repre- istrators for the government-, said, he may request that it be Coaneilman Jennings, how- sentative William B. Widaall, owned property, for closing of taken from Washington. The: ever, questioned whether the Seventh District Republican. the sale. commissioner appointed by the borough could enforce such an Ringwood is in his district. The The property went to Pitts- court to hear the case may then agreement with a private utility burgh-P a e i f i c Company for eome to New York City, he said, company. bill was introduced at the elose $650,000, the highest of five bids. or possibly to Ringwood itself. of last session, and referred to a The government took a mort- If the., commissioner does come House judiciary subcommittee. gage to this borough, Walliseh said, it ' At a hearing earlier this ses- The site includes two mines, woald give the municipality an sion, the subcommittee deeided 878 aeres of land, ore deposits advantage since more materials that Ringwood has not yet ex- on 232 acres, railroad spur, 32 could be used from local files in hausted all\ its remedies at law buildings and 65 homes. For the presenting the case. after hearing testimony from present, all buildings and prop- An ordinance accepting streets Widnall and Ringwood officials. erty will be kept as they are, at Skyline Lakes was passed by It reported out another bill re- the council and another to ac- "erring the ease to the U.S. Court Binger said, since there are no cept porfions of streets at Cap- if Claims and requesting it to plans for construction or re- saw Lake, Lake Erskine and *ive findings of facts and con- building. Carletondale was introduced. Donald Fulkerson, superin- 1 dusions. When this has been Those affected at Skyline ione, another bill" will be drafted, tendent of the mines under prev- Lakes are Hillside Ter., Buena iieorporating the court's reeom ious owners, will stay, Binger Vista Rd. and Brookside Dr. m •nendations. said, and local people .will be Borough officials contend tha employed when tihe mines are Those scheduled for public o operated. hearing on September 12, are, at although the government has Cupsaw Lake, portions of Sum- ,.j been collecting rents from oecu- ! The owners, a group of war mit Rd., at Lake Erskine: Maple UJ jpied dwellings on the defund veterans, started the Pittsburgh- Rd., Brookside Ave.-, Bellot Rd. mines property, it has paid nc Paeifie Company in 1946, oper- iEast, Lsarei PL; aad at Carle- flaxes to the borough which- musi ate four mines and have proper- tondale, Cedar PL Rd., Hare PI supply residents with school ty in Hibbing and Crosby, Minn., and Walker Dr. . HI facilities, fire and police protec- and Wakefield, Mich. An ordinance to designate LL tion and other municipal serv- The contract signed yesterday $2,500 from the capital improve- LL ices. provides for a 10-year, 5 per ments fund for repair and alter- The resultant loss in taxes, cent mortgage to be held by the ation of the borough garage was they assert, has greatly affected government. also introduced with public hear- the borough's financial structure Pittsburgh - Paeific Company^ ing set for September 12. and has acted as a deterrent tc made a down payment, of 20 per\ cent, $130,000, leaving a re- ] The cojjncil, by a split vote, its future growth. Appearing a decided to purchase a govern- the hearing, besides Widnall mainder of $520,000, payable mental accounting' machine for O were Ringwood Mayor Elme: quarterly installments. / |4,489. Councilman R i c h a r d LL Van Voorhis, Borough Attorne Jennings, Democrat, abstained Louis Walliseh, Jr.; Ralph Col {and Jerome Patria, on^ other fax, borough assessor, and Wil- Democrat on the couneil op- liam Fletcher, Jr., president o jpostd its purchase. the board of education. R1NGV/OOD 145 Skyiands • 'i c Ring wood's Tgx Claim, Gets Department O.K. U. S. Attorney General's Office Reports, Bill Before House Judiciary Committee Herald-News Washington Barean WASHINGTON — Representative William B. WidnaU ,said today the Justice Department has sent to1 the Bureau, of the Budget its report on the claim of Ringwood, N. J., for $146,133.08 against the government for' taxes on the Hear lax Case I Ringwood Mines. government took title in 1953. The 7th Distriet New Jersey The bill is now before the congressman said the report is House judiciary committee. On iron Mines The committee has a report favorable to the borough. The WN&W0OD— BorwtigH' *M information came from Frank from tile Government Services' tmm- .Louis Wallisch has told Chambers, •. chief of the legisla- Administration, but has marked •&&• BeHfagii Coa»cil the US -Ss- tive and legal section of the de- time waiting for the Justice De- preme Court has refused to hear partment, office of the attorney partment's report. the Ringwood Iron Mines; general. WidnaU said today he expects' At request of Ringwood, Wid- action by the judiciary commit- , said be is 'considering nall introduced last August a bill tee when the Justice Depart^ ! an application for a rehearing -of to reimburse the borough for loss ment's report clears the Budge' {the case involving £147,000 in of taxes on the mines since the of the Bureau. 1 back taxes which the borough Ic laitris me government should pay I The government has argued MONDAY, JUNE 16,1958 of Municipal Of ficers, he learned, (that as mortgage holder of the that several other cities, includ- ; mines it is not a full owner and ing New York, were ready to in- [ not responsible for the delinquent tervene in Ringwood's behalf. r Walliseh said there are still Walliseh held.out nope for the Supreme Court three avenues open to the-muni- borough in three different ap- cipality for relief. • proaches: 1. Duplicate bills be- The first is a duplicate bill fore tie House of Representa- Will Not Hear now before the House of Rep- tives and the Senate providing resentatives and Senate provid- for $146,133 to be p«id Ringwood ing $146,133 to be paid Ringwood in settlement of its tax claims; Ringwood Case in full settlement of all' claims 2. Aa appeal to the Court of against the government. i Claims for damages in the tax But Borough Will Mayor Elmer Van Voorhis, i araouot; 1 A separte case before Tax Collector Edwin Tresize, tip Ceatt o« Appeals mm m bor^ Continue to Fight ougft has the right to be paid the School Board President William settlement sum in lieu of taxes. For Iron Mine Tax Fletcher and Wallisch will ap^ Mayor Elmer Van Voorhis; Ed- pear Wednesday before the win Tresize, tax collector; Wil- RINGWOOD—The U. S. Su- house subcommittee of the judt liam Fletcher, president of tfae preme Court has refused to hear eiary in Washington. Board of Education; and Wal- the Ringwood Iron Mines case. A 33 page brochure has been liseh was to appear today be- Borough Attorney Louis Wall- prepared by the borough for $me a tmm saheomiaittee of tne, isch reported to the Borough presentation with affidavits from judiciary which is considering thej various local officials. |Ctai«s §«#aon." •' •, ... . .'• Council Friday night ttiat the 'Walliseh cautioned that de- legal aspect of the case is now spite the fact a bill has been in- completed. troduced and a hearing is sched- However, Walliseh said he is uled, hopes should not run too RiNGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY considering an application for high since it is very difficult to rehearing of the case, which in- have private bills passed. 145 Skylands Road volves $147,000 in back taxes The two other methods of re- due the borough. course for Ringwood are an ap- Ringwood, New Jersey 07454 . The council was seeking.re- peal to the court of claims, for versal of a Federal Court.de- damages in the' tax amount or a cision January - 20 in favor of separate casei before the court of the government. The government appeals on the basis that the has argued that as mortgage borough has a right to be paid holder of the defunct mines it is a sum by the government in lieu REFERENCE [.not a full owner and not re- of taxes. This would be paid by sponsible for the delinquent the General Service Adminis- taxes. • tration, mortgage holders on the Walliseh said he had hoped the mine property. , Supreme Court would hear the Walliseh said he may ask for case since the American 'Bar As- ft resolution from the council at NOT TO Bl TAKEN FROM THE ROOM sociation thought the borough the next regular meeting author- had a good casee. The attorney OAT. NB. S3 012 also reported, that after his con- izing him to institute the latter tact with -the National Institute action. • _. .. „...!..,.. Ringwood Iron Mines Sold By US for $650,000 Congressman Sees Hope RINGWOOD .—- ifce federal other companies, „—„«.., „. government has announced tae Bros., of Hawthorne; and Lipsett, For Ringwood Tax Claim sale of the Ringwood Iron Mines Inc. of New York City.' to to© Pittsburgh-Pacific C&, of The new owners are a group of Widnall Says Necessary Federal Agency Hibbing, Mm., for $680,000- veterans of the Korean War who Operattoste at the mla^i may be pooled their savings to form Pitts- Report Ready Soon for House Committee revived within a month. General burgh-Pacific.. Heraltf-News Washington Bureau - i Services Administration of .the During World War II, the fed- WASHINGTON — Representative William B. Widnall federal government held the eral government spent over ?4>- mines and conducted the bidding 000,000 on mine improvements, pressing for action to recompense Ringwood, N. J., for its| at public auction. Ibut the war ended before actual tax loss on the government-owned Ringwood Iron Mines' Now that ta© sale has been an- (production could begin. Mining reported progress today. nounced, the borough is hopeful operations were begun in Ring- of getting $148,009 to back taxes. wood in 1763, Iron was used by Peadiajr Since August The,, borough was hopeful it federal troops to the Revolution- The congressman last Augus. coirld obtain the tax money when ary War. The site1 includes two introduced legislation for pay- the government owned the mines. mines, 878 acres of land, ore de- ment o'f Ringwood's $146,133.08 Fhe Pittsburgh-Pacifie firm was plaim against the government in 1 posits on 232 acres, a railroad lieu of taxes from 1953 through successful in the bidding over two spur, 32, buildings andjBS homes. 1957. , Ringwood has been seeking to collect since the government took title ta the mine property in 1953. The' borough has been supplying families on the Tax Settlement property with schooling and l-other municipal facilities. This fur Mine Property has caused a sharp increase in its tax rate and is an unfair bur- v Under ReviewJ0^j den on other residents, the RINGWOOD — Tl4 teotgfe Eyes on Ringwood borough asserts. •is aearer the day whea the federal The Widnall bill is before the governm®at will make restitu- Ringwood Mines House judiciary committee. Its tion far baek teses pa the ategwoe* Mines Tax Appeal subcommittee on elaims informed ;Mto« pwertvi fl© p ay toe«t •RINGWOOD — iLouis WalHsch, him this week that the General may be in the farm of a settle- Sale Condffional Its attorney, told the Borough Services Administration and the ment to cover feersugli lomm for Council that its appeal to the Justice Department had not sub- son • payment of taxes on t & e RINGWOOD — The General U.S. Supreme Court over taxes jmitted reports on the Ringwood Services Administration of the 'claim. federal government said yester- on Ringwood Mines hag attracted Congressman William B. Wid- day it sold the Ringwood - Iron ,, national attention. "I have been informed now", inaH (R) reported on the progress Mines to the Pittsburgh Pacific Wallisch- said the National In- said Widnall,. "that GSA has of the tax settlement to borough Co., of Hibbing, Minn., on the stitute of' Municipal Law Officers cleared its report and the sub- [officials recently. condition the Hibbing firm ob^-' is considering joining the action committee should receive it Tile borough claims $146,133.08 tains anti-trust clearance • from because of Its unique implica- within the next few days. in back taxes on the property re- the US Justice Department. tions. A committee of the Ameri- "I have also learned the cently purchased by a mW-westero Sale of the mines by the-gov- can Bar Association will soon an- Justice Department is working| mining interest. on its report which, when com-i Widnall said reports on &e tax ernment agency was learned from i nounee whether it will also be- claim are in the process of being' borough .officials earlier this come ' a party to. the case. pleted, must be cleared through the Bureau of the Budget. reviewed by various government' week. Pittsburgh Pacific with a , A lower court held' that Ring- .offices before going to the Bureau bid of $650,000 was the highest of |wood did not have right to seize "Mayor Elmer Van Voorhis iof the Budget. ' four among them the Shotmeyer the mines for back taxes .because and the borough attorney, Louis Bros. Petroleum Corp., of Haw- Wallisch, Jr., have been in con- "Mayor Elmer Van VoorMes' thorne. • • ' the federal government held and the borough attorney, Louis mortgage oh' them. stant touch with me. I have'jusi Walliseh, Jr., have been in con-, The federal government which I Wallisch will argue the case received further information "Mayor Elmer Van Voorhis had jurisdiction, over the mines [before the U. S. Supreme Court from Mr. Walliseh substantiating received further information from during World War II, made im- in October or November. He said the law with respect to payment -Mr. WaHisai substantiating the provements on tbe- mines but the i he, has received Tequests for in- by the government, in lieu of law with respect to payment by war .ended before actual opera- j formation front other municipali- taxes, to the borough," the New the government, in lieu of taxes, tions could begin. The borough ties over fee country who are Jersey Republican congressman to the borough," ttie New Jersey is hopeful of obtaining back taxes said. on mine property.. „ faced by stailar_situations. ReoubMcaa congressman Said. FOR REFERENCE PUBLIC 145 NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM OAT. NO. 23 012 tta* pne^3,19SfT~ Confer on Borough's Tax Claim ;, •> ,-! '**" ' RINGWOOD BOROUGH officials are pictured above conferring with Congressman William *B. Widnall on the borough's claim of §146,133.08 it is seeking from the Federal government as settle- ment for back taxes oa tbe Bingwoad Mines. Left to right, are: Congressman Widnall, Mayor El- mer Van. Veorbis, William, Fletcher, Jr., president of the Ringwood Board of Education; Louis Walliseh, Jr., borough attorney; and Ralph Colfaz, Ringwoood tax assessor. On Thursday a US House of Representatives subcommittee on claims of the judiciary committee reported' out a bill which will go to the House aad US Senate calling for a review of the tax claim case by the US Court worn Skylancis Road d New Jersey 07A5/ NOT TO BE TAK11* FROM THE ROOM OAT. NO. 33 012 Hearings End on Borough's Wallisch Sees Victory, Move to Get Mine Taxes For Borough in Tax Case RINGWOOD—Louis Wallisch, borough attorney, said yesterday it will probably be two or three months before the results are known RINGWOOD — Louis Wallisch, Jr., borough attorney, announce* on the outcome of a hearing between the borough and U. S. Govern- last night at the council meeting that he had received a report mad< ment in connection with the borough's claim to back taxes of the by Commissioner Roald A. Hogenson regarding the hearings heli now-defunct Ringwood Mine&. in 'the borough's fight to obtain back taxes from the government The hearings were held Tues- Wallisch told those present that day and Wednesday before U.S. in his estimation file report, A high rate of municipal law en- Court of Claims Commissioner which will be. submitted to the forcement problems were a bur- Ronald Hogensen. They were Chief Judge and Associate Judge den placed upon RlngWood to- held in the borough hall, attract- of the United States Court of gether with costs for road repair! ing about 50 persons each day. Claims, is indeed favorable and and snow-plow services in th< Seek to Recover $146,080 can be counted as a win for round residential area. The borough is seeking to re- one. „ Wallisch said last night thai cove* approximately $;t46,680 in The borough contends that the he now has 45 days in which to taxes for the period of 1953-1957. United States government is re- file a brief and that the govern- • The federal government owned sponsible for taxes during 1853 ment attorneys have 30 days aftej the mines from 1942 to 1956 and through 1957 on property known that to answer. He went on to saj then sold them to a private eoa- as the Ringwood Iron Mines and that it has taken five months foi cern ,for one and a half million which to this date have been un- the report to be made but tha; dollars. The government at the paid. . it was well worth it since it certi time took back a purchase mort- In his report to the Court of fies the facts as put forth bj gage of $1,400,000. . ' Ilaims, Commissioner Hogenson the borough in its claim. Walliscl Ringwood Borough received has pointed out that .the prop- also said that final word on the taxes, from 1950 through part of erties containing about 908 acres case might not be handed down 1953 and then no more. The mines were acquired by the Defense by the courts until after Jan. 1 in time fell into a depreciated Plant Corporation, a subsidiary 1961. \ _. J state and in 1956 the federal gov- of.Reconstruction Finance Corp., The report ,also points "out" TSaf ernment foreclosed on its mort- in 1942 and were maintained by the increase in tax rates from the United States, in effect the 1953 through 1957 was in part gVhen the mines were sold purchaser, until 1&54. Defense due to the increase in amounts there wasn't enough money to Plant Corp. operated the mines spent by Ringwood for public pay off both the mortgage and from 1942 to about 1950. During assistance due to unemployment the taxes to Ringwoed and Fed- these years Reconstruction Fi- resulting from the curtailment of eral courts held that the govern- nance Corp. paid the assessed mining operations and the closing ment was entitled to its mort- taxes. of the' mines, and that 90 per cent gage money first In 1951 the properties were of public assistance was granted Legislation in behalf of. Ring- sold to the Ringwood Iron Mines, to families residing in .the dwell- wood was then initiated and Inc., a privately, owned corpora- ings on the mines properties. hearings held last June before tion, the government held a note Also during this time the bor- tfe> Judiciary Committee of Con- \oh tbe property for $1,400,000 ough was required to provide the gress, which referred the mat- isinee only $1100,000 was paid in residential area of the mines ter to fee whole Congress. It w .'cash. The report goes on to state properties with health services, then referred to the Court «J jthat the operation of the mines by garbage and trash removal, and Claims,- which set the hearing (Ringwood Iron Mines, Irte. was other public services related to of this week under Commission^ pot successful and /as a result in control of communicable disease^. er Hogensen. [November, 1955 the company con- Wallisch represented the bor- Jsented to the institution of fore- •'©ugh and Herbert Pittte of the closure proceedings. During this ' Justice Department represented time the company had not paid the government. Briefs will now taxes to the Borough of Ringwood have to be filed in connection for part of. the year 1953, and with the hearings. ....,_ 1934 through 1957 the sum of The borough contends that be- Which came to $146,133.08, the cause the government allegedly amount which the borough now didn't inspect the mines while in claims is owed by the govern- oper^ion and they fell into a ment depreciated state, it should not keep Ringwood from getting its Wallisch pointed out that the .taxes. It also contends that while report as submitted by the com- Ithe mines were functioning, the missioner is favorable in that he borough provided services, such has upheld all the points made as garbage collection, police pro- by the borough in its demand uon, education for children for the unpaid taxes. One of the ..ning from the mines area, etc., strongest points is the contention ad is therefore entitled to com- that because of the unpaid taxes satiob. Ringwood has been made liable to pay higher interest rates on its bond issues, and was a contrib- uting factor in the increased tax FOR REFERENCE rates for the borough. NOT TO BE TAKEN FB.OM TOT ROOM RiNGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 0 145 Skylands Road Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 p Gets Promise $90,000 Taxes Payable with Mine Tax i By Borough Government , Town Officials Visit Washington, Hold ' RINGWOOD — A scattered crowd of 35 residents of this bor- Conference with Case, Smith Widnall ough heard Mayor Elmer Van Voorfeis at laset night's council meet- ing read taxes payable by the borough government to tne extent HeiaW-News Washington Bumtt ^f /•£ 7 of $90,000. A sew tax has been added in the Lakeland Regional 1 WASHINGTON — Ringwood officials got assurance of High School's first request for funds, $15,000. The next shock the members as to whether or not elp yesterday from New Jersey congressmen in their was ffie regular school district to state that the water company fforts to obtain federal relief on the defunct Ringwood tax $22,000, and the county tax had to run new mains on either of $53,000. side of the roads in queston rather "Mines. Immediately following the than down the center. It was j 107 Families Involved , reading of the requests'for large agreed by the majority that' the sums of money, the report of Col- words '"oa' either side" should !. Yesterdays' meeting dealt with lector-Treasurer Edwin M. Tre- be interpolated into the ordi- methods of getting federal pay- size Was read by the mayor. To- nance. ment in lieu of taxes oil prop- ,tal income for the month of June Borough Cancer Drive Chair' erty occupied by 107 families in was $26,231.13. man Mrs. George Ondik was pab>- the government-owned mining liely thanked by Mayor Van '< In the absence of Borough Voorhis. She gave an approxi- The government became own- Clerk'Mrs. Violet Bogert, Dep- mate total, $1,1117.50,' almost a er of the mines last year after uty Clerk Ralph Colfax served. hundred dollars less thai last the mines closed • down. More Councilman Wuester was also on year's figure, and stated that the than §107,000 taxes are owed vacation. entire county had gone well be- the borough and that will soon The mayor gave publie expres- low last year's figures. be aired again in federal court. sion to the borough's gratitude When the mayor asked if any Representing Ringwood at the to Joseph Wundrack of Skyline resident in the audience wanted conference in Senator Clifford P. Lake for last month's informal to be heard, one suggestion was Case's office were Mayor Eimer _ it of a large American flag to made to make' large meetings Van Voorhis and Louis Wallisch, replace the -old one whieh was more audible. It was suggested j Jr., borough, attorney. getting a bit tattered. A round that the council use the school's Present with Case were Sen- of applause for Wundrack fol- publie address system whenever or H. Alexander Smith and lowed Van Voorhis' words. there was a large group in at- Representative William B. Wid- New Roads tendance. Mayor Van Voornis nall. Two more. roads were taken agreed that there wasn't much The mining property was once into the borough road use in people attending the meet- sold by the government to a when the members of the coun- ings., if the eouncitoen could not private interest but later taken cil passed unanimously the ordi- be heard from the rear and said nances accepting Tuljp aud White the suggestion was a valuable back 'through foreclosure pro- Rds. First reading was held of one. an ordinance to accept 14 more Gov't Collects Rent roads in one action by the coun- cil. The public hearing on this Since then the families on the group wijl be" held at the reg- tract have been paying rent to ular meeting on Aug. 9. j federal government. The An ordinance granting the Ringwood Moves Nearer borough, which provides mtmici- Windbeam Water Co. the use of pal services such as police, fire certain roads in the borough for protection and schooling for the water mains, house connections settlement's 159 children, collects and hydrants was passed on its Solution of Mine Taxes no taxes. Borough officials as- first reading, after discussion, bx I sert these services have increased Federal Official Promises Try to Find the tax rate to the point where it is seriously impairing the fu- Legal Remedy for Loss of Borough Income ture of the community. The borough already has gone Herata-Wews WasfcingtMi Bureau -/ /• - - r , io court to seek relief. Its action WASHINGTON—Ringwood Borough yesterday moved to collect from the government was denied by a federal judge. III a step nearer solution of the atortaxs probleCliffordm Bof. Casthee defuncand Ht. An appeal from his decision is Ringwood Iron Mines. Alexander Smith on procedure. pending. u Report by WMnall The three met last week with Considered at yesterday's con- l B. Ringwood Mayor Elmer Van ference was whether the borough WidnaH, Seventh DistricWilliat Repubm - Voorhis and Lotus Wallisch, Jr., should start suit in the U.' S. lican, conferred with Edward K. borough attorney. Discussed Court of Claims or whether a oc Mills, ST., deputy administer of were methods of obtaining fed- jrivate bill for relief should be the General Services Adminis- eral payment in lieu of taxes on introduced in the House and tration; on the problem. property .presently occupied by Senate. i Widnall got a promise pat 107 families. • "Every equity is with the LC Mills would take up the Ring- Ringwood has appealed a fed- borough" Widnall said after the woad situation with Edward C. eral judge's ruling that the gov- meeting." The only question is DC Sweeney, the department's gen- ernment does not have to pay what procedure should be taken. eral counsel, to determine what $100,000 taxes owed by former Next step, he said, will be to legal remedy is open to Ring- owners of the mines. The gov- arrange a conference with the ernment foreclosed last 7W- GovernmentServices Administra- wodd.' tion. As soon as a .decision is • Ringwood officials said the 107 reached, Mills said, he will con- families pay rent to the federal fer with Widnall and U. S. Sen- government but Ringwood has to supply services and schools for them. I *T*.H*.—j V -J^TJ.J. -r—i Mints FOR REFERENCE NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM CAT. ND. 23 U12 PASSAIG COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY T I ESSAY CONTEST RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 145 Skyfands Road Ringwood, New Jersey 0745<5 AN EPISODE OF PASSAIG COUNTY HISTORY 1962 HISTORICAL ESSAY CONTEST conducted by THE PASSAIC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY and THE PATERSON EVENING NEWS C ont ent s First Prize Essay - The Ringwood Mines - By Arthur H« Barabas Second Prize Essay - The Elimination of Grade Crossing in Passaic - By Simon Oldstein Third Prize Essay - "Washington and His Men in Old Acquackanock - By Leonard Klein Fourth Prize Essa]^ - The Morris Canal - By Susan Beards Fifth Prize Essay - The Great Paterson Fire - By Robert Shimshak The following essays which were awarded Honorable Mention have not been reprinted here:- Ringwood Manor - By Ronald Gregilovich Grandpa's Story - By Aileen Zohlava The Great Project of Alexander Hamilton - By Rory Reiner The History of Clifton - By Victor W. Gundersen The 1913 Silk Strike - By Theodore Smallitz Nathan Barnet - By George Lipsitz THE RINGWOOD IRON MINES By: Arthur H. Barabas In the northern part of Passaic County, New Jersey, nestled in the valley of the Ringwood River among the Ramapo Mountains is-the village of Ringwood. Today,-the town consists of a modern school, a general store, a town hall, a church, and a few dozen houses. Above the town, crowning a hilltop is the shaft of the Cannon Mine, About a mile north of the Cannon Mine is the Peters Mine, One-half mile north of the town is a rambling, ornate structure combining the architecture of many periods - - this is Ringwood Manor, The town, mines, and manor are inseparable in narrating the history of this region. To most people the historical significance of this area is unknown.(1). The history of Ringwood is itself inseparable from related sources of iron-ore;; Sterling, Long Pond (Greenwood Lake), Charlotteburg, Hibernia, and other enterprises in Passaic and Morris Counties in New Jersey and Rockland County, New York* (2) Before the white man came to this region, the Indians knew about the occurence of iron, but did little mining. In 173^ Lord Sterling, an Englishman, engaged a Welsh miner, Cornelius Board, to search for copper in America. He came to New Jersey but found little prospect for copper mining. He represented a rival interest of the Schuylers, who'had discovered copper in Belleville before 1720 (3). Having no luck, Board settled near Little Falls. Board became friendly with the Indians, who led him up the Ringwood River to Sterling Lake and showed him outcrops of iron ore over Qr wide area* He bought- several tracts of land in the area from the East Jersey proprietors and built a small forge near Sterling Lake. This area is at-the present day in New York State, but then it1 was in New Jersey(4 Later, between 1739 and 1740 Board brought land along the Ringwood and Long Pond Rivers in Bergen (now Passaic) County, and moved his forge there. Somewhat dissatisfied, Board sold the forge and sixteen acres of land at Ringwood in 1740 to the Ogdens of Newark for -63. (5 The Ogdens called themselves the "Ringwood Company". This name has come down today as the property title of the Cooper-Hewitt real estate. There is some doubt about the origin of the name. It may have been selected because the spot is "ringed about with a series of wooded hills," oi* it may have been taken from an English placed called "Ringwood, known to the Ogdens.11 (6 The company began smelting in 1741 and the next year built the first iron furnace. For twenty years the works produced high quality iron. 1. Alden T. Cottrell, The Story of Ringwood Manor (Trenton, Allied Printing, I960,) p. 3 2. Albert H. Heusser, The Forgotten General, (Paterson, Benjamin Franklin Press, 192^T~p. 24 3* Ibid., pe 24 4. Edward R. Hewitt, Ringwood Manor, The Home of the Hewitts (Trenton Printing Co., Inc., 1946) p. 2 5. Charles S. Boyer, Early Forges and Furnaces in New Jersey Philadephphia, Unv. of Pennsylvanis Press, 1931)"p* 17 6. Cottrell, op. cit. . p. 5 ••" ~ 2 « The iron commanded a high price, but none-the-less the business failed because of transportation difficult5.es in the removed hill country. In 176^. the Ogdens offered the property, forges, and ftrnace for sale (7) Peter Hasenclever? a member of the ironmaster family of Remscheid in the German Rhineland, desired to leave his mercantile business in Cadiz, Spain and go to England where he could obtain the English civil liberties and a better climate for his wifets health. In England he set up the mercantile business of Hasenclever, Crofts,, and Set on. Attracted by the mineral wealth of America, he determined to invest- 1 Igate the possibility of owning an iron mine there« He was attracted " by the high price of iron (|>100.) per ton and the availability of wood for charcoal in America, He formed the American Iron Company . (also called the London Syndicate) with the support of Queen Charlotte . various ladies, maval and army officers, and London businessmen for his ventures»(o) In 1763 he left for America with $"}>$ German miners, forgemen^ ;,«.• furnacement, charcoal burnerss carpenters and other craftsmen. (9) ;He was authorized to spend up to - L|.0,000 (%200,000)» After arriving in New York City in Y\Qi\} he purchased the Ringwood lands from the ]r."' Ogdens as advertised in the New York Mercury of March 5>, 17&J+ (10) ' Along with these he purchased a total of"3o7ooO acres of land in the '' surrounding areas at Long Pont and Chariotteburg, New Jersey and • \:; Cortlandt, New York. Peter Hasenclever referred to these lands as ..."surrounded by a great quantity of vacant land of little use than to •'-supply said iron with wood# (11) ... Upon purchasing^ these lands, Hasenclever actively embarked upon \;"a course of making the business profitable. He had difficulty in j."... obtaining laborers and several of his Germans ran away. At Tuxedo , .Lake he erected an 860 foot long dam to supply power for his forges. His furnace could produce from 20-2J? tons of pig iron a week and could remain active nine months of the year. Within two miles of the furnace . were four good sized forges. (12) By 17^5 Ringwood was a typical mining town having a stamping mill -•• and numerous buildings besides the furna.ce and forges. By the end of 1766, Hasenclever had in the New York-New Jersey area four furnaces, seven forges, a pot and pearl-ash manufactory, stores, shops, and dwelling houses (235)> ten bridges, dams on thirteen ponds, miles of roads, fifty-three mines (only seven were profitable). He had sent to ..^'England furs, iron, timber, and potash, In doing these things he had " overdrawn his credit. He had spent -5i+>000 insteald of w i|.0,000 in his over-expansion,(13) 7. Boyer, op_. £it», p. $ .8. Allan Nevins, Abrams S.Hewitt (New York,Harper & Bros, 1935)p«222. , *"9« Hewitt, op_. cit., p» 1\ '; 10. Gottrell, op_, cit., p. 6 ,11. Boyer, op_» oit., p. 13 • ' 12* Ibid., pp. 19-20 13. Heusser, op. cit., p. 27 - 3 - Hasenclever was forced to return to England in order to straighten his affairs, He returned to America in 17&7 but again in 17&9 never to return again, His failure was aided by many difficulties - - labor and natural damage* In England he was de- clared bankrupt,, He returned to Germany where he mended his fortunes3 He published a most interesting colonial pamphlet. The. Remarkable Case o_f Peter Hasenclever,, Merchant, in support of his acts. Al- though Hasenclever was a business failure, he was nevertheless a brilliant ironmaster. He devised a method to recover iron from cinder banks* This iron could be added to smeltedore, making the iron very toughs This method was widely adopted© (I1I4.) Peter Hasenclever was followed by Mr, Homfray as manager, John Jacob Faesch, a worker brought over by Hasenclever in 17&5> from either Switzerland or Germany, soon became temporary manager until the American Iron Company found a successor from his workers because of his ability to berate them in their native tongue. After holding the position of manager fear two years, Paesch moved to Morris County where he developed the highly successful Mte Hope mines which pro- duced excellent products during the Revolution, (If) The American Iron Company finally selected Robert Erskine, a brilliant Scot engineer and inventor, as the new manager* Before going to America in 1771= he carefully studied the English iron industry. In America he" retained Paesch for a time because of the tremendous effort needed to set operations back to thei»T? original status* This task was made difficult by the British sponsors, who refused to provide financial support because of the uncertain con- ditions existing in the colonies before the Revolution. Erskine had to borrow money from two financial firms in New York jZity. During 1772-1773 Erskine tried to sell the properties, but to no avail, in order to pay the company's debts* Finally, just before the beginning of the Revolution, Erskine succeeded in establishing a sound financial basis for Ringwood. He was able to pay both creditors in New York. Seeing that war wag near he purchased a large quantity of gunpowder. Erskine also realized the strategic importance of the iron works to the colonies. '.This area was isolated and unmolested during the whole war. At the out- break of war, Erskine organized a militia company of miners and re- ceived a commission of captain from the Provincial 6ongress« He succeeded in obtaining permissions • to keep his miners together at the works to produce valuable iron goods—shot, wagon tires, camp- ovens, and ordnancQ(l6) In 1779 & supply base was established at the ironworks* . llj-o Cottrell, op. cit., p.7 15.Ibid., p. 8 " 16, levins, op^ cit., p, 12i|. In July of 1777* George Washington suggested in a letter to t.ie Continental Congress that Robert Erskine be appointed official rrao maker for the Continental Army. Nine days later, Washington app- ointed Erskine Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army,. Until June 1778S Erskine did this work part time. He drew over two hundred maps covering an area from Connecticut to Pennsylvania while serving in this capacityo While working on some roads for the army*, Erskine caught cold and died of pneumonia in 1780, Washington attended his funeral at Ringwood - on the same day that Major Andre was executed, (17^ Besides its supplies to the army and the sarvices of Erskine Ringwood supplied iron for other ventures;, Iron ore from Ringwood was used in an unsuccessful attempt to stretch an iron chain across the Hudson below West Point to prevent British ships from passing.o This chain broke, being unable to withstand the pressure„ Another chain, the "West Point Ghain", was successfully used as an obstruct- ion in 1778o The contract was in the name of Ncble & Townsend of Sterling, but Ringwood was only two miles from Sterling and due to the short time for completion — two months, it is believed Ringwood ore was also used0 General Washington stopped many times at Ring- w©od, once with Mrs0 Washington, His horses were, according to trad-» ition, shod at the blacksmith's shopo Washington was*. Ringwood on April 19, 1783S when war officially ceased — exactly eight years after it had begun at Lexington. (18) After Srskine's death, his wife and her second husband? Robert L6 Hooper, operated the works unsuccessfi.lly. After being sold at a sheriff's sale, it changed hands severs 1 times for the next twenty years. Martin Ryerson, a member of a familj of prominent ironmastersg, bought Ringwood in 1807* Along with his sons he operated the mines and forges for almost fifty years» During the War of 1812, he supplied shot to the army as evidenced bytthis letters Headquarters QMD Sept. 9 I8ll[ Such persons as are employed by Martin I, Ryerson in making shot will continue in that employ until further orders* The names of the same to be attached to this order and copy of the same to be transmitted to this office. By Order A9 Hamilton, A-de-Camp. (19) Upon Martin Ryerson's death in 1832, his son Jacob ran the iron works, He lacked much of the business ability of his father. Along with this., the tariff on iron was reduced, The RingwDod furnace was blown out in I8I4.8 after 106 years of operation*, Petor Cooper bought the mines in 1853 at a sheriff's sale for $100.,000» 17, Hewitt, op_. Cijb., p. 8 18, Cottrell, op_. clt., pp. 17-19 19, Ibid,, p. 10 Cooper, who is best known as the founder of Cooper Union in New York City> was in partnership with Abram S. Hewittc He had set up the Trenton Iron Company in 181+5« After the depletion of mines which he rented, he looked for other sources to meet his quota of 50,000 tons of ore per year. He founded Ringwood,, Hewitt's mine expert P« Rs George inspected the mines and later Hewit did himself* They were both enthusiastic. (20) The railroad was only four miles from Ringwood, In 1872 the New York & Greenwood Lake Railroad was completed to Ringwood, In 1887 the Ringwood furnaces were shut down and many small mines we're closed. The Lake Superior ore bodies were beginning to replace Ringwood and it was becoming cheaper to ship ore to the steel millsc Also, as soon as the Bessemer Process was adopted, the use of ore from Ringwood was limited because of its high phosphorus content,(21) During the Civil War, Ringwood furnished iron for projectiles. At one time General Grant badly needed "beds" for mortars during his siege of Vicksburg in 1863O The Ordnane Bureau asked Cooper-Hewitt to cast thirty of thesee The order was completed within thirty days and the beds were shipped by special railroad cars on whose sides was stenciled. "Uo S. Grant Cairo. Not to be Switched Under Penalty of Death."(22) The mines were operated more or less continuously until 1931 when they were closed'down. In 191+2 the Defense Plant Corporation purchased the mines* They were reconditioned by the Alan Wood Steel Company as a supplementary iron ore source in case the Great Lakes area was invested* The shafts of the Peters and Cannon Mines were reconditioned and drained,, If iron was mined it would have been shipped to the Wood Company's blast furnace in Conshohocken, Penn- sylvania, In 191+1+ the War Production Board ruled that the mines were no longer necessary,(23) $3*995,052 was spent altogether by the government, most of it on a new concentrating and crushing plant at the Peters Mine. The mines were offered for salep. In 191+7* the mines were sold but the owner was forced to return them because a cold winter halted operations, Meanwhile, the government spent |7»000 a month for daily maintenance work and operating the crushers and separators once a week. As far as can be ascertained the mines are still available from the War Assets Administration for about %700,000 with about 9*000,000 tons of ore remaining and lot of new equipment.(2l>.) While the Ringwood mines may not be operating, they still remain a possible souce of ore in case of emergency. The mines off Ringwood have aided our country during its long history and still remain in a condition of possible service if a time of need arises. 20. Nevins, op^ cijb., p8 120 21. Preston A, Hotz, Magnetite Deposits of the Sterling Lake, New York-Ringwooda New Jersey area. (Washington, U9S,Government Prlnt- 22. Cot trail', qp/fift:.^ p. 29 23. "four 1 i^01^^"?^, U.S. Decides Not to Use Mines," The New York Herald Tribune" (Peb 6, 191+5) clipping (no page. 21+. Cark Ek, "You Toom Can Own a Fine Iron Mine," The Herald News (March 30, 191+9) pp. 1 - 19. ELIMINATION OF THJs GRADE CROSSING IN PASSAIG By: Simon 01stein REASONS FOR ELIMINATING THE GRADE CROSSING "Passaic's future is at stake. It is often stated that the City is going backward* The key to forward progress is removal of the Erie tracks from Main Avenue". (1) The Erie Railroad first ran from the corner of Main and Grand Streets, Paterson, to Pennington Avenue, Passaic. In 1$33 the tracks pushed to Jersey City amd from there with the ferry to New York | Today, however, the thirteen grade crossings in the city pre- j sent many problems. In the event of a fire or accident, valuable I firer fighting equipment or ambulances could be seriously delayed at them. Between 1925 and 194$ there were 76 accidents at the'crossings themselves, Seventeen people were killed and nineteen injured, with three of the deaths coming in the five-year period (1943-194$) (2) In the early part of 194$ a count of traffic for 24 hours on a Friday showed that the thirteen crossings had been sued "by 52,337 pedestrians, 2,116 school children, 64,744 autombiles, 1,039 buses, and 1,047 horse drawn and other vehicles. Sixty-four passenger trains, seven freight trains and eight drill engines passed the crossings while the count was taken . . „ When gates were down, traffic on the side streets frequently backed up three to four blocks."(3) Another survey made in 194$ showed that on an average 24-hour day the total delay to traffic at-the crossing on Monroe Street was "one-hour, 5$ minutes, 25 seconds, mostly during daylight hours".(.4) : It is obvious that with more cars on the roads today and with | more people passing through Passaic, the traffic problems and the I possibility of accidents have greatly increased, ! 1. Passaic Citizens1 Association for Main "venue Grade Crossing \ Elimination, Passaic Problem No. 1 (Passaic,. 194$) no page numbers are used in the pamphlet, ) 2. Stanley E; Gusty, "Utility Board Gives Passaic Track Program Top Priority", The Herald News (April 30, 194$) p. 2 ! 3. Ibid., p. 2 ; 4. Passaic Citizens5 Association for Main Avenue Grade Crossing • Eleiminatibn, Questions and Answers concerning elimination of Main Ayj3., Grade Crossing by Relocation and Elevation of the Tracks. (Passaic; 194$) Pamphlet has no numbers. -- 2 — PRESENT PLAN FOR TRACK RELOCATION As a result of the Erie Railroad-Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad merger in I960 to form the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, '" an easy and relatively inexpensive route for relocating the tracks has been decided upon by city and railroad officials« It will run nearly parallel to the present tracks, but ib will start in Paterson and continue over the railroad1s Boonton Li-ie to the Erie-Lac akawanna t-erminal in Hoboken.(5) By this plan an over- pass at Main Street and another at Getty Avenue in Paterson would be constructed to eliminate the grade crossing there* After the trains are rerouted, the Passaic area travelers will be able to use tie '•' present Lackawanna station on Passaic Avenue for service to Ne-*r York. In this way the central-part of Passaic will be bypassed by the main passenger line, However, the trackage from Monroe Street, Passaic to Paterson will be kept to allow the railroad to service the in- /••• dustries that lie along the right-of-way* Governor Richard J. Hughes announced June 29, 1962, that |l,200,000 has been set aside in the 1962-1963 fiscal year for the '<-•""•'« removal of the tracks, which has been in the planning stages about ' ' 20 years,(6) William F, Hyland, president of the Public Utilities Commission, ; has stated that "the total cost of removing the tracks would be $1,300,000, (7) The state will pay #1,530,000 and the railroad !)27O,OOO; r The initial state payment of yls200;000 is the most than'can be pledged this year because of prior committments. However, The remain- ing 1330,000 will be included in next year's (1963-1964) budget."{'$) (While the state pays $5% of the cost of the actual rerouting >.: project and the railroad pays 15%, Passaicfs expenses will be com- paratively very small) They will consist of the initial engineering '••''," and legal work and any miscellaneous expenditures. If all the necessary funds are made available now, the Erie- Lacakawanna claims that it will stop operations in Passaic by March, 1963, After this happens, the track removal itself would be a six» month job, 5. A complete map of the new route can be found on page 4« . 6. "Center of Passaic Will Lose Tracks", The New York Times" (June 30, 1962) p. 21. ?• The Railroad had previously maintained that the cost would be about $2,200,000 3. The New York Times, p. 21 - 3 - PAST PLANS FOR GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATION Before the Erie-D.L, & V, merger there were thirteen proposals of ways to remove Passaic*s grade crossings,(10) They generally followed different right-of-ways from the present one and fell into three categories: (1) elevation, which was the most popular since it constituted nine of the thirteen plans| (2) construction of a tunnel for three of the routes;-and (3) depression, which was prim- arily used in only one-proposal, Al, the plans would achieve their initial purpose in that they either removed the tracks entirely from Passaic or removed enough of them to clear the business district. Every proposal stirred up a great deal of controversy. Those for the most part in favor of the elevation propositions asserted that while eliminating the grade crossings., the elevated line would also be an attractive, soundproofed structure with concrete pillars. It would be open underneath in certain places to allow for the easier movement of traffic. The objectors claimed - though that any raised line would still cut'Passaic into two parts, making it impossible to bring about a new, expanded shopping district; it would still create traffic pro- blems at the underpasses; and it would displace a very great number of families along the right-of-way. In addition they used Elmira, , New York, as an example of a city that tried track elevation. Because of the trouble it encountered, Elmira has been sorry to this day that it elevated rather than followed some other plan* ' -s The major advantages of both the tunnel and depression proposals are the facts that the train operations would not be as noticeable and that these plans would create the least interference with private property* -However, these projects had very serious drawbacks* To begin withk damage amounting to about one million dollars would be brought to the sewers, water and gas lines, electrical cables, which run under the city streets and under the present tracks. These under- ground structures would have to be replaced tnd rerouted. Also to be consMered were the problems of drainage and snow removal after com- pletion of construction. This would be especially true in the de- pression proposal, A point of interest can be seen in Plan 3, for under it the tracks would utilize all three methods? first, depressed from Clifton to the main station in Passaic on the present right-of-way, then through a tunnel to Temple Place, and finally elevated from there to Carlton Hill where they would once more join the main line. However? the desirability - of the plan was overshadowed by the construction cost - about $20,000,000 - the second highest of all the proposals* The most expensive proposal was Plan 2, which called for the construction of a tunnel as low as 5© feet und«r the Passaic River. Its costs would be approximately $50?000j000. i 4 - There is quite a'gap'between the cost of Plan 2 and the cost of Plan II - about $9?806,.000 - the least expensive proposal* The elevated route of Plan II would start at Qarlton Hill, go through East Rutherford and Wallington and cross the Passaic River at the Tail Race, It would then follow Hope Avenue and at President Street make a curve that would eventually take it back to the main line near the Clifton Station„ However, it must .be noted that the cost of this proposal still come to a little more than five times the cost of the present-day plan. RESULTS OF ELIMINATING THE GRADE CROSSINGS After much negotiation between the city and the railroad the lowest acceptable price - $400,000- has been set for the portion of the Erie-Lackawanna right-of-way in Passaic which may be used by the city. This land may be turned into a plaza and additional parking space for the downtown shopping district. Federal assistance, con- sisting of a |93,OOO grant, will be given to the city to revitalize this section and in turn to stop the slump in the city's population.(12 The elimination of the grade crossings would thus result in the improvement of Main Avenue?s general appearance and the expansion of the business district* With the increase in parking facilities and the decrease in traffic congestion, the stores will attract more and more shoppers from outside the city* "Increased prosperity will more than offset the cost of crossings elimination,"(13) and "with elimination of grade-crossings, Passaic can have the finest and largest business section, outside New York and Newark, in the metropolitan area,"(14) 12. The present population of Passaic is approximately 53,000 while in 1930 it was 65,000. 13. Passaic Problem No. 1, th'e pamphlet has no page number. 14. Ibid WASHINGTON AND HIS MEN IN OLD ACQUACKANPK by: Leonard Klein New Jersey was an important battleground of a war which lasted for eight years and cost thousands of lives0 All but eleven months of the Revolutionary Wan. were staged within or on her borders (1) There were many crises in this war for independence, and many times when total collapse threatened the Continental Army* But probably one of the darkest moments of the war was the forced retreat of General George Washington and his poorly equipped army across New i Jersey in November, 1776e After the Americans had lost 1100 men at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, they crossed the East River to Harlem, where they erected Fort Washington„ On November 16, the British captured , this fort with 2800 soldiers and 43 guns (2) Washington realized i that Fort Lee, on the Jersey side of the Hudson, would be unable to | stave off an attack by the British so he ordered it to be evacuated , on November 19» Less-than 3000 effectives remained under Washington's ': command. In addition, losses of cannon, guns, sabers, ammunition, i tents, 1000 barrels of flour, and nearly all foot covering and cloth- ! ing had badly crippled the fighting power of American forces (3) With these ragged troops, Washington retreated to Hackensack, ; beating Cornwallis'to the bridge. The General tried to make enlist- | ments in that town, but he learned that it was a hotbed of Toryism, j with loyalist spies everywhere. Washington was without entrenching i tools, and he did not wish to be hemmed in between the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, a narrow stretch of flat country. He decided not to make a stand in Hackensack, but to cross to the westerly side of the Passaic River, where he could have a greater field of movement. If Washington could cross Acquackanonk Bridge ahead of the British, he would have a-safe line of retreat. At two ofclock in the .; afternoon of November 21, the Continentals under General Washington, '• Beal, Heard, and Irving left Hackensack and began the march for Aequackanonk Bridge (4)- The soldiers marched south along Polifly Road, which'was ungraded and, for the most part, undefined, leading through swamps, briars, and bushes. Only a handful of men wore shoes, the rest binding their feet with straw. The late historian William Winfield Scott wrote: "A more bedraggled, ill-kept, partly^clothed ;and exhausted body of men calling themselves soldiers battling for 'democracy could have never been imagined."(5) 1. William W. Scott, "In the Footsteps of Washington in and Around Passaic," Passaic Daily News, February 20, 1932, p» 3 col 4 ? 2» William Ho Pape, "The News •History of Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey The News Publishing Company,~1 $99, p. 51 3. Scott, op9 cit., p. 4 cola 1 4-« Washington Here 143 Years Ago Today," Passaic Daily Herald, Bovember 21, 1919, p. 1 col. 3 ::5« William Winfield Scott, "PassaicTs Sesquicentennial," Passaic Daily News, November 21, 1926, p. 2, col 2 — 2 — At four o'clock on that cold, rainy twenty-first of November, Washington and his men reached Passaic, then known as Acquackanonk Landing. Richard Ludlow,'a prominent merchant, was one of the comm- ittee who met the General, gave him a hearty greeting, and escorted him across the frail wooden'span, only twelve feet wide, (6) A large crowd composed of tradesmen, farmers, blacksmiths, cobblers, a physician", and a schoolmaster were on hand. The Reverend Henricus Schoonmaker, pastor of the Old First Dutch Reformed Church, made an address of welcome, in which he told how hard the people of Acquack- anonk were working for the cause of liberty. General Washington wore "a regulation blue army coat, with buff facing and buff colored under- dress^ with a light blue ribbon across his breast over his waistcoat| buff colored knickerbockers reaching to the tops of his stockings; held in place by scarlet garters."(7) Directly following the reception ceremonies, Washington was shown to a room in a tavern known as the Tap House on the Hill, the proprietor of which was James Leslie. The General's sole official' act here was a letter written to New Jersey's Governor Livingston, in which he told of his progress from Fort Lee and of his plans to continue to New Brunswick. Supper was served to Washington and his staff in the dining room of the Tap House* One of his officers proposed that a few of the leading citizens be invited to consult'with the General for the pur- pose of aiding his army. After supper, Dirck Vreeland and other men of Acquackanonk Landing came to Washington's room, which was at the southeast corner of the second floor,(8) One of the topics discussed was the harvest, and how much of it could be spared for the army. • Washington called attention to the need of his troops for clothing, and asked if the inhabitants would collect such needed items from the farmers of the area, Henry Garritse and a group of twenty-eight scoured the countryside for horses and mules. Women sent out mess- engers to get shoes, boots, and other apparel; they turned the tavern into a sewing room, sitting up all night mending clothes. With the rear guard of three regiments arrived and crossed the bridge at midnight, a band of local patriots, under John H, Post, chopped down the span'to prevent pursuit by the British, Being safe from immediate danger, the Americans encamped on the grass of what is now Armory Park. Letter that night, Washington, his three generals,-and Thomas Paine, who had^accompanied the troops on their retreat, visited the old graveyard in the rear of the tavern, David Gordon and Lucas Wessels accompanied Paine and the generals.(9) 6. Ibid 7. Scott, op_. cit., February 30, 1932, p. 3 col. 4 S. Passaic Daily Herald, op_. cit., p. 11, col 2 9. Carl Ek, "Washington's Hopes Were Renewed in Acquackanonk", Passaic HeraldJtews, February 22, 1935, p. 1 col. 4 - 3 - Wessels, an old settler, spoke of the difficulties and hardships encountered by the early pioneers. "Paine is reported to have re- plied that while those were the times that tried men's physical powers, "These are the times that try menTs souls,"(10) It was here that Paine got the inspiration for those stirring words, which opens his series of patriotic papers entitled The Crisis * On the morning of November 22, Washington was led on a tour of inspection. Early in the month. Generals Greene and Stephen had been sent to Acquackanonk to set up fortifications. Cannon had been planted on the hill ini'front of the Tap House, and other artillery pieces were placed in the windows of the lower story of the tavern. The stores and cattle removed from Fort Lee-were kept on the area of the hill bounded by High and Prospect Streets, and Paulison and Pennington Avenues,(11) A rampart and trench were thrown up, running from Paulison to Gregory Avenue, a little southeast of High Street*(12) General Washington reviewed and addressed his troops at the present day sight of Armory Park, The next day, November 23, a detachment of the British Sixteenth Dragoons reached the Passaic River, only to find the bridge destroyed. The Americans had left at about eleven ofclock the night before, and were on their way to Newark. Cornwallis crossed the Passaic just be- low the Dundee Dam on the twenty-sixth, pillaging and plundering the farms of the countryside, "Usually a retreat signifies defeat. But times has revealed that 'what was considered a crawling-from defeat was a march to victory"(13) At Trenton, on Christmas Night, 1776, and at Princeton, on January 3, 1777, the forces of Washington struck back at the enemy and won the first victories in their long struggle for independence. The courage of the tattered colonials in the face of so much that was discouraging gave Washington new hope, and a determination to carry on the war which, up to that point, had been a series of defeats for him* We can honestly claim that George Washington's successful retreat across the Passaic River 1$6 years ago, and the warm reception accorded him from the men and women of Old Acquackanonk was a turning point in the American Revolution. If the British had been more aggressive, '-.the Revolution might have ended in Apquackanonk. Thanks to the heroism of John H. Post, the redcoats were checked at t he bridge. This delayed t^-j the British pursuit, and prevented them from catching up with the Respondent army of Washington and overpowering it. Profiting by their Losses, the Continental Army went on to gain the ultimate victory. The Tap House on the Hill was destroyed by fire in-1&77. A granite stone in Armory Park pays tribute to Washington, and a bronze tablet in the wall on River Drive marks the location of his head- ijuarters, Acquackanonk Bridge was rebuilt in 1777, about 200-yards south of the old sitee 10. Ibid LI. Pape, op. cit,, p. 52 t2. Ibid -3, Scott, 0£. cit., February 20, 1932, p. 3 col. 7 THE MORRIS CANAL By: Susan Beards I wonder if many people realize that in the early l800's the Porapton River was being diverted for purposes other than for drink- ing water? Passaic County played an important part in the history of the Morris Canal9 The feeder which.was at the dam knowm as the "Feeder Dam" ran a distance of i|.c2 miles before emptying into the muin canal at Mountain Viewe Mr, George McCulloch, an engineer while fishing one day in 1822 on what is now known as Lake Hopatcong, discovered powerful current. He thought of the many rich mines of Morris County, some of ivh.ich had been given up because of high cost of getting coal to the mines, and the idea of the "Morris Canal" was born. Lake Hopatcong stood 1,000 feet above the Passaic at New irk and 700 feet above the Delaware at Phillipsburg, Mr. McCullock planned to dam the lake and split the flow of water in two directions, down the Musconetcong to the Delaware and via the Rockaway to tLe Passaic. McGulloch; felt that by using locks and inclined planes, it would overcome the gorge at Boonton and crags where Parsippany Reservoir now stands. The cost was estimated at #800^000, McCulloefo then started a publicity campaign, that the only way the iron industry could survive would be if coal were brought in cheaply, without the long haul down the Delaware and up the Jersey coast. He stated the work would cost money but the freight on the coal, the marketing of food to New York and the less expensive outlet for good iron would soon pay off«, After good publicity, farmers even promised to ship apples to New York instead of distilling them. Speculators saw possibilities and Wall Street offered its help, McCullock was an engineer and was taken in©. In l82l| the Morris Canal and Banking Co,, was authorized to issue ^2,000,000, worth of stock. The directors were Wall Street men not local farmers and ironmasters* Wall Street sold and pocketed the money. When an audit was made it was found that there was only $2$g000 cash and $72,000 in worthless motes instead of the money paid in,. Laborers were paid ^0^. for a twelve hour day, blasted rock with powder and shoveled tons of dirt and stone in the 100 mile length. The canal was started at the Hopatcong end because the eastern section of the route was unsettled, McCullock wanted it to run by way of Morristown then to Elizabeth but Paterson demanded it be made the terminal, Newark,, because of its position on the Passaic close to New York harbor, wanted the Morris Canal to come down to salt water. The Paterson route was 20 miles 5-onger than either of the other two, but to push Elizabeth out Newark and Paterson joined forcesft - 2 - Things did not go right, farmers were mad because the canal took land for as little as six cents an acre, refused to rent horses and oxen for construction work. The canal was "built too narrow and shallow. The 70 ton Pennsylvania coal barges could not operate which caused the shipment to be transferred at Phillipsburg. The 25> ton Morris Canal barges were too small to navigate safely on New York Bayq Until the ditch was extended to Jersey City there had to be a second cargo transfer, The canal cost more than $2,000*000* Stock which had ope'ned at $120e went down to 1/6 of that figure. Many people who had put their money in this venture were forced into bankruptcy,. Legislature authorized more capital and Wall Street again came into the picture® The stock went up again to $>l88c and when the Panic of 1837 came the stock went down to 7o The company went into receivorship and a few months later completely closedo Through all of this it had been proved that the canal was worthwhile, Boonton boomed into one of the nation's iron centers, Coal prices fell and Newark gained in population. Because Newark gained so much the city put up most of the money so that the canal could be widened and deepened,, There was $>5,000,000«, invested, the canal required at least #300,000 yearly income to pay fixed charges?plus maintenance costs* When the canal improvements were completed a drought so lowered water levels that freight could not travel,, Paterson complained be- cause the canal used the water which it needed to run its factories. Raiding parties wrecked the gates and drained the Canal dry. One again the canal was used to transport bark to Newark, iron to Jersey City and coal to furnaces. Things began to looE up and the Morris Canal bought a coal carrying canal in Pennsylvania so that it could corner the coal traffic . During the Civil War there was a fleet of 1200 barges - one every l£0 feet of the length of the canal. Railroads were the downfall of the canals after some time and the Morris Canal reached its peak in 1866 when it haialed 889*000 tons of freight0 The Jersey City terminal proved to be the canal's biggest 0 asset9 The Lehigh Valley guaranteed to pay ff interest dividends on the Morris Canal Stock. Although the canal was not being used except by pleasure boats, Lake Hopatcong doubled the surface of that lakeo A Mr. Maxim, was opposed to abolishing the canal because he owned many acres of property and the big dam if neglected would effect the surface of the lake. The Morris Canal Parkway Association drew up plans to save the rural sections of the canal namely Hopatcong, Musconetcong, Cranberry Lake and Greenwood Lake, and the pond at Saxton Pallso The cities that profited most from the canal now turned against it, when the Lehigh Valley Railroad opposed building the Wanaque Reservoir. Even though the railroad was not using the canal, it claimed the reservoir would divert water from the ditch and prevent its future use. The large cities finally won out. The Lehigh Valley gave up all claim to the ditch but retained the use of the terminal facilities at ,Phill- ipsburg and Jersey City, The railroad no longer had to pay 7% dividends to the stockholders. w 3 — Lin 1929* a century after tb© first section had been completed water was drained out* Newark's subway runs through the tunnel where "cmee boats were poled on the last part of the voyage. At Rockport, near Hackettstown, the state maintains a section of the canal as a breeding place for wildfoulj the borough of Wharton uses its portion as a public parkwayj in Passaic County the park commissioners have made the old canal a portion of their reservation, In Jersey City across from New York's Battery, the railroad net work of Ahasimus marks the terminus,, I have given a general picture of the Morris Canal but I would new like to tell you a few facts that pertain to Passaic County. The lock gates at the Pompton River at the Feeder Dam were knewn as f Lock 13 and had an elevation of 121e7 « At this lock gate was a gate house lived in by a Mro Taylor who was responsible for the opening of the gates when the barge came through and he would have to walk from the Feeder Dam along the banks of the canal to Mountain View early in the morning making sure the muskrats did not undermine the banks of the canal* The barges that came up the Feeder came for the purpose o£ keeping the river clear, the dams in repair and the men would dig gravel from the banks of the river to repair the dams. Mules were used as far as the Feeder Dam, then when the barge was through to the Pompton River, the men poled it along. They could not use mules because of the trees along the banks of the river. It was not uni usual for the boats to come up with a large party aboard. One of the reasons Newark liked the canal was because of the trips that they could take from Newark to Paterson on 1oard the barges for 5>0^, an all day trip. In 1913 the value of property owned by the Morris Canal in Passaic County was as follows: Wayne Township $ 2,853,00 Totowa Boro 2,586eOO Little Falls 29*683*00 Paterson City 85,2i|0»00 Acquackanonk Twsp 27,lli)..OO Pompton Feeder 9,769.00 The locks were from 95 to 100' clear lengths and 11T wide be- tween thB gates. The upper gates of the locks were Bither ordinary miter gates with balance beams or flap gates hinged horizontally and falling away from the lock when it was filled with water. The boats were flat bottomed and nearly straightsided except just at stern and bow. The peculiar part was in order to pass the plane summit curves they were divided into two portions at exactly amidship and there unhinged vertically. In passing the planes the boats are unhinged and one portion rests on each half of the cradle0 Thbsa boats t carried 70 long tons of cargo with a draught of 3 9"6 Few people know that Greenwood Lake on the headwaters of the Wanaque River was controlled by the Morris Canal Company, and im- pounded waters ^ere let out from time to time as required for the navigation-of the canal from Pompton Feeder intake to Lock 18 at Newark a distance of 27t25 miles, A draft of about 20.000 cubic feet per day was necessary from the Pompton Feeder to supply extra leakage at Lock 18. THE GREAT PATERSON FIRE Byi Robert Shimshak Every schoolchild has heard of the Great Chicago Fire and Mrs* 0?leary and her famous cow. but few, even in Paterson, have ever heard of Paterson?s Great Fire of l§02» To Charles Abrams? a blacksmith working for the Jersey City, Paterson and Hobcken StAt Railway Company , -February 3, 1902 was just another ordinary working night. That night? as usual} he was busy making repairs on trolley cars in the car sheds on Van Houten Street. ! It was to be no ordinary night however. A lit»tle aftsr midnight Abrams i noticed a small fire towards the back of the'shed and quickly warned i his co-workers« He sent the night dispatcher, William Degelman, to sound the fire alarm,-and seeing the fire had been started by faulty | electrical insulation, quickly turned off the electricity himself. At this the workers rushed to the fire and desperately attempted in in vain to put it out. By the time the fire department arrived the sheds were a blazing inferno* Although not as romanticized as the cause of the Chicago fire this incident began one of Paterson's greatest disasters. Had this been an ordinary night a fire in some car sheds might not have caused too much damage9 but as I have said this was no ordinary night I Outside the sheds a gale was raging with 40 to 60 mile per hour winds* While the firemen were trying to cope with the fire at the sheds the high winds whipped particles of burning debris into the air and spread them eastward and southward through the near- by blocks. Hundreds of tiny fires brok^ out on roofs, and the howling wind fanned them to life* About one o'clock a large number of buildings on Main Street were ablaze. The fires were so diversified that is was impossible to fight them all. Instead the firemen attempted to keep the flames from spreading6 The situation became desperate and the fire department of Jersey City, Passaic, Rutherford, Ridgewood and Hackensack were called upon to aid, Even with the re-enforced fire-fighting group the fires raged out of control and during the early h©urs of the morning the- Old City Hall. Public Library, the Police Station, the High School, Number One Engine House and most of the other buildings in the area had fallen prey to the hungry flames. The fire was given new life through the night as it comsumed most of the banking district, most of the large business offices in Paterson, and many places of worship (and club houses6 By the time day broke, however, it seemed the fire was completely under control. For some strange reason the fire surged with new strength again in late morning and quickly went rushing out of the fire-fighters' control. The structures passed up the night before joined the ashes of the others. The firemen struggles throughout the rest of the day and'by the evening of February ninth they finally had the fire controlled„ The great fire had been put out but the problems and hardships posed by the path of burnt wreckage it had left still remained. The damage done amounted close to the estimate of $8.,000,000 and imm- ediately after the incident it was reported that it left "from 5>00 to 800 families homeless and impoverished;," (1) The business section of Paterson along with most of its places of worship was gone. In short, Paterson was a nearly ruined city^ There still were dangers lefte The firepgutted streets presented a death trap to those foolish enough to try to go through the ruins„ People came anyway3 however5 driven by their curiosity, and the situation became so bad that Mayor "Hlfnckliffe was forced to take action. Martial law was proclaimed and the National Guard was called in to watch the streets^ Meanwhile on Monday evening the Board of Aldermen was called together to decide what course to follow» Telegrams poured in from many points offering sympathy and financial and personal aid* When the situation was carefully scrutinized, it was found that in reality Paterson had not been h;urt as badly as one might have thoughts First of all the figures of £00 to 800 families displaced, had been exagg- eratedc Secondly, most of the building destroyed belonged to big business men who could afford the losso There had been no loss of life, and the biggest loss therefore was ts> the small business man who had lost his means of income by the firee A subscription list was opened in Paterson and the residents not harmed by the fire showed their generosity by donating enough money to supply housing for families in need. As for the problem of the small businessman, it was solved by the warmphearted merchants of New York who offered them credit and advances of cash with long periods in which they could repay them. Another example of co-oper- ation that was brought about was the fact that the members of the congregations whose places of worship had not been harmed invited those who had lost their temples to hold services in theirsa The decision as to the action to be taken by the Aldermen was o not a hard one then, and in answer to all other offers of assistance they were able to reply, "Thank you, but we do not need assistance," Paterson was going to stand on its own two feete Although other problems, such as a confusion in tax payments due to lost records arose afterwards, in the end some good did come from the disasters Most of the business men who had lost their stores soon had better ones and were able to make a better living. In general by the end of the year the City of Paterson gave a newer and nicer appearance than it ever had before„ The Gity Hall and the other Public buildings were rebuilt and are still in use today0 1, "Paterson Evening News." February 10, 1902, page 1 2. William Nelson and Charles A„ Shriner, "History of Paterson and Its Environs," (Hew York and Chicago: 1920) Lewis Historical Publishing Comp, Pages 55£ « 3 - With the city rebuilt, people began to forget what had happened on that fateful night and today as I have mentioned few except those who were living near there at the time have heard of the incident,, It will probably never become as famous as the Chicago fire because it was not as important* and nothing like it will probably every" happen again because of improved fire-fighting methods and equipment„ It is and should be remembered though as an important part of the history of today's Patersono 200-Year-O/d Ringwood Forge Is Discovered by Bergen Housewife RINGWOOD — An amateur pieces of pig iron and an ancient historian has discovered a 200- cold chisel have also been un- year-old iron forge at Ringwood covered. Manor State Park. The forge is believed to have been built in 1764 by Peter Has- Mrs. Claire Tholl of Upper Sad- enclever, a German national who dle River, a housewife, unearthed first heard of America's rich iron Finds Old Forge the forge along a stream near the Old Road crossing at Two Bridges. deposits while living in England. "I became fascinated with the He formed a mining company and park during my first visit here purchased the Ringwood works two years ago," she said, "and from the Ogden family. At that Near Rinawood started reading everything I time Ringwood was a typical min-j could about the area." g town. In 1769, however, Hasenclever's She took special interest in the creditors in England.ffgalled him "Special to Newark News. following report in "The Forgot-1 ten General," Albert H. Heusser'sl because they felt tie was?spending RINGWOOD — A Bergen County housewife who book about Robert Erskine: "On too much money on the forge. describes herself as an amateur historian has dis- the same stream, Ringwood Riv- er, about three miles lower is a! Two years later, Robert Erskine, covered a 200-year-old iron forge at Ringwood Manor very fine forge and three fires who became a general In Wash- State Park.- ington's army, took over the and two hammers for converting Mrs. Claire Tholl of Upper Saddle River unearthed pig iron into iron bar and is, ac-1 Hasenclever forge and worked cording to the information re- the deposits until 1780. the forge along a stream near the Old Road crossing ceived from the overseer and Erskine's close association with at Two Bridges. workmen, capable of making 250 Washington during the revolution tons of bar iron yearly, single- leads experts to believe that the • "I became fascinated with the park during my first handed, and from 300 to 350 tons Ringwood forge was used to man- visit here two years ago," she said* "and started read- double-handed." ufacture cannonballs, chains and ing everything I could about the area." Mrs. Tholl finally located the other items for the Continental She took special interest in the following report forge on some oid maps and Army. started exploring the area. "One in "The Forgotten General," Albert H. Heusser's book day while walking along the' about Robert Erskine: "On the same stream, Ring- Stream," she said, "I noticed a; wood River, about three miles lower is a very fine forge ueculiar mound of dirt and start- and three fires and two hammers lor converting pig ed digging." iron into iron bar and is, according to the information i Gets Some Help received from the overseer and workmen, capable of j She was aided by James Ran- making 250 tons of bar iron yearly, single-handed, and 'som, past president of the Ber-j from 300 to 350 tons double-handed." gen County Historical Society,; and Roland Wells Roberts, -an ex-1 Mrs. Tholl finally located the forge on some old pert on old iron works. Mrs. Tholl maps and started exploring the area. "One 'day while is doing the art work for Ran-! walking along the stream," she said, "I noticed a som's forthcoming book, "Van- peculiar mound of dirt and started digging." ishing Iron Works of the Ramapo Mountains," which will be pub- lished next Spring by the Rut- Aided by Experts gers University Press. She was aided by James Ransom, past president The excavation revealed a small portion of the forge house foun-j of the Bergen County Historical Society, and Roland dation, a building about 40 feet Wells Roberts, an expert on old iron works. Mrs. by 900 feet, and a portion of one of the forges. A base plate, two Tholl is doing the art work for Ransom's forthcoming book, "Vanishing Iron Works of the Ramapo Moun- tains," which will be published next spring by the Rut- gers University Press. . The excavation revealed a small portion of the forge house foundation, a building about 40 feet by 90 feet, and a portion of one of the forges. A base plate, two pieces of pig iron and an ancient cold chisel have also been uncovered. FOR REFERENCE ' The forge is believed to have been built in 1764 by Peter Hasenclever, a German national who first heard of America's rich iron deposits while living in England. He formed a mining company and purchased the Ring- wood works from the Ogden family. At that time NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM Ringwood was a typical mining town. In 1769, however, Hasenclever's creditors in Eng- EAT. NO. 23 012 land recalled him because they felt he was spending **'!»*• too much money on the forge. Two years later, Robert Erskine, who became a general in Washington's army, took over the Hasehclever forge and worked the de- posits until 1780. Erskine's close association with Washington dur- ing the revolution leads experts to believe that the WOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY Ringwood forge was used to manufacture cannonballs, RING chains and other items for the Continental Army. 145 Skylands ?^ RINGWOOD CITIZEN, • 11 " i>> • FACTS CttfCEMtG , 'TEMPORARY' OPERATION lATRMGWOiiipES ' The construction of the itempotary line and the in- Rt>cklaad J .COMPANY "• • stallation *°"".e pump was taay .completed at 11:30 P.M.,. ttt® lectrie Com- ; November 11. pump received an emer- ' Paval roject En- ?! the tempoi ency call at approximate-! gineer f urgh Pa-j| j stallatl-ba- ttsf 4 ;t •<» jly 10:00 A.M. on Novem- ' cific C directed | the pump. !ber 11, 1963 from Police the rescu .tions and * Headquarters in Ringwood,; company Charles New Jersey. . The Com- employees for the very | i Exeq ;pany was asked to supply1 J fine job done. ; emergency service for a t On November__201_l963» [submersible pump to be fhe bad befriende^Ttold "Cornelius from n^Pro midnight on a u used in an attempt_to i Board, a Welsh miner living in rescue Harry VanDunk f/the tiny hamlet of Lktte Falls,] holiday and did not sCsp z •who had fallen into a mine I that there was plenty of iron in to eat M pit owned by the Pitts- | the mountains to the north of Pompton Lakes. Welshmen have ft burgh Pacific Company. ; been miners since time immemo- * Two linag^rews under rial and it is no wonder that HI the supejflHHK Arthur Board was.fascinated by the In- dians' tale and hired a party toLp *j>v A. •;• /guide him to the headwaters of?™™^ Fore: the tiny Eingwood River -where ElectrmM^^MS ran a lie found the story to be true. He stayed and built himself a some 9O0BFio the Cannon small furnace and forge. 07456 Mine shaft, supplied prop- Sold Interests er transformer ©quipment However . the isolation and. and lowered the pump Into loneliness were too much for Ahe mine. ...'. Board, and the next Spring, he sold Ms furnace and sixteen ac-_ ^J re's of oreladen land to the Og- RfNGWGOD PUBUC UBRARY ft- Ml he* snburban trends — february 21, 1963 145 Skyiands Road forty No. Jersey Days Were Interesting, If Sometimes Violent Wy Staff Reporter This, .incidentally, occupied a to Ringwood being file of 1914, loeal facilities also ex- the elevated site of which re- Although their extinction is building erected about two iron and line mines at Frank- panded. Restaurants were mains today along Route 202. out of the' question as yet, centuries earlier as a Cath- lin, in Sussex County. numerous. Boarding houses Also, a church controversy some North Jersey landmarks olic Mission. Ringwood Village was were at a premium. Al- onee made headlines in the are disappearing. , EMPLOYED IN MINES grouped around the Peters though the motor vehicle was Take a half-century ago, Fifty years ago all Ring- and Cannon mines. Roads in its infancy stage, fore-run- Getting down to the Steel for example. You could walk wood residents worked in the were all of dirt in those days, ners of the modern buses Works section of Pompton through Midvale into Ring- mines or followed agricultur- and few .residents left their linked Wanaque to the cities. Falls, in Wayne, here was the wood and find the area much al pursuits. They didn't homes — after sundown. Al- EXPLOSIONS earliest history made. Ryer- as Hasenclever, the Ryer- handle much cash, keeping a though not publicized, the Several men died in powder son's mill and later a gen- sons and Robert Erskine left rotating account at the Ring- early history of Ringwood min- explosions during this period. eral store, the falls, and the it. wood Company's general store fc* led to many folk tales, One, in 1918, knocked out old Hamburg Turnpike are There was no reservoir, bed for their food and clothing. some of the ghostly variety. windows in Bloomingdale: long since lost in the limbo of of the present body being (he ' Their homes were owned by MANY ACCIDENTS This was a kind of devil-may turning wheels, yet occas- haatfef of Hewitt. Neither the Company. Thus, at the end Mines here damned lives in care period in the Borough, as ionally someone with a flab* Cupsaw nor Erskine Lakes (of the monthly pay period, past generations. .'Many of the the powder rush and -erase- for research "uncovers" some were dreamed of as yet. Corn- they received the cash balance stories were predicated on quest high wages attracted* all fact once known to every resi- proper— . after bills were paid. these. One abandoned glory types. It was a day of crime. dent. called Ringwood Manor— This system, incidentally, hole in particular, on the road Holdups were frequent. At the Today all these pioneers, .was one ctasmercial em- was in vogue at mining camps to Peters mine, was for-a long end of the. war this all dis- together with those of the porium — the general throughout the country, clos- time shunned by residents. appeared and the Tillages' of other communities—Pompton Nor is Ringwood the only Hastell and Midvale resumed Lakes, Bloomingdale, West town with an interesting if their quiet tenor. Bloomingdale (Butler) and high-spirited past. Wanaque Few of the newer residents West Milford — have long was a boom town, from 1914 to are aware that Oakland once been at rest. 1918 (World War I days) and Was the site of a powder mill. Yet their works and even many a legend of those days This Borough also had its bey- their occasional mis - deeds does not bear printed repeti- day, a decade or so alter the live again in recorded pages or turn of th^ century. ._ . the findings of some antique. Coaeurrent witft the spas- , There » -js 'a well - known And when this happens we modic industrial development road-house fa Oakland, Only all cry "How novel!" /:•' \ SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 1963 OUT OF THE PAST — When iron mining was a big in- dustry in West Milford and Ringwood, back in the 1800's this forge on Clinton Road, West Milford, was in operation. Known as the Clinton Forge, it is one of the best preserved of several in the area. It can be seen from the road, on the left coming in from Route 23, just before going over a new bridge arid coming1 within sight of the reservoir. Small black object at left of forge opening is photographer. The fact that he is over six feet tall indicates size of forge. Fire Breaks Jine Fire of"rale^efmined origin broke out in an abandoned mine pit at the Pittsburgh-Pacific Co. property in Ringwood yesterday and, for a time, caused a forest fire scare when it imperiled an eight-story wood and tarpaper shaft. About 80 firemen from the Erskinc Lakes, Ringwood and; Wanaque Fire Companies bat- tled the blaze. They were ham- pered by a lack of water pres- sure and resorted to pumping water from some of the other abandoned holes to quell the fire in the Peter's Mine hole. The firejnen worked for over four hours"before they were sat- isfied, |^about 10:45 p.m., that safely out. Their grn was the rickety officials said, triggered a major [ire if itjhad caught fire. nen. Al^jZackaroff and mounted the dth a hose to into the mine ole is recorded - /Vi; 3 of 3,900 feet 5s they did not ftiiui. i»J the fire was actually burn: The fire-fig8$tig. operations ..v,»v >—.—» Fxrprindirection of Chiefs Joseph KUnert of Er- skine Lakes, Ad^Iph Vieth of Ringwood and J5on Ryan of Wanaque. Ringwood Patrolman Oliver Conklin Jr. was at the scene to Control the crowd which turned out to watch fire- men battle the blaze. Mire and local safety officials feared that a heavy concentra- tion of onlookers near the pit might cause a cayein because the ground in the immediate area is honeycombed with old shafts that were dug quite near the surface. ',.. .•'•. Donald Fulkersori, Plrt|hurgh- Pacific superintendent, had no comment other than to note that "the fire did not start byi itself." Local officials wece planning further investigation as to a possible cause today. RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 145 Skylands Road FOR REFERENCE Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM CAT. NO. 23 P12 ,*-'; *•;*•*.-' ^ ,1 -I U \ ' ')'•;• i <••< I '<" V\ '•:' Y'l c:' 0 \ ••'-, v'\ -k -, •. •• n '\ FOR REFERENCE NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM °AT. no. •vj- m ryj ji l,,f I .. V JL. I c A dU "We were awfully lucky the. Mrs. Nancy Vofrei, a Herald- wind was blowing toward the News district circulation advis- northeast," O'Hara sighed, "if er and Jane Mader, both of the Mine Fire the wind were to have blown 180 Stonetown Fire Auxiliary, (Continued from Page 1) degrees in a diferent direction drove to several key check clared until after a closer in- . . we would have lost Ring- points to serve hot coffee to firemen. Councilman Anthony! vestigation. wood." As matters stand, though, the Calvino was also at the scene. Spotted by Policeman wind carried the flames away Members of the Ringwood The fire alarm was turned in from homes. | Ambulance Corps including by O'Hara who spotted flames Risking the dangerous terrain I Ernie Swesinger and Bill Sailer shooting within the eight-story of the mine area which is known rRuth Snoddy, Allen Anderson, [Peter's Mill at 1:45 a.m. while for its killer mine shafts, the John Schuman, Donald Cook, on patrol. He said that 15, fire crews crept cautiously into Ernie Swesinger and Bill Sailer minutes earlier, he had driven the Ramapo wilderness with stationed themselves in Mine LU through the mineland and no-' brooms and five^gallon water Road ready for any emergency. tice "nothing unusual.' tanks to suppress new fire out- However, as of 6 a.m. there was U "It's amazing that the mill breaks. Water was drawn from no need for their services. 2 went up so fast," O'Hara said.; a nearby brook, firemen said. O'Hara reported that there The Erskine Lakes, Stonetown Only Skeleton Remains had been another fire at Pe- LU and Skyline Lakes Volunteer ter's Mill of "equally mysteri- DC Fire Companies, and the New By 3 a.m. the mill once used ous origin" two weeks ago, but LU Jersey State Forest Fire Serv- to "pelletize" low grade iron that it was quickly ex- ice under Frank Scardo, district ore began to crumble. tinguished. U. fire warden, responded immedi- Firemen around the old mill The mill, along with some LU ately to the scene. fought a losing battle trying to 900 acres of land adjoining it, extinguish the blaze, even with Meanwhile, scores of natives | is owned by the Ringwood seven pieces of equipment and I Realty Co., of Newark. of the mineland left their moun- some 3,000 yards of hose. Soon, tain cabins to observe the The firm plans to construct a; only a flaming skeleton of the multimillion dollar community flaming buildings as the fire structure remained. spiralled high into the sky. comp'ex on the property. O Several times firemen feared LL the wind was shifting, which would have caused the sparks RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY to blow toward homes. How- ever, there was no serious cause 145 Skybnds Rosd for alarm. Ringwood, New Jersey 07456" A Dominate Ringwoidfristory FOR REFERENCE NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM CAT. NO. 23 Q1Z RINGWOOD MANOR House, once the headquarters for George Washington! Ringwood was incorporated asj A bake-off contest was spon- a borough on Feb. 23, 1918 andj sored last fall by the Women's ; first borough council meet-! Auxiliary of the Ringwood Vol- was May 8, 1918. Commem- unteer Company 1 with prizes toration of these dates is being awarded by the Tercentenary considered. , Committee. Mrs". Velma Scho- Mrs. Krepella is guiding a field of line . Lake was; movement toward creation of a grand chitti ion. On the corn- postage stamp honoring Gener- Crown Charter mittee Mrs. Marge Bei-j al Robert Erskine, Ringwood's er, Ondik, Mrs. Although Ringwood was not 1 hero who was mapmaker for incorporated as a municipality Frank H. Rit- Commander - in - chief George until 1918, its name, is found ter. Angela; | Washington in the Revolution- on maps dating back as far as Wittich, y Botfone, ary War. Erskine is known as 1769 designating vast lands held Mrs. Anna Fulton and "The Forgotten General". The by charter from the English Max Engleft. committee hopes to see the crown. Before incorporation the A booklet of Old Time Home- stamp become a reality in 1965. area was part of Pompton opathic Remedies is being pre- Indian Hunting Grounds Township. pared by Walter Bullard repre- Much of Ringwood's rich his- senting Ringwood Square Club. One of Ringwood's greatest tory will probably be shown at |The remedies will be compiled' riches is her natural beauty "Ringwood Day" at the New and rich: historical heritage. York World's Fair later this First settler were Indians of year. A historical pageant will the Lenni Lenape tribe, but by Sand listed and it is expected the the time of the Revolution, they be held in July. booklet will be available in the had moved westward toward The citizens in this nearly 28 i spring. ' the area that is now Lake Ho- square mile borough give great ! Park Exploration honor to the past and have patcong. taken effort to preserve their ! Possibility of a pilgrimage The Indians and settlers of heritage. In1936 the late Er- jinto the undeveloped section of North Jersey reportedly were skine Hewitt deeded Ringwood Ringwood State ParkWftt n d e r good friends. Indians lived on: Manor House to the State of 1 guidance of Edward;«Jforgan to the shores of'^re^nwood Lake! New Jersey with sufficient land see and photograph 1 ient wa- for centui^S -§g|:? easily navi- ter wheels wa&.discu; i at a gated streams} Wifh great for- comihittee taefeting. ests to conserve th#Mwater the The Jayceejfplan tft streams were mucff^^pi than i RINGWOOD PUBLIC -LIBRARY historical pageant they are today ana wher^'v ca- house celebration on July 4 at; noes easily navigated tKeij it 145 Skyiands Road h is tor ic Ringwood Manor | would be impossible to so trav- House. - • ' i el today. Ringwppd, New ierssy 07456 The Indians moved westward in 1762 when the London Com- pany built furnaces at Ring- wood. Only Money Delays Plan to Excavate 2 Historic Landmarks in Ringwood By PAULINE F. PEEBLES The first phase of the plan Herald-News Correspondent calls for the excavation of t h e RINGWOOD — Two local his- waterwheel pit and sluice, and toric landmarks, the Hasen-; excavation of the colonial works claver iron works and the He-j to stand nine feet above ground. witt furnaces, may soon bej This phase would cost between fully excavated and opened for! $7,000 and $j8,000 and would re- quire heavy earthmoving equip- public viewing. Estimated cost ment. of the project is $25,000. Kenneth Hirsch, chairman of Phase two would continue the the Ringwood State Park Ad- clearing and would remove all visory Committee, met with the! dirt and debris from the two park's superintendent and state) furnaces. Also the clearning of Department of Conservation of-1 the great workroom of the He- witt works down to the original ficials and voiced optimism that working level. This par,t of the the state would grant funds for project would cost $5,008. the project. The third phase, costing as Roland W. Robbins, archaeol- much as the first two, would ex- ogist who specializes in excavat- cavate the adjacent buildings! ing and restoring historical and clear the waterway sluice,] sites, made a survey in March which served or was designed to which is the basis of the project. serve a huge waterwheel 9 feet Robbins' report to the state de- in diameter, up to its source. o *" partment of conservation states Because of the state of the ll! o that he knows of no other site buildings, the public will not be a Pi where the remains of two permitted to walk through industries so important to them. An outdoor mural may be z a American history can be found provided, showing how the LU i standing side by side. works once looked and giving a The buried buildings of the panoramic explanation of how at Hasenclaver works, suppliers of iron was made. This mural < U an iron to Gen. George Washing- would be similar to the one at ea o LL ton's army are buried in the Sterling Forest, one of Robbins' LJ glades of Riijgwood. other excavations. i The Hewitt furnaces, which If the state does not appropri- X |were active during the Civil ate the required $25,000 for the u •excavation project the park's ZJ fl3 —» jwar period, are adjacent to the on O X Hasenclaver works, although staff will have to take some ac- O they are now covered with rub- tion to clear up the area. 0) O ble and vegetation. "The dream of our commit- LL i Robbins plans to completely tee^" explained Hirsch, an ex- 8 expose all the buildings con- pert on local history, "is to have nected with the furnaces in a a full restoration. But that will 9, three-phase project. He does have to wait a few years." O not, however, plan at thic time Hirsch has had offers of $100 s to undertake restoration. each from several individuals z- ! Hirsch, on the other hand, be- toward the $25,000 needed, but lieves this is the eventual ob- none has been accepted, pend- jective. ing word from Trenton. Ghost Stories Abound 1 Around Ringwood Mine If you scare easy, stay away mutiny of the soldiers of the from Federal Rock Hill, or the Pennsylvania Line of the Con- Ringwood Iron Mines on a tinental Army in winter quart- ers during January of 1781, dark night. : Legends have it there are atop the hill. Morale was low ghosts prowling around both as the soldiers were cold, ill-.' places. clad, hunrgy and months be- The Herald-News Newcomers' Guide • hind in their pay. The Ringwood Iron Mines ft *• * ^ _.... were developed as far back as The mutiny was put down 1740, before the War for Inde- after five days and two of the Tuesday, June 22^ 1971 ' pendence. For over two centu- ringleaders "were executed and ries the mines were active, buried in unmarked graves. but as quality of the ore less- Down through the years, ened and processing costs there have been tales of per- went up, the mines were shut sons hearing moaning or of down. seeing lights atop the moun-; However, our story isn't tain. - . ' about the mines but about the Those believing in the su- "ghost story" which has found pernatural are ready to be- its way into many history lieve the two executed soldiers books. are trying to make their un- RSNGWGOD PUBLIC LIBRARY Seems the story goes that known grave sites, known. anytime the mournful wailing Federal Rock Hill is partly 145 Skylands Road was heard in the mines a fatal in Bloomingdale,.. Riverdale ; accident was about to happen. and Pompton Lakes. Markers Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 Over the years, hikers and along the Newark-Pompton adventurous lads . have fallen Turnpike and Hamburg Turn- to their deaths in the deserted pike in Riverdale tell about mine shafts. Some of the old the mutiny. timers will shake their heads The mutiny gave Federal; and sax. "I told you so, I heard Rock Hill its first blaqk eye. the waning last night." The presence of an ^nieri- There is no written evidence can German Bund Camp" there that anyone has ever seen the before World War II added the Ringwood or Federal Rock i second. . » Hill ghosts, and who would be- lieve it anyhow? The legend of the Federal Rock Hill ghosts is different. It concerns stories about the FOR REFERENCE CANNON MINK -^HiiHmi|^p resemfc NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM thing at a Texas oil fiein^cWersn^PsKaft of thff^aL. Mine, second largest of the Ringwood Mines. The shaft is BAT. NO. 23 012 600 feet deep and goes straight down. The hoist was brought ! from a Colorado gold mine during World War II when the | government planned to operate the Ringwood mines. I Explosion Marks Opening Of New Era at Mine Site Ringwood Eyes Multi-Million Dollar Complex By PETER A. DVARACKAS Herald-News Staff Writer A 130-foot brick smokestack adjoining the abandoned Peter's Mine in Ringwood tilted precari- ously for less than a second and| then topple'd to the ground in curls of brown smoke with a shattering explosion, yesterday morning. It opened a new chap- ter in the history of the bor- ough's vast mineland' which dates back to the Revolution- ary erja. . The blasting operation, which began at 11:35 a.m., is the first major-step toward the re- development of the 900-acre mine property into a $50 mil- lion complex^. Tiie project, pro- posed by Jtoigjl^ood Realty Co., will include-Sift acres for an industrial p£&§''eight acres for an incinerator, 'and sewage dis- posal plant, 34 acres for an ele- mentary school with parks and playgrounds and the remainder reserved for residential uses' composed of garden apartments and one-family homes on lot sizes ranging from 15,000 square feet to bnejacre. The massive land tract, spot- ted with more than 30 mine shafts, has yielded at least 2.5 Massive Chimney at Ringwood Mines, Begins Fall million tons of iron ore since (Herald-News Photo by Roger Terhu colonial times. Began Last Week Preparation for the demoli- RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY tion project began last week 145 Skyfands Road with the removal of junked cars from the mine area. Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 "We hope to blast and level all the mine shafts within 90 days," said Frank Lynsford. He 'is vice president of Ringwood, Realty. The job will be closely observed by Albert Goetz, chief safety engineer of the state Bureau of Mines. u Ljmsford noted that once the land^is prepared, subdivision plarif' will be presented to the FOR REFERENCE Borough CotmciJ. If they are ap- proved^ actual construction work «|^Jfegin next spring. | The prcffijosal was approved (last year'^by the borough's NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM master planners, Boorman and ;Dorram, Montclair. Mayor CAT. ND. 23 ai2 ! Elmer Van Voorhis has also i lauded the complex as "the *MG C H Old Mine's Fire Out In Ringwood Police Seek Cause; Wilderness Burns As Embers Fly By PETER A. DVARACKAS Ironically, the old mill build- Herald-News Staff Writer ings, which were completely The fire which destroyed a ravaged by fire, were due to complex of buildings in Ring- be demolished in July by the wood's pre-Revolutionary mine-j Ringwood Realty Co. (trade land and raced across 100 acres' name for the J.I. Kislak Corp. of Ramapo Mountain wilderness j of Newark). The firm has ear- last night was extinguished ear-; marked the entire 900 acre ly today, police reported. | mineland for a 150 million com- Both fire officials and police munity complex to include 240 continue to investigate the acres for an industrial park; cause of the spectacular blaze j eight acres for an incinerator which Fire Chief Alexis Dolinoff | and sewage disposal plant; 34 and Police Lieutenant Jack; acres for an elementary school 'O'Hara termed "suspicious." \ with parks and playgrounds, Fanned by a cold northeast and the remainder of the prop wind, the fire had spread rap- erty for residential uses com- idly from the now defunct; posed of garden apartments and Peter's Mill into the steep foot- one-family homes. hills of the Ramapo's covering more than 100 acres with spot The mining complex closed blazes. Both local and state; down in 1953, ending a cycle in crews remained on the scene the history of the Ringwood iron through Friday night with ore industry which began in brooms and five gallon Indian 1740. The mines had produced tanks to extinguish the blaze. high quality ore for the Colonial troops during the Revolutionary Water was drawn from a War and for the Northern Army nearby brook to fight the mill during the Civil War. fire, which drew scores of spec- tators including the mine area1 In 1931 the mines were shutj natives. None of the mining! down as a result of existing! cabins, which serve as homes I economic conditions. Just priori for the hill folk, were endan- to World War II, the mine prop- j gered by the flames. erty had' been purchased by the federal government and soon after, $4 million was spent to modernize and further equip the mines. After extracting 100 tons of ore, the land was sold. The rich history and wealth of the mines declined at this point, leaving the old mill buildings, which have now gone up in FOR REFERENCE smoke. RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM 145 Skylands Road CAT. ND. 23 012 Ringwood, New Jersey 07456 THE MINES RINGWOOD COPYRIGHT 1970 by the NORTH JERSEY HIGHLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWFOUNDLAND, NEW JERSEY 07^35 THE MINES OF RINGWOOD by Claire K. Tholl In the early days the stream that branches off the Wanaque River and runs northward through our beautiful valley was called the Topomopock. In 1736 Cornelius Board, a Welshman whohadcome to America just six years before, explored this valley looking for useful metals. He found enough outcroppings of iron ore to con- vince him to purchase several tracts of land and begin foundry operations. He settled first at what is now Sterling Lake, N.Y. and in 1740 moved down to the manor area. He built his home at the junction of the Wanaque and Topomopock (now Ringwood River) and erected a forge on the present Cooper Union property utilizing ore from pits he opened on the hillside to the west. Less than two months afterward Board was joined by the Ogdens of Newark who bought the remaining iron-rich tracts and water rights in the vicinity, and in 1742 erected the first iron furnace in this part of New Jersey. Besides the excellent magnetite ore (and some hematite) yield- ing 60-70% iron, Ringwood offered the other necessities for iron- making: a good water supply for operating furnaces and forges, a plentiful amount of timber for making charcoal and nearby sources of limestone for flux. By 1775 at least eight pit mines were being worked and the industry grew further until the close of the Civil War, when operations shifted westward to the Great Lakes area where ores could be mined and shipped at lower costs. The estimated grand total yield from the entire group of mines in 1907 was 1,221,000 tons of ore. In spite of there being a great quantity of high quality ore remaining in the hills of this area, the mines gradually closed down. Before all traces of them are completely obliterated, here, alphabetically, are some brief facts about the individual mines along with their approximate lo- cations as shown on the map: BLUE MINES A general term for a group of about 8 distinct mines known for the varying blue color of the ore. BLUE MINE The first pit was opened by Jacob N. Ryerson prior to 1835* and measured 100' by 50' deep before it closed down in 1836. A shaft was sunk into it in 1853 which reached a depth of 130* but it was abandoned permanently prior to 1873. BLUE HOLE This was a small pit near the Blue mine that was opened be- fore 1840 and became more than 100' deep by 1868. BOARD OR SCHEMERHORN MINE It is believed to have been an early mine probably opened by Cornelius Board and contained ore which yielded excellent iron especially desired by the early ironmasters. It was "rediscovered" in 1872 and produced 11,000 tons in one year. It closed down in 1884. BUSH MINES These are believed to have been worked earlier but were known to have been opened in 1854. One pit was 70' wide by 100' long. CALER MINE A pre-Revolutionary mine believed to be the present Keeler (see Keeler mine). CANNON MINE This well known and important mine was worked prior to 1763, possibly by Cornelius Board as he purchased this pro- perty in March of 1740. It was a pit 25-30' deep when the ironworks came to -a halt near the end of the Revolution and no ore was taken from it until Martin Ryerson acquired the property in 1807. It was worked again in 1855 and was active in the Civil War. From 1890 on, only this and the Peters mine were in use. It had a pit roughly 150' x 200' x 200'deep and 3 levels below the bottom of the pit which reached a depth of 500'. About 1914 a vertical shaft was sunk and a hoisting tower erected over it. The Cannon mine connected with the New London, Hard and Mule mines and it is said that if ex- tended all the ore could also be taken from the Bush, St. George, Miller, Keeler, Cooper, Peters, Hope and Oak mines through the Cannon mine shaft. COOK MINE It was located near the Hard mine and was opened about 1867 but not commercially worked. COOPER MINE These pits were opened about the time of the Civil War and by 1868 the main one was 80' long by 10' wide and 30' deep. When they were closed down in 1873 the mines were between 60' and 100' deep. GOOD HOPE MINE This was a pre-Revolutionary mine in the Hope Mountain group. It was reopened in 1820 but abandoned again by 1840 after having been worked to a depth of 60'. HARD MINE This was an outcrop of ore 150' in length in the Blue group that had been worked since pre-Revolutionary days. The pit was 175' deep by 1835 and most of the ore went to the Pompton Ironworks. It was reopened in 1870 and worked about 10 more years until it attained a depth of 400'. HENION MINE This was a small pit in the Blue group opened before 1840, pro- bably by the Ryersons. HEWITT MINE This pit was located close to the state line near the Snyder mine and may have been one of the earliest worked since it is on land purchased by the Ogdens in 1740. The mine was 20' x 60' x 25' deep and was last worked in 1880. HICKORY MOUNTAIN MINE This was a shallow pit prospect. HICKORY VALLEY MINE Another prospect that didn't become commercial. HOPE (or WALES MOUNTAIN) MINES These openings on Wales Mountain (which later became known as Hope Mountain because of the names of the mines) consisted of about 9 or 10 pits. Surface ore led to their discovery in July of 1767 and much of the ore went to the Long Pond Ironworks at Hewitt. In the group were the Spanish Hope, Good Hope, Oak, Old Hope and New Hope. KEELER MINE This and the Caler mine were probably one and the same, the latter was worked before the Revolution and the Keeler was operating before 1836. This pit was part of the Miller- town group and measured 20' x 70' xl5' deep. It was re- opened about 1853 but was idle again by 1873. LITTLE BLUE MINE This mine was near the Blue mine and was over 100' deep by 1868. LITTLE RED MINE This was a small mine in the Blue group believed to have been opened about 1874 as an exploratory pit. LONDON MINE Probably the same as the New London mine (see New London mine). MILLERTOWN MINES Millertown is the old name of a settlement located about half- way between the Cannon and Peter mines now known as the "Pipeline',' for the compressed air pipeline that ran between the Cannon and Peter mines. The main mines in this group were Keeler, Miller and St. George. MILLER MINE This pit was opened about 1867 and was worked to a depth of 200' before being abandoned soon after 1873. MULE MINE This was a pit opened before 1834 by Jacob N. Ryerson and was 300' long by 70' deep when abandoned in 1840. 22M.S- X SMYDER- HEWITT (Prospect) 2JM.S. \ I ' Hove. LJJS fi ~>< OLD HOP OAK HOPE* -* (Prospect) X COOPER. X '-, MANOR -„„„ X ' \ TORSE HOUSE ^&M'rniJ'p'"d-> INDIAN :DQD ^FftRM MILLER-TOWN /^Mltt^' SfST. GEORGE ,CANNON-NEWLVDOW . «J^' THE MINES HERMERHORN RINGWOOD NEW CANNON MINE This was the name given to a new opening in the Cannon mine on a new vein of ore just to the east of the old one, shortly after 1880. NEW HOPE MINE Part of the Hope Mountain group and probably the last of them to be opened but it too was abandoned before 1868. NEW MILLER MINE This was a new opening in the old Miller mine made in 1881. It was worked for 3 years to a depth of 140'. NEW MINE This was better known as the Wood mine (see Wood mine). NEW LONDON MINE Begun as a separate pit from the Cannon the ore shoots lay too closely together to continue to distinguish between the two mines. The New London was worked through the Cannon mine. NEW PETER MINE This was a new opening made northeast of the old Peter mine in 1883. OAK MINE This lay in the Hope Mountain group. It was 30' deep in 1784 and 60' deep when abandoned after 1845. OLD HOPE MINE Another of the Hope group - it was a pit 60' deep. PATTERSON MINE This mine was remote from the rest of the Ringwood group. It consisted of two shafts and several pits that were last worked in 1903. PETER MINE This most important mine of the Ringwood group was one of the first to be opened. The Ogdens purchased the property in April of 1740 and used the ore in the first Ringwood furnace. In 1807-8, when Ringwood began operating again after the Revo- lution, the pit was 150' long by 50' wide and was worked ever deeper until after 1837 when it closed down until 1880. By 1890 the shaft was 600' in length and only the Cannon and Peters mine were in use. The Peters continued on and off until June 15, 1931 when it closed, being the last of the mines in the Ramapos to be worked. During World War II it was refurbished and held in readiness in the event that the iron would be needed. When the final end came the mine has 17 levels, the lowest being 1800' below ground. SCHERMERHORN MINE Also known as the Board mine (see Board mine). SNYDER MINE Surface ore led to its discovery by the Ogdens who purchased the land on April 24, 1740. The pit was 100' long and about 25' deep in 1835. It was not worked much beyond the Civil War, but several test pits made on the southerly extension showed the ore body to be about 2500' long. A tram road ran close to it from the Peters mine. SPANISH HOPE MINE One of the Hope Mountain mines opened before the Revolution and closed before 1840. ST. GEORGE MINE This mine was located in the Millertown group. It was opened before the Civil War and closed about 1873. The pit was 35' x60' x75' deep. VINCENT MINE This pit was near the Schemerhorn mine - little else is known. WALES MOUNTAIN MINES The earlier name for the Hope Mountain group (see Hope mines). WARD MOUNTAIN MINE This was a pit near Buttermilk Falls in Hewitt that was opened and worked in 1873. WINSLOW MINE This was an exploratory pit opened in the Millertown area about 1874. WOOD MINE This pit is also known as the New mine and was opened in the winter of 1854 by the Trenton Iron Company. Along the line of strike between the Cannon and Snyder mines, there were also ore bodies at Indian Farm, Horse Heaven and Misses Hewitt's greenhouses. For further details on the mines and iron manufacturing in the area see "Vanishing Ironworks of the Ramapos" by James M. Ransom, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N.J. 1966 A miner. * >ical S» - #, nq wood \ Mine Area's prominence greatest in war time RI'NGWOOD — Although the Mine Ancestors of the Ramapo Mountain Come 1950, the war well over, the gov- Area traces its roots to the time before p e o p le who populate the tract were ernment declared the Ringwood mines the Revolutionary War, the latest chapter miners brought from the Black Forest of surplus and sold them for $1.5 million to in its interesting history began only three Germany by Baron Peer Hasenclever to' Ringwood Iron Mines in 1951. The firm years ago when The Ringwood Realty develop the then flourishing iron ore in- paid $100,000 down and the General Ser- Co. donated 290 acres to the borough. dustry. vice Administration took back a mort- Ringwood Realty, an affiliate of J. I. Down through the years, since Revolu- gage for the balance. Kislak Co., Newark, acquired the proper- tionary times, they have remained isolat- In 1956, GSA foreclosed and, two years ty in 1964. Its principal holders were of- ed and insulated from, the rest of the later, resold the property for $650,000. ficers of the Ford Co. which was using community. Intermingling of the original Strangely, war has had an unusual con- the land to dump its waste products. settlers, Negroes and Indians has pro- nection with the mines' prominence, al- The borough subsequently transferred duced a clannish group which maintains though this time it was the Cold War and jurisdiction over the property to the its heritage is more American than most the fear of atomic attack when that East- Ringwood Solid Waste Management Au- of the present residents of the borough. West confrontation was at its heights. thority which was the defendant in 1970 The mines are noted, of course, for the During that period, the mine area was in a suit brought by Philip and Sandra role they played in the American Revolu- considered a likely possibility for use as Watson. tion, supplying the raw material for shot a king size fallout shelter for much of the They sought to invalidate the RSWMA, and shell and, more glamorously, the area. Like many other grandiose ideas noting that in order for the authority to chain which was forged to block the Hud- for the property, that never came to pass be a self-liquidating enterprise, it must son River. either. process 1,600 tons of refuse weekly, but As the country grew, however, the In 1964, Pittsburgh Pacific Co., then the 100 tons were received from Ringwood, mines began to fade from prominence as owner, sold 800 acres to Ringwood Realty plus another 200 tons from the Ford new sources of higher grade ore (or ore and Kislak announced plans to develop Motor Co. plant in Mahwah. Because of which could be more cheaply refined) its holdings in what today has become this, the Watsons argued the authority were discovered and developed. known as a planned unit development. was created solely to. assist the Ford But with World War II, the federal gov- The $50 million idea proposed housing for plant in disposing of its waste products. ernment turned again to Ringwood, more than 500 families; some 300,000 Refuse was dumped into the numerous spending some $4 million to get the mines square feet of industrial space, a shop- abandoned mine shafts in the area, but in shape as an ace in the hole should any- ping center, library and community facil- the method was highly unsatisfactory, thing happen to interrupt the ore flow ities, all with utilities. It was one more because of the constant threat of fire and through the Soo canals in the Great plan that never got off the drawing soil pollution. Lakes. board. RIHGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 145 Skylands Road d, Hew Jersey 0/4.6 When the 'Iron Horse'.Was King Mines Closed, '-/f~+ -"• * Era Ended 1 HE "IRON horse" had its day in the sun before the advent of the motor truck Ringwood mines depended on the railroad to haul the ore to the smelters. Although there were furnaces at Ringwood years before the American Revolution, they were stilled in the 1800's in favor of shipping the raw ore to manufacturers. Competition from foreign markets and high phosphorus content of the Ringwood ore put the mines out of business. They flourished in the 1920's and then fell silent until World War II when the government opened them. They were last worked in the 1950's by the Pittsburgh-Pacific Mining Company, but this operation proved unprofitable, and the mines closed for good. The land is now owned by the Ringwood Solid Waste Disposal Authority. The mines were used as dumps by the Ford Motor Company for some time. The company deposited cardboard and other trash in the pits. The railroad was torn up many years ago and the rails sold for scrap. When in operation the small mine train (shown on hill) pulled cars full of ore to the loading dock and then dumped them into the large gondola cars of the railroad. The loading area was adjacent to what is now the municipal building. —• Working on the Railroad VG — The borough and documents relating to the iron „ .J&merce recently an- mines, manuscripts describing ore ompletion of a slide show on transportation and the location of the Ringwood mine industry. The smelters. Dan Boye is the project show includes slides depicting the coordinator for the chamber of historical significance of Ringwood as commerce. an earlv mining community, pictures (Trends: Courtesy) e. State, fed help needed to fix mine shafts By David M. Levitt "They poured concrete into the hole,"said.Shea. NnnSUff Writer " ( "That adds weight and causes to sink faster." RINGWOOD — State andsfederaiCflnancial help He told Thomas Kane, borough administrator, will be needed to fix potentiafly, hazardous depressions and Vincent Soukup, a Wehran engineer, that the and open mine shafts; in tijes upper Klngwood area; borough has four alternatives for the Van Dunk house officials of the state Mine Safety Bureau said Wednes- Move it to another site, build another foundation at < day. , . .... - ;•• %' .'i'r^..'/' • 90 degree angle to the present one, move it 10 fee: The statement came after the officials inspected toward a ledge on its left, or build a reinforcin? structure inside the hole. three of the area's most threatening holes. Thomas For the sunken area behind thai house and Meivi Shear chief mine safety engineer and Michael Pustay, bureau project engineer, toured the area with Ring- Milligan's home next door, he reccomended eithe . wood officials and representatives., of Wehran Engi- increasing the fill or planting bush over it to kee children from playing there. Possible voids beneat neering, the borough's engineering consultant. the depression's surface could break open and cause Michael Stefandk, mine'community liaison to the child to break a limb, he explained. borough,; showed the, group where underground shafts had given way and created hazards. : HOW-TO engineers knew about the filled-in sha He also took them to the five-year-old home of when they planned the house for the site, She David Van Dunk, where underground movements had asserted. "They must have decided to take the sunk the driveway and cracked the foundation. chances with the hole because they didn't want to g into blasting (the ledge)," he said. • He. later showed them two deep open fissures in hills near the old Peters Mine. One of-them, far up a Federal money may be available for the work, h mountainside, has been fenced off with chicken and told the officials, but he did not specify where in th government it would come from. barbed wire, but a fallen tree has made it accessable. Shea estimated it to be about 50 feet deep. The open holes in the hills are on state-owne Green Acres Act land. Shea recommended the bo- The other, 20 feet off the right; side of the fire ough contact the Department of Environment; road, is a water-fffled hole which Stefancik estimated Protection's Parks Bureau, which has filled in mte to be about 20 feet deep when the water level is low. shafts at other abandoned mine sites throughout th Several dozen tires float on top of the water, which state. Stefancik said he threw in to save someone who might Actions suggested in that area include repairin fall in. Thetires had been dumped near the hole. the fence around the mountainside hole and filling th Shea said corrective measures taken by the roadside hole with boulders and dirt. - Housing Operation with Training" Organization, a "However, he indicated that-the Ringwood mine state- and federally-funded self-help program which might not get high priority from the DEP becaus built the Van Dunk house, have added to the problem. they are in a relatively sparsly populated area. News Photos by MikeRicae An open mine shaft, left, thought to be about 50 feet deep, sits high on a mountain in headquarters, right, nearby. A number of open mine shafts in the area have been creating Ringwood. The shaft was once operated by the now-defunct Old Peters Mine Co. out of its problems for some Ringwood residents recently. * MA Open mine^ha discovered RINGWOOD - Insp|ctors Jrpm the mended the Van Dunk house^be con- state Bureau ofMTnes discovered two open s'tructed about 30 feet away from its mine shafts in the Upper Ringwood Mine present site. area Wednesday during a day-long in- Shea said the pits have been sinking over spection of the area. Both are owned by the a long period of time. state. The inspectors discovered one open A third pit in the area owned by the shaft about a mile from the RBSWA tract, Ringwood Borough Solid Waste Authority near theJSIew York«j|tate border. It is (RBSWA), is starting to sink and has an eight-foot depression. A corner of a house located o#state-ownea1fe)pert.torhv downand a. Thfene- rests on the shaft, known as the "Little shaft is^lKd wi nd is estimated Blue" pit. The depression also extends to tobe#sutJ»f< ,__.. the driveway of the property. shaft is down Thomas Shea, chief mine safety Peters Mine Road then over a dirt path. engineer, and Michael Pustay, bureau Shea said the bureau has no jurisdiction project engineer, toured the area, to close off the area or to control debris examining the underground shafts. being thrown into the shaft. The most critical is at the Little Blue pit Another open shaft, near the old Cannon where a corner of the house owned by the Mine, should be fifteTOkhcHsurrounded by a David Van Dunk family, is resting on part barrier. This mine is about a mile from the of the depressing pit. RBSWA area and is on state-owned land. While Shea indicated improvements will Although Councilman Jack Byrne repor- have to be made on the Van Dunk house, he ted more than two dozen open pits and said there are no open shafts in th%RB- shafts in the area, Shea said the only one J ia , .within danger proportions was the Little i and disputed imminent - "~ ini ofthearea. • ~~ pit. He.sakl others appear not to be and orjK a Jew ^how any kind of sai«|efforts^ mil be madptdgbtlffi ffl^n-' ciarassistahce to 'rVihtoTCeTlR'fWmdatfbn to ask officials in the state at the Van Dunk home. He said it may Division of Water Resources to investigate haye to be moved to another,area. whether dumping in the two state-owned The Van Dunk house was one of several shafts poses a problem to theunderground constructed fiv^ears ago under the How- water supply in |h^|l|IHBp*said he was To project. At the time, the mine bureau powerless to stopih^ atlnpng. was aware of the pits but indicated no Kane said a baffler can be placed potential problems, although it recom- around the Little Blue pit. FiiNGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY Ringwood, N©w Jersey 07456 ,M iron furnaces Historians look at .Ogden Furnace Second in o series the original building labelled "Ogden's nace lying parallel to the river. In cooperation with research supplied by Furnace," there must have been a long "...Acutally, very little is known about the Butler Museum Commission, Sunday's casting shed parallel to the Pequannock the establishment and operation of the Trends examined early iron furnaces in River and attached to the furnace. Such Bloomingdale Furnace. There is much un- the greater TriBorO area. In 1963, the sections were customarily made of wood certainty surrounding the date of its erec- Ogden Iron Furnace was "rediscovered" and often caught on fire. The map also tion. It is first mentioned in connection by amateur historians who had been shows a sawmill a little further up the with the surveyor's report on 'a road that working on the sunken iron industry of river, which could have been the source of leads from Bloomingdale Furance to Chartotteburg. In this portion, more the lumber. __ Charlotteburg' dated April 15,1767. It was details of this "find" are explained as well In the Project 133 Report'and Summary probably the first furnace built within the as the the history of the Ogden family com- of Projects put together by the Butler Ter- present limits of Morris County. pany. centennary Committee in 1965, there ap- "Benjamin Roome, for many years a BUTLER — In a section of the book, pears a preliminary report by Edward deputy surveyor of the Board of "1844 New Jersey History," it recounts tin- Lenik of the North Jersey Highlands Proprietors, ascribes the erection of tic der Pompton Township, in which Historical" Society on his "rediscovery" Bloomingdale Furnace to John and Uzal Bloomingdale was, "There are in the town- and dig of the Ogden Iron Furnace. The Ogden...lt is generally conceded that the ship eight forges, one furnace, three grist- following is part of his report: ' Bloomingdale Funiace was built prior to mills, six sawmills; five schools and 186* "The Bloomingdale, or Ogden, furnace 1765, and (he original works were said to scholars, Pop. 1,437." It also notes that today is nothing more than a mound of ear- have been in existence up to about 1830." "Ringwood, Boardville, and Whinokie are th and rubble with a tree stump at its top. This report goes on to mention that the located on the Rujgwood River." It is located in the abandoned yard of the Alexander Papers Map 29 shows the Ogden old Pequannock Coal and Lumber Com* . A map of the early days, owned by the furnace in its proper location and the old New York Historical Society, shows that Dutch Reformed, church "meeting house" the property owners in Bloomingdale, of in its location between its building in 1736 which Butler was that part across the river and its moving to Pompton Plains in 1776. in Morris County, were John and Uzal He claims the map does not show the Ogden, G. Bartholf, S. Crane, P. Schuyler, blockhouse erected hi Pompton in 1755. and J. Range. There was also one sawmill Lenik writes, "These factors, therefore, and a house on Giltiam Bartholf s land. would seem to indicate that the furnace was built sometime between 1736 and In West Bloomingdale, now Butler, was l?55." He noted also that the map shows one dwelling on the property of G. Ryerson the furnace on a plot of land marked "P. (around present Arch Street), and Ogden's S." or Phillip Schuyler. An 1882 history of furnace, now on the property of Morris County records that a lot at Vibratonics Laboratories Industries. Bloomingdale containing 137.64 acres was In the 50th anniversary booklet of conveyed to John and Uzal Ogden by Bloomingdale may be found in an article Phillip Schuyler and wife on August 1, by Max Schrabisch the following, "The 1759. ruins of one of the furnaces in this section OGDEN IRON FURNACE of the country built by Ogden about 1736, pany, in the Borough of Butler, about one- The Ogdens could not make a financial may still be seen in Isaac Gurnee's lumber eighth of a mile below where Stony Brook success of their venture and were forced to yard at Bloomingdale. Now Vibratonics (now Kakeout Brook) empties into the mortgage some of their holdings. On Laboratories." Pequannock River, These ruins stand November 2, 1766 they mortgaged to Another quote from the Bloomingdale close to a high 'furnace bank' upon which Thomas and Ferdinand Penningtoi of Bir- booklet is, "The road that ran through was located the charging bridge leading to stol, England, several tracts of land in Bloomingdale (now the Main Street part of the top of the furnace as well as the char- Morris and Bergen Counties, including the Hamburg Tpk.) constantly remained coal house, weighing station, and piles of that hi Bloomingdale, An 1880 map of the on the opposite side of the Pequannock ore and flux. The New York Susquehanna, Falconer farm purchased by Richard River. This explains why Ogden built bis and Western Railroad now passes over this . Butler for development of what is now furnace on the south side of the river." high bank. Butler shows two parcels separated within This claim can be supported by Map 29 of "This writer (Ed Lenik) 'rediscovered' the farm.. One was marked Pennington, the Alexander Papers and Robert Er- this site late in November, 1962. A climb to the other Barkalow. They do not appear on skine's map of 1777 of the North Jersey the top of the mound quickly revealed the the 1888 proposed development by Richard Iron Mines Area, both of which indicate a stone outline of the inner section, or bosh, Butler. road or trail on the Morris County side of of the furnace. A portion of the raceway the water. If the unknown surveyor who which supplied the water necessary to In part three of the series, Ogden iron drew Map 29, and its local historian copier, power the furnace bellows was also visible Ringwood mines and Kinaelea Fred Telasco, did not alter the design of , .approximately 75 yards north of the fur- /f- Ogden Iron furnace excavated Third In a series wall. This wall extended toward the river old iron furnaces, besides having to locate i about 38 feet and digging was halted near water power to operate the bellows, IH coonentiw with research supplied by because of the then present roadbed. had to be reasonably close to sources of the Butler Musemi Commission, Trends is raw materials and have access to a During the weekend of July 20-21 the presenting a series of articles on the early market for their iron pigs. The area iron furnaces (his area was known for ih down stream wall Was probed. A 10.5 foot generally northwest of Butler, namely the nineteeth century. This edition, the wide Gothic arch for the air blasts en- Ringwood, West Milford, Wanaque and lisa "rediscovery" of the Ogden Furnace la this area is examined. BUTLER—Archeological excavation of the Ogden Furnace site began in the Spring of 1963 with Ed Lenik, Jim Norman ^te»«SaSf« and Frank Malone as diggers and Mead Stapler .serving as recorder, all covering' The 14-foot wide casting arch was next An examination of a U.S. Geologic Sur- the project for the North Jersey Highlands uncovered. An up-river wall extension was vey Map of the Principal Iron Mines is Historical Society. During the week of May two feet thick and not joined to the furnace New Jersey dated 1890, lists 198 of them, 25-26 they excavated the bosh and crucible proper. Its function and true length remain with 22 in use as of the map's publication of the furnace. unknown. Within a radius of approximately five miles from Butler there were nine mines These were filled with hard-packed Each shovelful of dirt taken out was listed, none then active. They were the stone, mortar, and clay which had fallen in carefully examined for artifacts. There Kahart, Pompton, Kanouse, Wanaque, when the furnace had collapsed. This were found three nails, two pieces of iron Clinton (more than one), Howell, Cobb, material was probably the fill between the spill, one wedge; one piece of pottery, iron Rockaway Valley and Charlotteburg. The outer wall and inner lining and was ore, and charcoal and slag at all levels. map does not disclose when they were removed by hand labor .The lower portion The Lenik report points out that the then discovered or when they were last worked. of the furnace was in excellent condition future plans at the site involved the use of A 10-mile radius circle from Butler would considering tiie 200 years of standing. The bulldozers or backhoes to remove the tons include many more mines. One may note casting opening and that for the air from of debris that had filled in around the fur- therefore, that the ore for the Ogden Fur- the bellows were revealed by this digging. nace. Mead Stapler mentioned that the nace was reasonably close. The exact The casting opening of the structure faces roadbed had chunks of rich iron ore sur- source of the ore has not yet been the river, while the air hold was on the facing, which were brought to a high polish established, but there are a number of down stream side. by the traffic over them. reasonable possibilities. An unusual feature was the D-shaped cross-section of the crucible. About 10 feet v Availability of Raw Materials. In part four of the series: how charcoal of the bosh and crucible were intact. Next, The Ogden Furnace, like all others, was burned to produce the energy for the 'about a six-foot high wall of hand cut stone needed i constant supply of iron ore, char- mines and some of the geology of the area. was uncovered as the up stream outside coai and flux, either limestone or lime. The ly mines examinea Fourth in a series Geologists point out that during the last In cooperation with research supplied by ice age, it was the Wisconsin Glacier which the Butler Museum Commission, Trends is filed off steep ridges in the Jersey Highlan- presenting a series of articles on the early ds exposing rich veins of iron ore that iron furnaces in this area. In this edition, would give rise to an iron industry that the focus is on the Hard Mine in Ringwood, would flourish for over 150 years. : mines in the Whynockie (Wanaque) area The reader may have noticed that in the and how the fires were supplied with char- early purchases of land for the ironworks, coalfuel. tremendous tracts were acquired. This wag done to secure wooded areas for the BUTLER—The Hard Mine at Ringwood manufacture of needed charcoal. It has was opened before the American already been mentioned that the Ogdens Revolution. The Hewitt mine was dug to a bought acres from the Schuylers, Board, depth of 23 feet. The vein of this open pit and Bartholf in i Bloomingdale. Gangs of was from six to 12 feet wide. woodcutters were sent out to obtain this On the side of Wales Moutain was a vein necessary reducing agent. Charcoal firing discovered in July of 1767, which was 14 usually took place between early May and feet wide in places and about a mile long. late October, to avoid unfavorable weather It was opened in about five different conditions like snow and strong winds. places, each opening having its own name, Trees were often cut in winter after the sap such as Hope Mine, Good Hope, Spanish • had gone to the roots, which made harder Hope Mine.Oak, and Old Hope. and drier wood, thus producing stronger This location is now called Hope and more solid charcoal. The trimmed Moutain. The Keeler (Caler) Mine was trees were stacked upright in a cone- opened by the American Company before shaped pit on dry level and sheltered the Revolution and is about half a mile ground. They were covered by dirt and south of the Peter's Mine. Its ore was used damp leaves. This kept out excess air to , by Martin J. Ryerson at his Bloomingdale allow the process of destruction distillation ' forge. It is possible the ore was smelted at to take place. Wood chips and dried leaves the Ogden Furnace across from the were dropped down an opening in the top of Pequannock River. the pit after they had been ignited. Small The Peter's Mine in Ringwood was openings were made in the side for better probably worked by the Ogdens after draft as determined by the wind direction acquiring land from Cornelius Board in to control the burning. . 1740. It had both a shaft and an open nit. The charcoal was heaped in small piles About 50,000 tons ot ore were removed and carted to the furnace as needed, or before the Revolution. Its vein was from stored there in charocal houses. In the six to 50 feet wide and the open pit reached process, the wood, which is an impure a depth of 70 feet. form of cellulose, has the hydrogen and The book, Kinnelon: A History (1976) oxygen driven off by the heat as water, reports one of the mines used by Hasen- . which is expelled from the pit along with clever was worked in 1770 and was located volatile impurities; The residue is prac- between New Pond and Lake Kinnelon. A tically pure carbon called charcoal. present day sampling of ore from a pit in Each pit used about 30 cords of wood and this area shows it to be highly magnetic yielded nearly 300 bushels of charcoal. The and, in fact, containing iron in crystalline pit itself was about 30 feet in diameter and - form. 15 feet high. A single forge fire could con- The Beam Mine in the Whynockie area sume a thousand acres of woods annually. was about three-quarters of a mile The preferred wood was chestnut. In the southeast of Haskell in a vale between two Butler 50th Anniversary book, under "Did knolls, this old mine was reopened in 1875. You Know That?", it states, "Old charcoal The ore vein is about four to five feet wide pits may still be seen on the property of and reaches a depth of 20 feet. The Blue Conrad V. Rome.. Mine (Iron Hill, Whynockie, or London Mine) is 1.5 miles west of Midvale and In part four of the series; geology of the several miles to the south of its Ringwood mine areas and the Sussex County mineral namesake. tract. MainSection—RiverdalePublishing Inc., Butler, N.J.Sunday, June 'mr various glaciers millions of years ago ad- ded to the geologic turmoil of these deposits. Today limestone quarrying anc the Butler Museum Commissfon, Trends . processing is concentrated in two plants ir .. has presented a - series of articles Sussex County. ' ". examining the early iron mines in this •area. This final article focuses, oa the .New Jersey limestone is used ' fo: • geology of the area, the Sussex mineral agstone/ concrete aggregate, roadstone tract and the fate of the Ogden Furnace. livestock feed additive, poultry grii agricultural purposes and as a filler ii flooring, rubber and asphalt. Susse: BUTLER — Although there is quite a bit' hydrated lime Is marketed in New Jersej of information in the literature about the New York arad Pennsylvania. '. iron ore sources and also' about the , preparation of charcoal (used.to fire the According to The Earth Shook and th furnaces) one can only find allusions to the Sky Was Red: A Bicentenial History ( use of flux —• limestone or lime. West Miiford (1976), the early iron fui naces could not produce a high enoug Yet the Highlands of New Jersey aboun- temperature to use limestone as the flu: ds in limestone. According to The New Jer- So a more active lime was. used. sey Almanac (19S6-S7) during the geologic Limestone was calcined to lime in a kili evolution of what is now the New Jersey, a which was a small stone furnace about; vast shallow, inland sea formed over what feet high, built on the side of a hill. Thei is now Sussex. County. ..." •. /.• •.' . was a grate near the bottom. Limestoi This body of water; considered to be not was dumped through an opening at thfe ti more than, a few teas of feet: deep, ws the and a hot fire set beneath the grate. Tl fominifera and lime-containing algae, resulting.lime, although less dense a'i which, when they died, settled to the bot- •' more chemically active that the sto torn, and built up deep,layers of their from which it came, could cause a probe] bodies. This became limestone. In geologic ifc transport in rainy weather, »6r.it rea< time, thesea dried up or drained out, only . vigorously with water. '•?;'.: ,. , to later reappear and deposit more lime- :; containing layers. ..;. . The remains of one local lime kiln m bs found near the furnace at Long Poi Some geologists believe that this Another has been located off Gould Re sedimentary., deposition happeEed at least near the limstone cliff. There is suppos five times, forming five different layers. to be an abandoned kiln 6a Bearf ort Mo: When crustal crunches came these layers tain in West Milfordsone on Turkey Mo were folded up, spine turned over, some tain in Kinnelon used in the ISSO's, « stood on edge, and others separated by possibly one on Saw Mill Road there. In faults. The heat and pressure of some of Mahlon Dickerson Reservation near . this action' metamorphosized some of the ferson High School stands an old lime k limestone intomarble. Today this is known A native of the area reports a limest as Franklin marble. . outcropping at Gould Road and Un The advance and recession • of the Valley Road in Macopin. forge. finding the original floor and foun- STAKF WIUTKK The first thing of interest found at dation. CO this site was along the banks of the This was some years ago, and today CO Thin i* the second /mrl of a tieo-jtarl nearby Pequannock River. There, for the site is back to its former state. fonlure on colonial iron forges thill iri'/v- a short stretch, were rows of what According to the map. the forge hiisi'tl in the Trends urea. seemed to be uniformly shaped rocks building itself was originally 45-feet- KINNELON — More than 200 years holding up the embankment. by-80-feet. After locating the two ago, the hills off Route 23 in the Kin- Upon closer examination, the longer side wails and tape measuring nelon-West Milford area were the site "rocks ' were not rocks at all, but them, it confirmed this was the of ore-mining and ironmaking in- cement mixed with gravel that had Charlotteburg forge. dustries. been poured into sacks and left to dry. One thing that struck me was a This 6.475-acre tract, known as the Could this be a part of the old forge drawing of the working forge in the Great \ Charlotteburg Furnace Tract, site? More likely, these were placed book. The charcoal sketch by Mead was purchased by Peler Hasenclever along the river by the Civilian Con- Stapler (1973) showed a huge, strong, in October, 1765. The name, "Charlot- servation Corp, who did much work in working building surrounded by trees, teburg," was given to the Sand by this area during the 1930's. a powerfully flowing river and items Hasenclever in honor of the wife ot Walking parallel with the river, of industry. King George III. heading into thicker growth, I stum- There is no longer a clearing, nor a Part of the works are now under the bled upon a stone foundation — there strong building, nor a 20-foot high reservoir which covers the old town of it was, the site of the old forge. svooden dam holding back the river. Charlotteburg. But the site of one part This was not the first time the site The forest has reclaimed the site. of the complex, off of Route 23. still had been discovered, of course. Ken The question arises — why and how exists. Hirsch, a member of the North Jersey did the operation cease? Was there a A map of the middle forge, Highlands Historical Society, told me lack of ore? Wood for charcoal? Man- published in "Kinnelon: A History,"' that he and his team had a bulldozer power? shows approximately 400-feet down a skim the area, removing the dense Here is where local historians differ. steep wooded hill oil Route 23 (south overgrowth. The archaeologists were The overwhelming evidence is that I of Smoke Rise's North Gate) is the old then able to dig just a little deeper. the Charlotteburg furnace was shut o down forcibly. After all, this was a time of revolution —. the struggling American colonies were fighting to be Ih'S tree of British domination. The forges were crucial to the fighting of the ~U Revolutionary War, supplying im- : plements of warfare to the Continental Army. Although , some believe that the ?«* Charlotteburg works shut down & because General George Washington lefused to grant military immunity to Hasenclever's workers, other historians believe the forge was destroyed by fire. In either case, the year of demise seems to be 1772. One early historian. Dr. Tuttle (writing in 1868), points to the fact that valuable charcoal had been left unused at the site. Throughout the hills of Kinnelon, areas where char- coal was made can still be found. Underneath wet, decaying leaves, the black powder can still be found. After digging a little, actual plug-sized pieces of blackened branches, buried tor two centuries, were discovered. Robert Erskine wrote pleading let- ters to General Clinton regarding the lack of -charcoal at his forge. The black powder found abandoned at the 1 site today makes his concern sound a A*K', 'i little out of place — unless, again, Coal supply operations ceased abruptly. Not only charcoal, but tools, pig iron North Jersey's forests were once obliterated by the iron industry, and bar stock, were left at the site, which needed the wood to make coal, which in turn was used to power discovered by the Highlands Historical' the forges. Here, Stefan Ponomarev examines a supply of coal more Society team in 1961. than 200-years-old. More evidence points to demise by (Trends: Mike Bedford) fire. Pig iron, found at the site by the team, was analyzed by. Frank Malone, Riverdale Publishing Inc., Butler, NJ. Sunday, July 24,1983—Main Section 7 a professional metallurgist. He rocks and boulders — not the Charlot- shaped piece of slag. believes that the iron had been in the teburg site. Upon leaving the site, I repeatedly i melting process, and was interrupted For a good stretch, the brook is came upon hand-hewn beams, with ax \ In progress. filled with pieces of slag t residue from marks still visible. These too may Malone concluded that an attack the iron-making process, skimmed off have been from either the dam or the upon the forge was the most likely ex- and discarded during smelting). forge building, carried down the brook planation. He believes that the The only outstanding items of in-' by time and tide. Charlotteburg site was the scene of a terest in the river were a long, The search for the. colonial iron Revolutionary War skirmish. threaded metal bolt with an out-of- forge was complete. Still, questions This shallow brook is unique. Most square head (possibly used in the remain. But that is what makes tSie brooks and rivers are strewn with forge building or dam), and a T- history of this area so interesting. Charlotteburg forge in Kinneion, still shows traces Hand hewn of boh holes and bolt plate impression. This hand-hewn beam, found at the site of the (Trends: Mike Bedford) LIBRARY rs JUL 1983 Iron ore led ear into lt> MlkK BKOKOU1) STAKK WKITKH This is llu> first of u tiro-/ntrl fvaturo on tin' iro/i lire fitiws that iri'rv ItHseil in ihtf Irt'iifls tirvii in i.iiUmial linws. KINNELON — New Jersey is a state known for its rich, historical surest wealth. It is also known for its wealth of raw materials. Specifically, iron ore was a material that attracted settlers to this area. The open plains of the Rockaway Valley were ideal for settling and far- ming, unlike the hills lying to the nor- th. But there was something hidden in those hills that first drew settlers to this region. This material was used minimally by the Lenni-Lenape Indians, and later exploited by European im- Next to investigate the wealth of migrants. Iron ore was contained iron ore were the Ogdens, from within the slanting rock (called Newark, operating under the name ', "Ramapo" by the Indians), The ore "Ringwood Company." in 1742 they appeared as streaks of gray and black began operating a furnace on the in the rock outcroppings Manor grounds, to continue for about Depending on the source taken as 25 years. fact, the search for iron ore began in Following the Ogdens was Peter either the late 1600's or early 1700's. In Hasenciever, a German who became any case. Cornelius Board goes down involved with establishing the on record as being the first to mine American Company (also called the iron in (his area, as a representative London Company or the American for Lord Stirling. Iron Company). Arriving in New York During Board's time, England had in 1764, Hasenciever acquired the iron been importing ore from Spain and Sweden, because her own forests had works which were offered for sale by been denuded due to the need for char- the Ogdetis. coal (used in the smelting process). It U was he who developed most of the was now time to investigate the northern Jersey works (Kingwood, possibility of America supplying Chariot.teburg. Long Pond, Greenwood England's need. Lake), destined to become the Board initially was searching for greatest works in America of that copper deposits, but instead came period. : across iron in the Ringwood River. He "Baron" Hasenciever, according to later built a forge (in 1740) close to tradition, lived in a style befitting a what is now Sally's Pond at Ringwood king at his Ringwood headquarters. Manor. He listened to brass bands while he dined off of golden dinnerware, catered by servants. Following Hasenclever's dismissal in 1769. John Jacob Faesch took over leadership of the American Company, reigning about two years at Ringwood. tlNGWOOD PUSL.C Li&RARY 145 Skyiancls Rossi iftngwood. New Jersey 07456 ••'ii;?' v*'tf *-***•&» ':1^^$iiVW^m'^^F ^ ' the overgrowth. Seen here is a stone foundation con- The old forge at CharSotteburg no longer exists, but strucled more than 200 years ago. its remains can be seen to this day, hidden among {Trends: Mike Bedford) At this time, Robert Erskine, a Scot- Trenton Iron Company produced steel Ringwood. Cooper and Hewitt had ch engineer, was chosen as (he per- rails for the Camden and Amboy holdings in Trenton, Phillipsburg, and manent head of the Company, arriving railroad, as well as beams for the Durham, Penn. in New York in 1771 and immediately Cooper Union technical school in New Hewitt later moved back to New heading to Ringwood. York (founded by Cooper). York where he served one term as The American Revolution kept Er- In addition to the iron works at mayor. skine's operations from being as profitable as he had hoped. Erskine is best known for his work as geographer and surveyor-general to the American Army during the American Revolution. Martin Ryerson is another figure who searched for the valuable ore. In 1807. he purchased property in the Ringwood area, and for the next 50 years he and his sons operated the Ringwood works. It was this furnace that supplied shot for the War of 1812. It is interesting to note that the Ryerson family is still known as the oldest iron and steel organization in America. Today it is located in Chicago under the name Ryerson Steel Company. A longtime ironmaster and man of various talents, Peter Cooper bought up 22,000 acres in Ringwood for iron manufacturing purposes. Cooper had been involved in the process since 1830, when he worked near Baltimore manufacturing char- coal iron. In 1853, Cooper purchased one of the most respected iron ore properties in fclNGWOOO PUEuC LIGkAiLY Ringwood. He was one of the residents 145 Sb/bncis Rt>;d at the Ringwood Manor. The last man connected with iron in l, New .(©rf-ay 07456 those early years in Ringwood was Abram S. Hewitt, a partner in business with Peter Cooper. Their Tri-Boro a mining center? A historical look at Ogden Furnace First in a series The idea of smelting is to take the eight tons of metallic iron per day. Runnoff BUTLER - In 1963 the Ogden Iron Fur- oxygen out of the iron oxide leaving the casting was usually done at noon and at nace along the Pequannock River in Butler iron by itself. This can be done by using midnight. The limestone quantities in the was "rediscovered" by amateur some form of reducing agent like carbon, two charges listed does not have the same historians who had been working on the in the form of charcoal, coal, or coke, ratio as does the charcoal and the ore. A sunken iron industry at Charlotteburg. which steals the oxygen from the com- possible explanation for this is that the for- However, there were a number of old pound forming carbon dioxide or carbon mulator of the second charge ratio meant timers in Butler who didn't even know it monoxide, depending on concentration of "lime" and not "limestone." This would had been lost. They knew where it was, but thereactants. correct the ratio. Lime is made by heating somehow never considered it to be im- In order for this reaction to take place, limestone (CaCO3) to form a white brittle portant. In the book, Butler NJ, in Story however, a high temperature of above 1100 residue of lime (CaO). Lime is 44 percent and Pictures (1951), under "Did You Know degrees Celsius (C) — about 2000 degrees lighter than limestone making less weight That?" the following statement appears. Fahrenheit — is required, which is ob- to transport. It is chemically more active "The site of the first charcoal furnace cer- tained by burning some of the carbon thanthestone. .,.,- i tainly in Morris County and probably in being used to remove the oxygen from the The molten iron, being more dense than the state, is in the yard of the Pequannock ore. Now, in order to burn the carbon, air the other materials in the furnace, trickles Coal and Lumber Company. The furnace, has to be forced into the reaction. This was to the bottom of the bosh, and from time to which was built in 1765 and has not been in done by means of bellows in early iron fur- time, is allowed to drain out into blast since 1800, is now covered with a naces. Water power was needed to operate depressions made in a bed of fine sand. It mound of earth and a stone with a tree these bellows. This is why early furnaces may contain from five to six percent im- growing on the top." Such a statement were located by rivers, lakes or streams, purities such as silicon, manganese, shows the writer knew exactly where it where there could be engineered a suf- sulfur, phosforus and carbon. These was. ficient drop in water level to activate the change the characteristics of the iron, In order to appreciate fully the labyrinth bellows which supplied the necessary such as brittleness, malleability and CASTING BCD »/ SAN of historical events connected to the Ogden blast. melting point. The outflowing Iron may be Furnace, it is necessary for the reader to Since no natural iron ore is a pure oxide, run directly into molds of items (cast iron) understand the principles involved in the a flux of some kind must be added to the or into ingots, which to the early ferriers making of ironware. reaction mixture to remove other resembled suckling piglets on a sow, thus Some confusion exists in historical material. If the impurity is limestone, then leading to the term pig iron". The ingots, Furnace literature in the use of the words "fur- silica (quartz or sand) is added. If it is a when broken off the main sand channel, at the bottom and air was forced into the side opening by large This is a modification of Claire K. Tholl's sketch from John Ran- nace," "forge" and "bloomery." They had rock-type silicate, as found in the ores of could be remelted and cast, or reheated bellows operated by water power. This action ignited the char- som's "Vanishing Iron Works of the Ramapos." Such furnaces erroneously been used interchangeably. this area, then limestone or lime is mixed and hammered into bars or wrought iron coal. Shown is an overshot (path of the water) wheel in operation were built of cut and fitted stone and erected on the side of a hill For the purpose of this article, a furnace is in. The resulting liquid slag is less dense items.-. When molten iron solidifies it ex- but undershot ones were often employed. The molten iron collec- close to a water power source. The bosh, or stone reaction cham- a structure in which metallic iron is ex- than molten iron and thus floats on it and is pands, thus filling in all the details of the ted in the crucible and was drained off by gravity into sand or iron ber, was lined with clay or a convenient fire-resistant material. tracted from its ore. A forge is a place skimmed off the top of the iron, or allowed mold.' molds. So long as water power was availble, charge materials on Between the inner circle of stone and the outer square walls were where the iron from a furnace is ham- to drain off separately. Originally the slag hand and no structural defects occuring, the furnace could be four areas filled with clay. Layers of nugget-sized iron ore, char- mered into shapes. A bloomery, according was discarded, but limited uses for it have Historians write that before the kept in continuous blast. Peter Hasenclever used 10 men to work coal and lime (limestone if the furnace could handle it) were dum- to the Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 4, been developed over the years. American Revolution, the British his furnace. There were one founder, one keeper, two pilfers, two exactly fits our meaning for furnace. Parliament in 1750 passed a law forbidding ped down the throat from the charging bridge. To produce the ore-breakers, two coal-stockers, one gutterman and one bank- To house such a high temperature reac- the colonials to erect slitting mills, rolling high temperature needed to melt the mixture, a fire was ignited man. The principal compounds of iron which tion, the early iron makers erected a struc- occur naturally are various forms of the mills and steel furnaces. The purpose was ture of laid up cut stones and lined the to support the motherland economy. The oxide, the carbonate and the sulfide. Of As he passed through the Pompton area, Brookholst settled in 1697. Arent Schuyler reaction chamber inside, called the bosh, American colonists had to ship their pig nace to Gabriel Ogden, who, with his these the oxides are the chief source of he must have been impressed by the moved to New Barbadoes Neck in 1710, but with clay, and later slate or with iron and bar iron about 3000 miles across family, already had an interest in the metallic iron. The most important ore is desirability of owning property there, for . his son Phillip stayed on at Pompton. firebricks. the ocean to England, have it made into Vesuvius Furnace at Newark. hematite, which is a form of ferric oxide on June 6,1695 he purchased 5500 acres of Whether either one had a hand in erec- usable wares, and then reshipped back to In a letter from Robert Erskine to (Fe2O3). Magnetite, sometimes called pumping the active ingredients down land on the Pequannock and Pompton ting the first ironworks at Pompton is not them, with the expense of duty and freight General Washington requesting the latter "mountain iron ore" or magnetic oxide of the open mouth of the furnace was called Creeks from the Indian owners for "warn- . known, nor is its date of construction. A both ways. to exempt his ironworkers from military iron, (Fe3O4) also occurs in nature, as charging it. A typical charge was 180 pum and other goods and merchandise to survey of 1726 mentions it as "now service, dated Feb. 27, 1777, it reads, does limonite (Fe2O3.2HOH), and siderite, bushels of charcoal, 2 tons of iron ore, and History records that in 1694 Capt. Arent the value of 250 pounds current money of building" at Pompton but gives no other "...his neighbors Col. Ogden and Mr. ferrous carbonate, (FeCO3). Iron pyrites, one-quart ton of limestone, which would Schuyler of New York City was employed New York." On Nov. 11,1695 Schuyler and information about it. Historians believe it Faesch had obtained an exemption for the ferrous sulfide (FeS), or Fool's Gold, is make approximately one ton of iron metal. by Gov. Benjamin Fletcher of New York to Maj. Anthony Brookholst, also of New was a bloomery (forge). A furnace was hands employed at their works.'' another. Another example in the literature of a confer with the Indians at Minisink on of- York, acquired the title to the same land erected later. The Pompton works sup- Besides Gabriel Ogden, who ran the typical charge was 22 bushels of charcoal, There are numerous outcroppings of ficul business. Although only 32 at the from the East Jersey Proprietors, part of plied ball and shot for the French and In- Pompton works, Uzal, Charles, as well as 525 pounds of ore, (hickory sized nuggets) magnetite in the North Jersey area. Fe is time the young Schuyler was given that which was for mining.The north portion of dian Wars, plus firebanks, utensils, pig Moses Ogden and Peter Schuyler all and 40 pounds of limestone. Between 50 shorthand for ferrum, the ancient Roman assignment because of his friendliness the 5500 acre tract, which consisted of 1250 and bar iron for the trades. seemed to have a financial interest in the and 60 such charges could be run in a 24 name for iron. Some blacksmiths today, With the indians and his knowledge 6*f their acres was called the Pompton Patent. It On Dec. 15,1774 Casparus Schuyler, the Pompton enterprise. Charles Ogden for example, like to be called' 'f errierrs". hour period, and would yield from seven to •language and customs. * was at Pompton that both Schuyler and oldest son of Phillip, sold the Pompton fur- (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4) . ,,~v-.<-> Pi.twiC LIBRARY Was Butler a mining area? ties the Ogdens formed the famous ^the back of the ledger on both sides of the (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2) • Ringwood Company, and in 1742 built the pages. It was because of this reversal that acquired Ural's share on Sept. 6,1788, and first blast furnace to be erected there, thus the book had been filed on the shelf upside Peter Schiiyler's interest in March of 1797, becoming the first volume producers of down, attracting the attention of the ar- and on April 18,1797 sold all the Pompton iron. Very little is known about the chivist. The book itslef is now on display at holdings to Martin Ryerson by deed. operations of the Ringwood Company's Ringwood Manor in the state park. It was Moses Ogden on that date did the same. iron works during the 20 year period discovered in the Essex County Hall of The Bloomingdale 50th Anniversary through 1760 except that the Ogdens did Records in Newark. souvenir book states, "Mineral resources acquire a new partner, Nicholas Gouver- The 57 front pages of the Ringwood Com- were discovered about 1734 by Cornelius nour, who advertised in the Pennsylvania pany's day book stimulate a host of Board, a Welshman, with the aid of Indian Journal of May 24, 1759, the "sale of questions. The implication is that the com- guides he located at the head of the refined and stamped bar iron, and some pany's operations were more extensive Ringwood River near Sterling Forest. 'share' molds made in Ringwood." He than originally thought. The Ogdens and Here he erected a small iron furnace, the claimed in his ad that "the quality of the their partners sold out to Peter Hasen- first of its kind in this region, and began iron was so excellent that it was most clever of the English firm of The American mining operations, employing German suitable for ship building and country Iron Company. The day book records run miners. Several years later'he sold out to work. This iron was judged the equal of the from 1758 through 1764 and show the com- John., and Uzal Ogden and Newark best Swedish iron which had a worldwide pany owned a sloop which sailed pig and Associates, who for some time had been reputation for the finest quality. bar iron (it records that 89 bars weigh one operating mines and blast furnaces at "On July 5,1764 Peter Hasenclever pur- ton), probably from Acquackanounck Charlotteburg and Greenwood Lake (Long chased the 'decayed' Ringwood ironworks (now Passaic) to markets in New York Pond). estate for 5000 pounds sterling from David City and other coastal towns, returning "The Ogdens in turn disposed of the Ogden Sr., David Ogden Jr., John Ogden, with supplies. t operty to the American Iron Company, a Uzal Ogden, and Samuel and Nicholas The Historical Collection of the State of London corporation which had acquired Gouvernour. The deed which Hasenclever New Jersey (1844) mentions that the patents to 15,000 acres of land at received when he purchased the ironworks Passaic River was navigable by sloop to Ringwood, Charlotteburg and Greenwood listed not only the furnace, 2 forges, and Acquackanounck about 15 miles from its Lake. The American Iron Cempany em- several dwelling houses cited in the ad- mouth. This location was formerly spelled ployed mostly Englishmen, imported to vertisement, but also referred to Ward's Haquequenunck and later Aqueyquinunk, work the mines. These new arrivals settled earlier forge and the 'old forge.' The deed which in Lenni Lenape means "place in the Bloomingdale valley and in- for the sale was signed by the Ogdens, where gum blocks are made or procured termarried with the Germans already father and son, and the Gouvernours. John for pounding corn." This lower end of there. and Uzal Ogden deeded their share in the Passaic is considered to be 11 miles from "It is recorded that a furnace known as properties to Hasenclever on the same New York and nine miles from Newark. the Bloomingdale Bloomery was in day, but in a separate conveyence." In part two of the series: The operation about 1765, approximately 3 rediscovery of the Ogden Furnace. miles from Bloomingdale. Erected by the Josiah Ogden and David Ogden Sr., were Ogdens, it was first mentioned in a sur- brothers. David had sons John, Uzal and veyor's report of April 15, 1767 and David Jr.. referred to as 'a road that leads from the More information about the Ringwood Bloomingdale furnace to Charlotteburg.'" Company has recently been discovered. "Mining operations in Bloomingdlae in- About 3 months ago on archivist, Charles creased in 1807 "When Martin J. Ryerson DeMarco, was examining the records of a purchased the holdings of the American judge, David D. Crane III, who acted as Iron Company and erected additional fur- Justice of the Peace in Newark from 1828 naces and rolling mills. Upon his death in to 1832. Crane was the grandson of David 1839, his grandson, also named Martin J. Ogden Jr., a co-owner of the Ringwood Ryerson, inherited the Bloomingdale property and for a long time engaged in Company with his relatives and Samuel the manufacture of wrought or charcoal and Nicholas Gouvernour. It appears that iron. Mosjt of the inhabitants, worked for the judge for reasons of economy or con- Ryerson^ttd bought at his company venience, had written his records on the store..:'* pages of the business day book of the In The" Vanishing Iron Works of the Ringwood Company operated by his Ramapos (1966), James M. Ransom writes forebearer. To do this he had turned the that "with the acquisition of these proper- book upside down and started writing from /- AT/fi OCT PETERS MINE Cont. from PG 1 war. Peter's Mine had filled with water and it took 7 months to drain its deep reservoir. Old structures built in the mid 1800's were torn down and new build- ings constructed. After spending nearly 4 million dollars on these reparations, messenger the government sold, and received back several times, the deed to,the Ringwood Mines, as private conpanies were unable to make them profitable. In 1947, the government sold the mines to a New York engineer for $1,300,000. In less than a year, ownership was reverted back to the government again. Shortly thereafter, it was purchased by the Petro- ; leum Export-Irrport Corporation of New York, ; but again, the government took back owner- : PETERS MINE... : ship when the company failed. In 1951, •;'. the mines were sold to a group known as • • . LAST OF THE RAMAPOS Ringwood Iron Mines, Inc. for $1,500,000. The Peter's Mine was one of the first to ^This company planned to manufacture pow- open and was the last of the Rarrapo iron ; dered and pelletized iron, but within 3 mines to close. Long noted as the most im- -years, they were out of business and the portant mine in the area, it also possesses •government once again, siezed the prop- the most fascinating History. ; ! ;'? i. , erty. In 1956, the Borough of Ringwood Early mining'records indicate that work;1 ;• foreclosed for back taxes, put it1 up for on Peter's Mine began around 1740. ; In T' 'sale and the government, being the only 1837,\the geology of the mine was described .bidder, received the deed once again; as consisting of a 6 foot wall of ore ex-;^ this time paying nearly $1,700,000. tending to a 50 foot mass. The ore was** ,'; In 1958, the Pittsburgh & Pacific Co- mined from an open pit with shafts extending mpany of. Minnesota bought the land and fran different levels. By the late 1800's, smines at a government auction. They soon the pit had been mined to a depth of 800 i/; learned, as others had, that it was simply feet with shafts and exploratory tunnels ^ ; not practical to open the mines as foreign • reaching 2,500 feet beyond the pit to con- vtrade in iron ore had grown to a point necting ore zones. Ultimately, the pit :! ' where it was senseless to conpete with went to a depth of 17 levels reaching 1,800 'overseas prices. The only financial feet into the earth. The ninth level con- - activity the Pittsburgh & Pacific Com- ', sisted of a 14,000 square foot cavern with pany had with the Ringwood Iron works 1,000 feet of solid overhead protection and J was the rent it collected from about 60 ( at one time,was considered for use as a ' dwellings on the land it owned. huge warehouse.' * In the early days, the pit, tunnels and caverns were worked by miners who removed the ore fran the rock with crude drills, harmers and black powder explosives. La- ter, dynamite was used and the broken chunks of ore were loaded on small wooden In 1964, the J.I7 Kislak Realty Can- cars. These were pushed on rails'by an pany purchased the land fron Pittsburgh engine, up a steep incline, out of the & Pacific. Kislak Realty represented mine and beyond to a point where they ' the Ringwood Realty Conpany which was : 1. • could move by gravity down to the New York, ^corposed of mostly Ford Motor.Corpany " Greenwood Lake Railroad spur.' vVi : executives. The Ringwood Realty Con- > pany declared their plans to seal off . In 1931, after nearly 200 years, the the mine entrances and build a fifty mil- : Peter's Mine was the last mine to perman- lion dollar self-contained corrmunity. Al- ^ently close down all-operations in these j though there was no opposition to the imountains and was abandoned until 1942 ! project, it never happened. Instead of % when the Defense Plant Corporation of the sealing the mine entrances, The Ringwood kUnited States Government purchased the Realty Corpany proceeded to fill the ijmines for $300,000. They proceeded to re- ' mines with waste from the Mahwah Ford As- ; I pair Peter's Mine and nearby Cannon Mine sembly Plant. The Peter's Mine, among i ihoping to make use of the ore during the others, was totally filled in and is now h Continued PG 2 buried beneath a dirt road. Arong other I things, it contains a bulldozer; lost 1; in the abyss while durrping operations .-•>.." li were going on. Standing on the road | and looking around, the only traces of i the past are the eerie ruins of the build-% ings constructed by the government in the 1940's. ' * v •/- PETERS MINECCONT. FROM PG. 2) Since the depth of Peter's Mine is 400 •">'' feet deeper than the Empire State Building ' is tall, it boggles the mind and makes ,'.->•;.,. ,../; one wonder if and how a total clean-up could ever be accomplished should additional ; toxins be.found. And wouldn't it be nee- '• essary to test the bottom as well as the mines vast extensions 'to do a complete analysis of all the material that had been injected into the mine? In the early 1970's, the Ringwood Realty According to testimony heard by the •Company donated much of the mine area land NY State Assembly's Environmental Conserva- to the Borough of Ringwood. The Solid Waste tion Conrmittee in 1984, the Penaluna Dump Management Authority was established to located near Greenwood Lake, New-York manage a sanitary landfill and continued to (also allegedly used by Ford as a waste use the property as a dump. However, the dumping site) max be draining as much as EPA denied permission to use the land for a 7,200 gallons of leachate each day into landfill and ordered all dumping to stop. streams, and wetlands which feed into An investigation of the Peter's Mine Greenwood Lake. This 36 acre dun?, which area took place and Ford was forced to pay is only 50 feet deep,was closed in 1979 $1,500,000 to have 7,000 cubic yards of and has been part of an ongoing struggle paint sludge "mined" from the pits that over who will foot the bill for clean-up. once produced the iron that helped build Meanwhile, as reported in several newspa- this nation. In the late 70's Ford began pers last year, this leachate containing phasing out operations in Mahwah and in toxic chemicals, cadmium, lead and mercury June of 1980, they pulled up stakes al- (according to a NY State DEC engineer who together leaving nearly 5,000 workers, estimated the 7,200 gallon figure) is,'?* ; ! lf jobless. '••.•••' still oozing. * At a public meeting in Ringwood in Aug- The far-reaching and potentially deva- ust of this year, EPA representatives stating effects of the Penaluna landfill and announced that, although a "major source of .. the dim?ing in Peter's Mine cannot be esti- contamination was removed in 1984 and re- * mated or fathomed. All over the country, •; located in Michigan," the EPA will conduct communities are struggling with similar long term monitoring (30 years) of the mine "problems having 'to do with past and • =• area at an estimated, projected.cost of .-' present' landfill abuses. In the State of New one and a half million dollars. This seems a rather huge financial com- mitment toward a project being conducted when we are being told that there is little cause for concern., EPA representatives stated that "High levels of zinc and iron were found in surface water which are the < Jersey, all major aquifers have experienced^ natural result of iron mine operations contamination and the EPA has predicted that ; ' once conducted there." But what about the 'over the nextnfew decades, 40 to 50 million •* water beneath the surface? It is inter- gallons of the 750 million gallons of ground "• esting to note that many residents of the water used daily in New Jersey will be lost Peter's Mine area can no longer drink their •to pollution, 'f N well water. Pipes have been laid over\the .y> Ironically,'the Indians named these last few months which will carry safe S: mountains, The K&mapos, which means "clear , drinking water from water tanks (cisterns),- or sweet water". The rich 200 year old to these families. ' .• ^v legacy left by the Ramapo Iron Mines cannot ' One cannot help speculate on these im- be taken away; But,' tragically, this legacy plications. Vfe all know that "Water finds will be forever tainted by the Peter's and its own way" and carries with it, when surrounding mines most recent history. K.W. pure and clean, the gift of life; or when contaminated, deadly toxins that can kill. ' : : ' Continued PG 20 RINGWOOD PUBLIC UBRMW 145 SKYUNDS ROAD RINGW00, NEW JERSEY «M» 201-962-6258 tO, 1888. THE ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL. 089 PHILIP It. GEORGE, The death of Mr, Philip It. George, at Ringwood, N. J., on Sunday, October SJst, terminated a characteristic and creditable, career, of which I offer tlio present sketch, not only as a tribute of personal esteem and friendship, but also as an nppropriato recognition, in a journal identifio with tlio mining industry, of one of tlio reprcBi'Mlativo milling captains of the United States. Mr. Ocorgo— " Uncle Philip "—was a Cornish miner of the best typo. Better'tluin that, hia long life in Ihe American atmosphere had added to native- industry, shrewdness, skill and good nature, tlio versatility and clastic energy, the- inspiration of hopeful enterprise and the BtimuhiB of success, which eeein to bo peculiarly tlio products of our national conditions. Duo to blood those elements aro not ; for they affect nieu of all races, when (hey become Americans, Whether thoy result from liberty, or the tariff, or the climate, we will Jet the doctors of law and Louis P. West Collection medicine decide. Ono thing is certain: a man of talent and virtue is not obliged to spend his life here in simply holding his own. IFo advances. The country is "growing up," and ho enjoys the exhilarating sense of " growing up with the country." No better instance could bo adduced of tho fruitful development of inborn force of character by such influences than the life just ended atRingwood. Philip R. George camo of an old family, the records of which run back to the middle of the fourteenth century.- lie was one of twelve chil- dren ; yet, when he died, ho left no immediate relatives living in Corn- wall or in any part of England. All tho members of his branch of the family either died before- him, or immigrated to this country. The six elder children were girls ; of the six boys, Philip, the second, was born in Pariah Tllogen, Cornwall, on tho 22d of February, 1820. Four of tho twolvo survive him, John, William, and Richard (Jeorgo, well-known mining captains in New Jersey, and a sister, residing in the same State. The father, Richard George, -was employed in mines from boyhood, and, for inauy years'before IUB death in 18-12, as captain at Oarnbroy. Philip attended school until ho was twelvo years old, when ho began bis career in tho old-fashioned way—at the. bottom—Ihst as a runner of ' errands and door of Bina.ll jobs above ground, then as a " cleaner" of copper- and Un-oro, and liuaHy underground. aB " two thiidn of a. man," , i. c, a youthful miner at two thirds the wagen paid to men. He was1 noted for his venturesome spirit ami also for his small stature; and on the* hitter account (at least, such is tho report; but 1 thiuk tho former Imd something to do with it) it was for a long time customary, when the men wenfdown thesbaft to their work below, to fasten him,with a ropo around his waist, to some stronger and older man, lest ho should Blip through the ladders, or otherwise come to barm. At the ago of eighteen IIR had attained tho dignity of full wages, and could afford to discard the rope. Two years Inter, ho came to this country, after tho fashion of our valuable immigrants, namely, not as a mcro unit in a vast, wholesale importation, but as an enterprising and pelf-reliant seeker of fortuuc in the new world, and drawn hither by the personal reports of his own peo- ple. Years before lie was born, an undo of hifl had come to tho United States, had served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and had not been heard of afterwards, until old Richard George, not willing to believe his brother dead, at hint, in 18-10, succeeded in obtaining HOWH of him. In tho-very ship that brought the tidings came the wandorer himself, to revisit his nativo place aftor nioro tlian a quarter of a century of absence. That a Bcveranco from homo and friends, RO long and so complete, is not now as common OB it used to bo, is 6110 of tho striking results which tho railroad, tho telegraph and cheap postugo havo wrought during the pres- ent generation. But men of foreign birth who have dwelt hore until they have bo- come Americanized, aro seldom contented with tho old country when they return to it, even though it may havo been their dream to spend their declining years whero they spent their youth. This Cornish- American was no exception lo the general rule; and his discontent fired the ambition of young Philip, who, with two sisters and a brother-in- law, accompanied their xmele in his almost immediate return to the land of his adoption. Thoy landed in Now York late in 1840; and, after only a week of rest and Bight-seeing, Philip went to work in the White Meadow iron mines at Rookaway, N. J. The next year ho took on contract the Brotherton mino ; the year following, he took charge of tho mines at Irondale for Messrs. Dickereon and Post, then owners of tho Stanhope blast-furnace. For the Bamo parties ho subsequently superintended thellurdtown mine. But during all thin time he continued to turn to good account his knowl- edge of mining and bin quick, shrowd observation by operations on his. own account m leased properties or in contracts. Theso undertakings! were usually of short duration, and covered the extraction and delivery of afowhundred tons of ore from eac*h mine. They furnished to Mr. George a peculiarly varied and thorough training in the direction in which he was already both gifted and experienced—namely, tho power of estima- ting, upon inspection of a mino, its probable capacity of production and 'cost of operation. In this ho had no superior. Ho was tho best '* judge of an iron mino " in New Jersey, and knew the nature and history of nearly every such deposit opened in tho State. And lie was a vigilant, just, sympathetic and cfliciont manager of workmen. Mr. George cam0 into business relations with the .firm of Cooper & Hewitt through his engagement aB manager of tho once celebrated An-1 Louis P. West dover mine. Peter Cooper took an active interest in tho development of I Collection this mine, nnd on one occasion was so much pleased with tho improve-! inents introduced by the now manager that, as they shook bands in say-| ing good-bye, bo pressed a five-dollar gold piece into Mr. George's palm—• to tho grant amusement of the latter, whose improvements had saved to i his employers as many thousands, lie kept tho coin as a poolcot-pieco; for years and was never weary of repeating tho story. J In ltfnt, Messrs. Coopor & ifowitt having purchased tho historic Ring-i wood tract, Mr. George removed to that place and assumed charge of! the properly (some 20,000 acres in extent), which ho managed to the day! of bis death with conspicuous skill and fidelity* ; The changes made by him at Andover, Ringwoodand elsewhere, in tho' mining practice of the time, were simple but by no means insignificant. Ho is reported to have been tho first lo abolish tho old "sun to sun" rule, as to tho working hours of tho miners. Under that rule, as ho found it: in operation, tho men began work at 5 A.M., and worked until (I P.M., : with a short interval at 7 for breakfast, and an hour at noon for dinner..' Mr. George at once put an end to the work before breakfast, and fixed; ten hours as tho day's work of maximum efficiency. lam inclined to believe that he never favored further reduction, except for such cou-; timious and exhausting labor as obviously cnlls for shifts of eight hours,! or even less. A man who would not work at ordinary tasks ten hours a day wos, in his judgment, simply lozy ; and what ho preached on thiB head ho practiced. Another improvement introduced by him was the use of largo drills, deep holes and heavier charges of blaHting-powder. Aided by skill and good judgment in the location of drill-holes, according to tho nature, tension, cleavage and position of tho working-faco, this method secured the highest efliciency in extraction possible to the old drills and ex- plosives. Such novelties as power-drills and dynamito ho adopted later, after witnessing their effects in actual use. No serious casualty ever occurred in a mino under his charge. During his forty years' career as a mino-mnnagcr, only llvo lives were lost in consequence of accidents in tho mines, and in nono of these cases could the cause bo attributed to neglect, ignorauco or mistake on his part. His temper was not easily milled ; but nothing roused him lo anger more quickly thnu omission or delay to put in tho necessary timber to support a weak or threatening place in a hanging-wall. Tie would stop overything at the first suspicion of danger, until safety had been assured. His long experience in the handling of men and his readiness at mechanical expedients led to his conducting many enterprises besides the management of the Ringwood mines and forests. Of the latter, let me remark, in passing, that a dozen years ago, in my capacity as tho consulting engineer of tho owners, I made an inspection of tho wood- lands of Lliis tract, accompanied by a thoroughly educated professional expert, formerly an oflicial of the Prussian forestry department. His verdict was, that Mr. George's treatment of the different parcels of forest-growth in all stages, was skilful and wise. The only onticiem he offered was, that, according to his old-world notions, it waB not safe to have BO ninuy details of an extensive administration carried in ono man's head—a comment which iR now sadly confirmed. For Mr. George, like other boru managers, educated in lifu rather tlian schools, could not analyze and record, for tho instruction of others, tho pioccsses of his own mind, its memories or its purposes. Consequently, he leaves no BiicccRBor who can cover tho whole iield of his administration. Among tho incidental labors in which lie engaged was the construc- tion of the Ringwood branch of tho Greenwood Lake Railroad, tho main lino of tho Panic road from Hewitt's Station to the State line, the rail- road from Waterloo to Andover, and various branch roads on tho Ring-, wood tract. Ono of tho lattor, a mine railroad three miles long, ho built without any assistance, oven from a surveyor, using bis own judgment JIB to routo and grade, nnd "making a good job of it." Tho improvements .and constructions connected with the ice business /it Greenwood Lnko were also directed by him, as were the various building operations re- quired on the Ringwood property, in connection with mines, trestles, dwellings, water-power, biapt-Jurnaccs, etc. This multifarious activity reflected itself in his subordinates. A largo proportion of thorn, having worked with and for him many yoats, woro ablo, lilco him, to turn their hands to all «orln of trades (if problems In rough engineering. It was almost a proverb in (ho region round about, that " those Ringwood men could do any thing;" and more than onco Mr. George sent n gang of them to pwl; through ROIMO uiidertalciiig in which tho efforts of ordinary laborers had failed. I remember a recent occasion I of this kind ; artl almost tho last time I saw him, he spoke with pride of tho superior readiness and eiilciency of his " Ringwoou boys." His relations to his employers were those of a friend as well as a sub- ordinate. Thifl was especially true of Mr. Hewitt and his family, who, residing at Kingwood for a great part of each year, wero brought into constant contact with its superintendent, and regarded him with an affection which he fully returned. In his death they havo lost, not merely a skillful and. trusty business agont, but a beloved mombor of their own household, associated in their memories with all its expori- oncesand affairs. I must not fail to acknowledge the courtesy and cordiality of Mr. George's treatment of young engineers. Jin was confident in bin owii judgment, as ho had good reason to be; and ho liked to remember and relato tho iimtaucoB in which he had proved right, while some other man, perhaps a graduate, proved wrong—in which particular wo all resemble him. But he had respect for knowledge and educntion, and a hearty Biiipathy for young ambition and endeavor; and his own abundant stole of experience was always at tho scrvico of those who had the wit inulsP West to know, and Ihe modesty to confess, its value. If ho had enjoyed in ' youth that thorough scientific* training, tho lack of which ho Collection did v so much by both study and practice- in later years to supply, bo. would havo been a great engineer, though it ig likely that" ho would still havo preferred to do things, and let others explain and record them. Tho wisdom of such men must bo gathered from their own lips by respectful listeners, ns they sit in tho cool stopes and finger the clay-candU'ptick and tnIk whiln they rest—or before the flro o1 winter nighls when work is over. Or, it must bo gained by simple observation of Ihoir piompt, flhrowd wvyn in action. At all events, it will not be found in books. Happy (he young mining engi- neor (I apeak with gralelul peiKonul remembrance of " Uncle, Philip") who onn reinforco bin thcoii<.'H arid formulas mid aimljfies and draw- ings with tho pithy ins'xiius and wise judgments of such rugged, kindly old practitioners. They are, within their sphere, the true experts; for tho term in its etymology Higiiifien ono who hns gone through a thing and como out with practical BIICCOPH, They nro tho men who havo "been there"; and, no matter how good a map tho traveler may have, it In worth his while, before entering upon the actual journey, to hear'what they havo to nay. Apart from liis professional and business ability, the force and upright- ness of Mr. George's character commanded general confidence. Ho 6ettled many disputes, and involved himself in few. He was an assidu- ous student of the Bible, and a member of the ICpiscopal church, tho ser- vices of which were regularly held near his rcRidcnco at Ringwood. In politicen, ho was a Democrat, but ho concerned himself less about na- tional iGBUCB than about tho honest administration of local affairs, with- out reference to party lines. Residing in a Republican township and district, ho thus exercised no little influeneo in determining the nomina- tions of the dominant party. And his neighbors treated him in the Bamo spirit; for twico when, outof party loyalty, he ran as the Democratic ean- didato for the State Assembly, they cordially defeated him, and more than twico ho waB elected to a much more importnnt position, as a mem- ber of tho Board of Freeholders of Passaic County. A few weukfl ago, a morning newspaper of this city published, as an attack upon Mayor Hewitt, a ulanderoiiH account of tillered wrongH and oppressions in the treatment of tonanls and workmen at Ringwood. § § This falsehood really bore rather upon Mr. George than upon his " S employer. Wo aro glad to noto that, a day or two after his death, tho newspaper in question made a complete retraction of tho libel, confess- ing itself deceived as to tho facts. Even had HUB act of tardy justico not been performed, tho accusations which it cancelled would not have been credited by any man who knew the character of the men at whom they wero aimed. Mr. George WUB married in 1840, and his wifo and four children Hiirvivo him: three sons, Bampson W., mining superintendent at Cliester, Edward C. in charge of the Charlolteburgh mine, and Samuel M.,.his father's assistant at Ringwood, and one daughter, tho wife of Mr, J. I,. Cunningham, also connected largely with mining operations. His threo surviving brothers, Richard, John and William, and some of thoir sons, are also engaged in mining, tho hereditary occupation of tho family. Tho funeral, which took placo at Ringwood on Thursday, October 25th, and was attended bya large concourse, including many persons from New York and from Paterson and other points in New Jersey, was an impres- sive testimony of the truth of what I have written concerning his repu- tation and influence. Tho assemblage included a delegation from several lodges of Free Masons, and the funeral train was subsequently received by a similar delegation at Booutou, where the iiiLcjinenC WUB performed with Masonic ceremonies, Fortunately I am ablo to accompany this sketch with a portrait of ".Uncle Philip "as I knew and shall always remember him. Tlie quaint, rugged, humorous, strong face; the buehy brows, from under which glanced keen and kindly oyes; tho patriarchal hoard, that grandchildren were not; afraid to pull; and tho bowed but sturdy frame (which this portrait does not show)—these go to mako up an outward personality which haB often seemed to me, as It accompanied mo through familiar subterranean ways, like the presenco of n wise and. friendly gnomo. But I knew that there dwelt within it more than that; for it inclosed and expressed a loyal, honest, manly soul. R. W. RAYMOND. /456 201 (J Ringwood plans to secure open mines By LISA NIEVES about 1950. Officials say they are Milligan said she contacted the Staff Writer unsure of the exact location of the authorities because she was worried RINGWOOD — Three months remaining shafts. But with the use of about the safety of the many chil- ago borough officials filled a deep recently obtained mining maps, offi- dren who play in the area. sinkhole and an open mine shaft cials now know the shafts exist deep Quickly responding to the haz- located off Horseshoe Bend near the in the wooded areas of Upper ard, borough officials immediately homes of Upper Ringwood resi- Ringwo'od. away from homes. ordered truckloads of dirt, rocks and dents. Mayor Theodore Taukus said boulders to be dumped into the two Now. as spring showers and sum- borough officials plan to discuss the large areas. A few days later, tempo- mer thunderstorms have slightly set- location of the remaining shafts and rary fencing was placed around the tled the sinkhole once again, bor- their options for securing the filled section. ough officials are ready to begin a Horseshoe Bend shaft and sinkhole Borough Engineer Edward plan of action to secure the area. during at a committee meeting Haack reported that the Horseshoe The open mine shaft is one of 12 today. Bend sinkhole was formed by the- estimated open shafts in Upper The Horseshoe Bend sinkhole ground falling into a former escape Ringwood which stem from the and mine shaft were first reported to dozens of iron ore mines which once borough officials by resident PLEASE SEE MINES, existed throughout the area until Deneen Milligan on April 7. ' PAGE A8 I waiting for the rocks to settle more also be a topic of the meeting. NINES before they can "cap it" with con- As part of the borough's current FROM PAGE 1 crete. He said although the rain has investigation into the site and other shaft which miners used for shelter caused the area to depress slightly, possibly dangerous areas. Taukus during occasional cave-ins. The "it has not settled to a point that it's said officials have obtained copies depression had apparently existed a sinkhole again." of old maps which pinpoint-the loca- Taukus said he. too. is concerned for months, but was constantly cov- tion of some of the mines. "We now about the safety of the residents and ered with garbage. have a better handle of where the children in the area. The sinkhole was covered by holes are." he said. The mayor said the state Bureau approximately 15 feet of dirt and Taukus said many ventilation of Mines visited the Horseshoe shafts exist deep in the wooded rocks. The depth of the mine shaft is Bend site and will provide local offi- areas of Upper Ringwood on bor- unknown, but Haack reported that cials with advice on how best to cap most shafts are several hundred feet the hole once more settling of the ough and state property. deep. rocks takes place. But at this point, all Milligan and-, As a precaution, the borough As a beginning step toward many Horseshoe residents are con-,V placed a temporary fence around the securing the area, Taukus said bor- cerned with is securing the area near area., Mayor Theodore Taukus said ough officials will discuss the prob- their homes. "We want it secured so- the borough plans to erect a perma- lem at today's roads committee our kids will not go near it," said nent fence around the site, but is meeting. Road improvements will Milligan. By o West | Collection Seasons Grreetings S:w .ic&J^ REFERfNCE .••. Please do not remove from this room JAN 0 5 1994 \ FOR REFERENCE NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM CAT. NO. 23 EJ12 FOR REFERENCE RINGWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 145 SkySancis Road Ring wood, New Jersey 07456 NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM CAT. NQ. 23 D12 c\-\\rV 'X. V i|| i|f ':f|fr ^? "%- r 'ili 0 ^|?lfc :if $> '$$