Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Louisiana State UniversityLSU Digital Commons
LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School
1968
Historical Geography of the Iron Industry in theNew York - New Jersey Highlands: 1700-1900.Theodore William KuryLouisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion inLSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected].
Recommended CitationKury, Theodore William, "Historical Geography of the Iron Industry in the New York - New Jersey Highlands: 1700-1900." (1968).LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1448.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1448
This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received ® 8 -16 ,316
KURY, Theodore William, 1937- HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE IRON INDUSTRY IN THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY HIGHLANDS: 1700' 1900.
Louisiana State University and Agricultural andMechanical College, Ph.D., 1968Geography
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE IRON INDUSTRY IN THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY HIGHLANDS: 1700-1900
A D issertation
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and
A gricultural and Mechanical College in p a r tia l fu lfillm ent of the
. requirements fo r the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in
The Department of Geography and Anthropology
byTheodore William Kury
B.A., Montclair State College, 1959 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1961
JMay, 1968
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
While engaged in the research and the writing of the
manuscript, the author was assisted by a g reat many Highlanders,
a rch iv ists , and others sharing an in te re s t in the early iron
industry. I now wish to thank them collectively . I extend my
appreciation to Mr. Karl S. Drescher for the several pen-and-
ink illu s tra tio n s and to Mrs. P a tric ia A. Warner fo r the fin a l
typing of the manuscript. P articu lar recognition must be given
to the members of the Department of Geography and Anthropology
a t Louisiana S tate University and, especially to my faculty advisor,
Dr. Fred B. Kniffen, fo r th e ir stim ulation, d irection , and critic ism .
Finally, I sh a ll always be indebted to my wife, Eleanore, whose
assistance and encouragement enabled me to complete the
d isserta tion .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PageLIST OF TABLES.................................................................................... v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................v i
LIST OF PLATES........................................................................................ ix
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... x
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1
A Statement of PurposeSurvey of the P ertinen t L ite ra tu reMethods and Procedure
ChapterI . PHYSICAL SETTING............................................................. 8
Divisions of the HighlandsD istribu tion of the Iron DepositsSoilsClimateVegetation
I I . TECHNOLOGY AND IRON ......................................................... 29
Iron Mining Iron MakingManufacture of Charcoal
I I I . COLONIAL ANTECEDENTS OF HIGHLANDS IRONINDUSTRY................................................................................ 43
IV. CHARCOAL, IRON, AND HIGHLANDS SETTLEMENT . . . . 52
Indian Occupance and European Penetrations Establishment of the Iron Industiy The Highlands Landscape c. 1790
iii
V. RINGWOOD: AN IRON PLANTATION 79
Physical Setting H isto rical Background P lantation Components Iron Making a t Ringwood The Demise of the Plantation Iron Mining--The Final Stage
VI. ANTHRACITE AND THE MORRIS CANAL............................ 97
Development of the Morris Canal_Advent of Anthracite Technology Anthracite Manufactories A New Role: Iron MiningVestiges of Anthracite, Iron, and Canal
VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS................................................ 116
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY- ................... 128
APPENDIX ............................................................................................. 142
iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page1. Selected Highlands T em pera tu res ........................ 22
2. Selected Highlands P re c ip ita tio n ........................ 23
3. Iron Exported to Great B ritain from 1730to 1745 47
4. Pig and Bar Iron Exported by the AmericanColonies to Great B ritain ................................... 49
5. Population of Highlands Counties from 1745to 1790 ..................................................................... - 65
6. Production of New Jersey’s Anthracite BlastFurnaces ......................................................................107
7. New Jersey Iron Mining .................... . . . . 109
v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page1. Western Highlands and Pequest V a l l e y .................... 143
2. Eastern Highlands near S terling , New York . . . 144
3. The Musconetcong Valley ............................................ 145
4. Abandoned open-pit mine and spo il b a n k ................ 146
5. Large mining p i t and a d it ........................................ 147
6. Drawing of a forge and t i l t ham m er........................ 148
7. Forge and bellows, Saugus, Massachusetts . . . . 149
8. T i l t hammer, Saugus, M a ssa c h u se tts ........................ 150
9. Fragments of pig and bar iron ................................ 151
10. Drawing of a S tiic k o fe n ................................................ 152
11. Drawing of a b la s t f u r n a c e ........................................ 153
12. Charcoal furnace a t Wawayanda, New Jersey . . . 154
13. Tuyere opening o f furnace, Hopewell V illage,P e n n sy lv a n ia .................................................................. 155
14. Casting arch, f lo o r, and to o ls , Saugus,Massachusetts .............................................................. 156
15. Leather bellows and a i r b la s t , Saugus,Massachusetts .............................................................. 157
16. Drawing of a tub b e l l o w s ............................................ 158
17. Tub bellows and waterwheel, Hopewell V illage,P e n n sy lv a n ia .................................................................. 159
18. Preparation of a charcoal "p it" ............................ 160
vi
19. Road used to transport ore and p r o d u c t s ..........................161
20. Rockaway V a l l e y 162 J
21. Excavated forge p i t , Ringwood Manor, New Jersey . . 163
22. C o llie r 's hut, Hopewell V illage, Pennsylvania . . . 164
23. Workmen's cottages, Hopewell V illage,Pennsylvania ............................................................... 165
24. Manor house, Ringwood Manor, New J e r s e y ......................... 166
25. General store and inn, Hewitt, New J e r s e y ..................... 167
26. Oldest building a t Ringwood Manor, New Jersey . . . 168
27. Wagon used fo r carting ore and charcoal, HopewellV illage, P e n n sy lv a n ia ........................................................... 169
28. Furnaces and waterwheels a t Long Pond, Hewitt,New J e r s e y ...................................................................................170
29. Abandoned Peter Mine, Ringwood, New Jersey . . . . 171
30. Nineteenth-centuiy, company-built home, Ringwood,New Jersey ...............................................................................172
31. Morris Canal and towpath near Wharton,New Jersey ...............................................................................173
32. O rientation of houses to canal, Wharton,New Jersey ...............................................................................174
33. Business section and s i te of ore landing,Wharton, New J e r s e y ............................................................... 175
34. Abandoned canal bed and general s to re ,Port Murray, New J e r s e y ........................................................176
35. Ironworkers dorm itories, Wharton, New Jersey . . . 177
36. Clapboarded dwelling, Wharton, New J e r s e y ......................178
37. Farmstead in the southern H ig h la n d s ................................. 179
38. Farmstead in the northern H ig h la n d s ................................. 180
vii
Abandoned land near Newfoundland, New Jersey . .
Ore concentrator, Scrub Oak Mine, Wharton,New J e r s e y .............................. ..........................................
viii
LIST OF PLATES
Plate Page
I. General Index Map of the H ig h la n d s ........................ 9
I I . Geology of the H ig h la n d s .................. 11
I I I . D istribution of Iron M in e s ............................................ 18
IV. Charcoal Iron Manufactories (ca. 1750) 57
V. Transportation Patterns ................... . 60
VI. Charcoal Iron Manufactories (1760-1800) . . . . 63
VII. Ringwood Manor Furnace and Mine A r e a ......................... 85
VIII. Ringwood Manor (c. 1 9 0 0 ) ............................................ 92
IX. Charcoal Iron Manufactories (1825-1860) . . . . 98
X. Morris Canal and S e t t le m e n ts ...................................... 100
XI. Anthracite Blast Furnaces .......................................... 102
ix
ABSTRACT
The su b s tan tia l iron industry which developed in the New York-
New Jersey Highlands during the eighteenth and n ineteen th cen turies
has long been overlooked by scho lars. Past investiga tions of the
American iron industry have d e a lt la rg e ly w ith the e a r l ie s t ironworks
of New England and V irg in ia , the r is e of the Pennsylvania m anufactories,
and the tremendous technological evolution and economic expansion which
followed discoveries of bituminous coal and hematite iron ore west of
the Appalachians.
The p resen t study has a twofold purpose: (1) to describe and
explain the processes of landscape change in the Highlands; and
(2) to reevaluate the s ta tu s o f iron making as a p ioneer a c tiv i ty .
The concept of landscape change is v a lid only a f te r a frame o f
reference has been e s ta b lish ed --in th is case, the pre-European se ttin g .
The p resen t landscape provides l i t t l e in s ig h t in to what the f i r s t
European may have encountered. Early records, tr a v e le rs ' accounts,
and the lik e o ften have been lim ited in a rea l coverage. I n te r
po la tio n has been necessary to f i l l many gaps in knowledge.
Agents of change and re su lta n t fea tu res can be pursued ea s ily .
S ta te , reg ional, and lo ca l sources of arch ival m ateria ls fu rn ish
x
important clues. Extensive fieldwork has unearthed many vestiges of
man’s foimer occupations. Results of economic and technological
evolution are evident in an analysis of vegetation, settlem ents, and
transportation networks.
Time and technology combine to divide the study of changing
landscape in to two segments. Much of the two-hundred-year dominance
of iron in the Highlands resu lts from the growth and maturation of the
charcoal industry. Tied closely to natural resources in the a r e a -
running water, verdant fo rests , abundant iron ore, and numerous ou t
crops of lim estone--this era (1720-1840) brought about the most
s ign ifican t physical and cu ltural changes. The period of the Morris
Canal, anthracite technology, and iron mining il lu s tra te s the myriad
problems which led to the eventual decline of the iron industry within
the Highlands.
A reassessment of the ironworker as the pioneer Highlands
s e t t le r - -a thesis espoused by several nineteenth-century chroniclers,
including Tench Coxe and Thomas Gordon--is presented. A fter an examination
of the journals of Charles Clinton and John Reading, the perusal of
several early maps, and f ie ld study in the glaciated and nonglaciated
Highlands, the author concludes tha t the hypothesis is actually modified
and complicated by location within the Highlands and other factors. I t
is the unglaciated, f e r t i le , and easily accessible areas of the southern
Highlands tha t conform most strik ing ly to the settlement sequence
described by Coxe and Gordon. Conversely, the demise of iron manufactories
did not re su lt in agricu ltu ral settlement of the northern Highlands. More
often than not, abandonment of an ironworks led to general depopulation
of the surrounding lands.
The legacy of iron remains evident on the landscape. Much of
the orig inal fo rest cover has been restored a f te r the introduction of
anthracite coal. Nevertheless, ecological changes have occurred as a
re su lt of numerous cuttings, f ire s , and other a ltera tions. The valleys
have been cleared and are now devoted almost en tire ly to agriculture
and commerce. Many Of the towns founded as markets or shipping points
for iron s t i l l serve important regional functions. Moreover, descendants
of miners and ironworkers occupy the lands of former manufactories or
may be found engaged in various economic a c tiv itie s within the study area.
xii
INTRODUCTION
During the eighteenth century, inc ip ien t in d u s tria l develop
ment could be seen on the emerging American landscape. T ex tiles ,
leather goods, shipbuilding, glassmaking, and the manufacture of
s a l t played prominent ro les in the manufactural a c tiv itie s of the
American colonies. From a ra th e r inauspicuous debut a t Saugus,
Massachusetts, in 1645, bom of European invention and hampered by
regulation from England, an American iron industry developed into
the established world leader in technology and production.
In th is paper the author w ill deal with a sm all, but s ig n i f i
cant area of the eastern seaboard--the Highlands of New York and
New Jersey. Within the region, the iron industry evolved from one
based on production methods borrowed from seventeenth-century Europe
to the achievements of modem iron-making techniques.
The impact of the iron manufactory on the Highlands was
g rea t, and, in many cases, produced la stin g impressions. As technology
changed, so did the landscape, fo r each progressive step placed
additional burdens on the land and a lte red the perception of i t s
n atu ra l resources. The opening of new and p o ten tia lly valuable lands
induced settlem ent by peoples of diverse s k i l ls and varied ethnic and
ra c ia l backgrounds. Entire economic and soc ia l units were established.
Towns were founded, manufactories, farms, and m ills were developed,
and routes of commerce were fixed. The landscape no longer was the
province of nature, but rather became the realm of man.
1
2
A Statement of Purpose
The importance of the Highlands iron industry has often been
obscured because of (1) early colonial developments in New Je rsey 's
Pine Barrens, New England, and V irginia; (2) eighteenth-century
manufacturing a c tiv ity in eastern Pennsylvania; and (3) nineteenth-
century ascendancy of the Adirondack Mountains region of New York,
the Lake Superior d is t r ic t , and the Upper Ohio River Valley. Hope
fu lly , the present undertaking w ill give Highlands iron i t s r ig h tfu l
place in the in d u stria l development of the eastern seaboard.
To many observers in the nineteenth century, European s e t t l e
ment in the study area was a d irec t outgrowth of i t s iron p o ten tia ls .
The forge was uniformly the precursor of the farm and a f te r the land
had been exhausted of i t s timber and iron , i t was subdivided in to
farmsteads. Statements by Tench Coxe, published as p a rt of the Third
Census of the United S ta te s , and Thomas Gordon amply support th is
sequence.^ While in several instances the ideas of Coxe and Gordon
were v a lid , the w rite r w ill attempt to show th a t the thesis was
actually modified and complicated by location w ithin the Highlands
and other fac to rs.
Available l i te ra tu re on the iron industry of the Highlands
(see following section) has overlooked many items of in te re s t to a
geographer. We seem to know the origins o f the iron industry, i t s
technology, and i t s routes of d ispersal in Europe and along the
eastern seaboard quite w ell. However, the processes of landscape
3
change have not been c learly shown. No attempt has ever been made
to trace the sequential development o f the iron industry on a regional
or local scale . As agents of change, what p a r t did economic and
technological evolution play in modifying the landscape? How much of
the present Highlands landscape is a ttr ib u tab le to the iron industry?
The magnitude of change wrought by the iron industry in the Highlands
is regarded as a cen tral problem in th is study.
Survey of the Pertinent L iterature
The l i te ra tu re dealing with the iron a c tiv itie s along the
eastern seaboard has largely been contributed by scholars in fie ld s
other than geography. Pioneering works by Lesley, Bishop, Pearce,
Swank, and Clark were e ith e r devoted to general surveys of the
industry or descriptions of the most notable manufactories of theO
period. In more recent years, volumes have been devoted to economic7
problems of the eighteenth and nineteenth cen turies, types o f iron
manufactories,^- or studies of sp ec ific iron-producing s i te s .^
H istorians have also contributed su b stan tia lly to the inform
ation relevant to the Highlands iron industry. Since i t s publication ,
the work of Boyer has been regarded as the d efin itiv e compilation ofel
New Je rsey 's forges and furnaces. Recently, a sim ilar volume was
devoted to the manufactories in the Hudson Highlands and Ramapo•7
Mountain. Although geographers have exhibited g rea te r in te re s t in
the Highlands iron industry than th a t of other areas on the easterng
seaboard, these studies are only portions of a la rger work. I t seems
th a t few geographers have studied the iron industry of th is period per
se; even fewer have w ritten about i t .
4
Methods and Procedure
Time and technology combine to divide the study into two
major segments. Much of the two-hundred-year dominance of iron in
the Highlands resulted from growth and maturation of the charcoal
iron industry. Tied closely to the natural resources of the area,
th is era (1720-1840) brought about the g reatest cu ltu ra l and
physical changes. The period of anthracite technology and iron
mining il lu s tra te s the myriad problems which led to the eventual
decline of the iron industry within the Highlands.
The concept of landscape change is valid only a f te r a frame
of reference has been established--in th is case, reconstruction of
the pre-European se ttin g . Unearthing of essen tia l information on
the region often proved to be an arduous and discouraging task. The
present landscape provided l i t t l e insigh t in to what the f i r s t
Europeans may have encountered. Surveyors' records, trav e le rs '
accounts, early newspaper descriptions, and the like were perused,
but the sources were lim ited in th e ir areal coverage. Interpolation
was a necessity in f i l l in g the many gaps in knowledge. The author
was mindful of the dangers of using data of diverse origins in order
to complete a p ic tu re . Possibly the p i t f a l ls were avoided.
The agents of change and resu ltan t features were more easily
pursued. S tate , regional, and local sources of archival m aterials
provided important clues. P ictures, drawings, and daguerreotypes
presented ample illu s tra tio n s of the magnitude and kinds of change.
Extensive fieldwork throughout the Highlands proved most rewarding.
In many lo c a litie s vestiges of man's former occupations were to be
5
found. Excellent examples of manufactories, waterwheels, houses,
fencing, and settlements were viewed. Iron mines were explored and
excavated forge and furnace s ite s were v is ited . Usually the
discoveries were made only a f te r several conversations with local
folk and deviations from the present main roads of the region.
A study based on changing landscape due to economic and
technological factors seems to have support in the methodology of
geography.
The investigation of geographic phenomena within a region
largely defined on economic grounds was in i t ia l ly presented by the
German, Eduard Hahn.® In th is country, Kirk Bryan advocated the
study of economic factors which might influence a region 's develop
ment.-^® Carl 0. Sauer, in the p residen tia l address to the Association
of American Geographers, meeting in 1941, pointed out th a t geographers
cannot study the present landscape without knowing i t s origins and1 1th is can only be done through h is to ric a l reconstruction. Derwent
Whittlesey devoted much energy to the study of sequent occupance.
Whittlesey concluded th a t i t was necessary not only to discern
population d istribu tion , but also to detect why and when d istribu tional 12changes occurred. The w rite r believes the principle is applicable
to the forms of landscape change se t fo rth in th is study.
6
NOTES
1. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Third Census of the United S tates: 1810. A Statement of the Arts~and Manufactures of theUnited States of America, for the year 1810, Book II (Philadelphia:A. Comman, J r . , 1814), p.XXXII; Thomas F. Gordon, A Gazetteer of the S tate of New Jersey (Trenton: Daniel Fenton, 1834), p .185.
2. J.P . Lesley, The Iron Manufacturers* Guide to the Furnaces, Forges, and Roiling M ills of the United States (Hew York: John Wiley,1859). John L .B ishop, A History of American Manufactures from 1608to 1860. 3 vols. (Philadelphia: Edward Young and Co., 1868). John B.Pearce, A Concise History of the Iron Manufacture of the American Colonies up to the Revolution and of Pennsylvania up to the Present Time (Philadelphia: Allan, Lane, and Scott, 1876). James M. Swank,h isto ry of the Manufacture of Iron in All Ages (Philadelphia: AmericanIron and Steel Association, 1892). Victor S .C la rk , History of Manufactures in the United States 1606-1850 (Washington, D.C.: CarnegieIn stitu tio n , 1916). "
3. Arthur C. Bining, B ritish Regulation of the Colonial Iron Industry (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933).Charles B. Dew. Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson andthe Tredegar Iron Works (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966). "B.F. French, History of the Rise aid Progress of the Iron Trade of the United States From 1621-1857 (New York: Wiley and Halstead, 1858). Keach Johnson, "The Baltimore Company Seeks English Markets: a Studyof the Anglo-American Iron Trade, 1731-1755/' William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, XVI (1951), 37-60. Peter Temin, Iron and Steel m Nineteenth-Century America: An Economic Inquiry (Cambridge: TheM.I.T. Press, 196477 !
4. Bining, ’’The Iron Plantations of Early Pennsylvania,"The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 57 (1933), 117- 137. Lester J . Cappon, "Trend o f the Southern Iron Industry under the Plantation System," Journal of Economic and Business History, II (1930), 353-381. Irene D. Neu, "The Iron Plantations of Colonial New York," New York History, 33 (1952), 3-24.
5. E.N. Hartley, Ironworks on the Saugus (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957). Charles E. Hatch and Thurlow G. Gregory,"The F irs t American Blast Furnace, 1619-1622: The B irth of a MightyIndustry on Falling Creek in V irginia," V irginia Magazine of History and Biography, LXX (1962), 259-296. Joseph E. Walker, Hopewell Village: Sane Aspects of the Social and Economic History of an Iron-Making Community with Special Emphasis Upon the Period 1800-1850 (Unpublished Ed.D. d isserta tio n , Temple University, 1964).
7
6. Charles S. Boyer, Early Forges and Furnaces in New Jersey (Philadelphia: University o f Pennsylvania P ress, 1931) .
7. James M. Ransom, Vanishing Ironworks of the Ramapos (New Brunswick: Rutgers University P ress, 1966).
8. Louis DeVorsey, J r . , The Growth and D istribution of Iron Manufacturing in New Jersey (Unpublished M.A. th e s is , Indiana University, 1953). A. Philip Muntz, The Changing Geography of the New Jersey Woodlands 1600-1900 (Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tio n ,University of Wisconsin, 1959). ________, "Forests and Iron: TheCharcoal Iron Industry of the New Jersey Highlands," Geografiska Annaler, XLII (1960), 315-323. Peter 0. Wacker, The Musconetcong Valley of New Jersey: A H isto rica l Geography (New Brunswick: RutgersUniversity Press, 1968).
9. Carl 0. Sauer, "Foreword to H isto rical Geography,"Annals o f the Association o f American Geographers, XXXI (i941), 5.
10. "Round Table on Problems in Cultural Geography," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XXVII (1937), 162.
11. Sauer, op. c i t . , pp. 9-10.
12. "Round Table on Problems in Cultural Geography," op. c i t . ,p. 169.
CHAPTER I
PHYSICAL SETTING
The Highlands of New York and New Jersey constitu te a portion
of the Reading Prong of the New England Uplands.^ They are akin to
the Blue Ridge Mountains in age, topography, and geomorphic h isto ry ;
however, the Highlands are more like the Uplands in rock composition
and general elevation.
P o litic a lly , the study area is p a rtly in the New York counties
of Orange and Rockland and p a r tly in Passaic, Sussex, Morris, Warren,
and Hunterdon counties, New Jersey (Plate I ) .
Stretching from the Hudson River, below Cornwall, to the
Delaware River, some twenty miles above Trenton, the northeasterly-
southwesterly trending mountains are confined by the Great Valley
(K ittatinny Valley) on the west and the T riassic Lowland on the east.
Within the boundaries, the width of the chain varies from eight to
twenty miles and extends some eighty miles in length.
Projecting notably above th e ir surroundings, the highest and
sharpest ridges and mountain masses are to be found in the north and
west, then gradually diminish to a h i l ly or ro llin g character in the
south and east. Numerous broad, rounded, or fla t-topped ridges foim
ra ther discontinuous chains which are separated by deep and generally
8
9JUlPLATE I
New York - New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
/ *J O R A N 6 E
v
MilOli to o ts b u rg
') S U S S E X / yt F ra n k lin ft
P A S S A J C
Newfoundland
MORRIS/• • • / Boonlon Highlands Boundary
.Term ina l Moraine
W hartonijD ove r
Oxford
W A R R E N - Chester
H U N T E R D O N illPhillipsburg \ ^
p o L / /* v /Bloomsbury
^ J H ig h Bridge
7 5 ° 3 0 '
10
narrow valleys. Individual mountain masses are somewhat oblique to
the general trend which makes i t possible to cross from one side of
the range to the other in a north-northeast d irection without surmounting
any considerable elevations, while i t is impossible to cross from south-
east to northwest without ris in g over a succession of steep ridges.
The geology and tectonic evolution of the Highlands have
produced a varied topography. Precambrian extrusive and intrusive
m aterials rich in iron dominate the h i l l s and ridges. The intexmontane
valleys are floored with ra ther extensive sedimentary rocks--prim arily
limestone (Plate I I ) . Evidence of metamorphism is found throughout the
study region. Repeated folding and faulting have added to the area 's
complexity and d iversity .^
Divisions of the Highlands
While the Highlands are essen tia lly a physical u n it, numerous
valleys conveniently separate the region into three p arts--th e Western,
the Central, and the Eastern Highlands (Plate I ) . Additional sub
divisions have been recognized; however, they are usually based on local
nomenclature.
Commencing north of the New Jersey s ta te lin e , the Western
Highlands consist of a series of more or less continuous, steep-sided
ridges. Small valleys and depressions divide the range in to Pochuck,
Alamuche, S co tt 's , and Upper and Lower Pohatcong mountains. The
broadest separation occurs near Franklin, New Jersey, where the valley
of the W allkill River effec tive ly detaches Pochuck Mountain from the
re s t of the section.
PLATE II11
New York-N ew Jersey
HIGHLANDS
G reenw ood
u f\Lok9 ‘1 /L .*' ' n C ,H o p a t c o n g (
r p 7 r r / X . ' V r ”>
G e o l o g y
Gneiss
L im e s to n e
Sandstone and Shale
Compiled from numerous sources
75° 45' 30 '
12
D ifferen tia l erosion of the metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary
rocks has produced a topography accentuated by moderate to strong re l ie f .
Throughout the range, c res t lines are notably irreg u lar. Nowhere are
there extensive f la ts a t high levels, and the highest elevations are
more or less iso lated . Nevertheless, th is v a r ia b ility embraces an
element of regu larity in th a t the individual mountain crests are
consistently even, being 1100 to 1200 fee t high in the north, and some
what lower in the south (Fig. 1).
The Central Highlands begin immediately south of the junction
of the K ittatinny and Greenwood Lake valleys, near Monroe, New York.
From tha t poin t, the chain follows an almost uninterrupted path to the
Delaware River. Over much of i t s course, th is range is much broader--
often meriting the term "plateau"^--and is much less dissected than
the previously described Western Highlands. The p la teau-like character
i s fu rther enhanced by evidence of peneplanation, especially in the
neighborhood of Schooley’s Mountain. Steep slopes, of up to 400 fe e t,
are largely confined to the margins of the section. In te rio r portions
of the Central Highlands are dominated by moderately sloping h i l l s and
mountain masses, although several minor, near-vertica l c l i f f s do appear.
Elevations w ithin the Central Highlands vary from approximately 1500
fee t in the north to near h a lf th a t figure in the south. Appreciable
t i l t and elevational decline toward the southwest contrast markedly with
the Western range.
The la s t portion of the study area--the Eastern Highlands--is
actually composed of two p arts : the Passaic Range and Ramapo Mountain.
Flowing diagonally across the eastern range, the narrow, incised valley
of the Ramapo River effectively disconnects the la t te r from the former.
13
Gradually rising from the Hudson River to elevations over 1600
fee t, the Eastern Highlands extends in a broad, dissected chain to i t s
southern temunus along the South Branch of the Raritan Fiver, near
High Bridge, New Jersey. Although wider than i t s Western and Central
counterparts--varying from seven to twelve m iles--the p la teau-like
appearance of the la t te r range is ahnost en tire ly absent. However, the
iso lated mountain masses common in the other regions also appear here
(Fig. 2).
Irregular topography and rather steep slopes combine to furnish
some of the strongest r e l ie f found anywhere in the Highlands. Neverthe
le ss , much of the eastern sector lie s less than 1000 feet above sea
level. The elevations are quite conspicuous along the eastern edge
where the trenching of small streams has iso lated the highest lands.
The presence of a fau lt scarp facing the T riassic Lowland accentuates
the r e l ie f and elevational differences over much of the eastern margin.
Once again the even cres t lin e , so ch a rac te ris tic of the western segment
of the Highlands, provides an element of regu larity in a disordered land
scape.
Several r iv e r systems and th e ir tr ib u ta rie s occupy the limestone-
floored depressions which separate and cut the three primaiy Highlands
chains (Plate I ) .
Lying within a discontinuous depression between the Western
and Central Highlands, known as the Musccmetcong and Vemon-Sparta
valleys, are two streams--the Musconetcong and the W allkill. Flowing
southwesterly from Lake Hopatcong into the Delaware River, the
14
Musconetcong River i s the longest of the Highlands watercourses. I t s
v a lley i s composed la rg e ly of lim estone, although shales are exposed
south of Hackettstown. Valley depth is in co n sis ten t, genera lly lying
300 to 400 fe e t below the adjacent mountains (Fig. 3). A ra th e r wide,
f l a t floodp lain i s dotted by numerous ro llin g h i l l s of moderate e levation .
Slopes everywhere tend to be g en tle , although in the headwaters region,
sharper, s teeper slopes can be found.
The W allk ill River occupies the northern po rtion o f the v a lley ,
coex isten t with a b e lt o f limestone m ate ria ls . The stream escapes the
Highlands near F ranklin , and, as s ta te d before , separates Pochuck
Mountain from the remainder of the Western Highlands. Drainage through
out the W allk ill basin i s somewhat disorganized and numerous swamps
appear. A g rea t deal of g la c ia l m a te r ia l - - t i l l and outwash--is
sc a tte re d over the v a lley f lo o r and on small kno lls . Due to the g rea te r
e lev a tio n a l d ifferences between mountain and valley--up to 500 fe e t- -
slopes are f a r steeper than those seen in the Musconetcong area.
Portions of the o ther major Highlands r iv e rs flow w ithin the
second g rea t in tem ontaha depression, the High Bridge-Greenwood Lake
Valley. I t has been described as one o f the most remarkable valleys
in New Jersey , no t only fo r i t s con tinu ity , but a lso fo r the absencen
of an un in terrup ted stream of any so r t. In the no rth , drainage is
o rien ted toward Modna Creek and the Hudson River. Near the New York-
New Jersey boundary, running w ater is d irec ted in to Greenwood Lake and
the Wanaque River. The cen tra l sec to r drains in to the important Pequannock
River, flowing northw est-southeast across the Highlands. Drainage is
somewhat le ss w ell defined in the southern po rtion ; nevertheless, much
15
of the water u ltim ately empties in to the Rockaway, Black, or South
Branch of the R aritan r iv e r . The s itu a tio n re su lts from the undulating
topography of the valley caused by the varying erosional resistances
of sandstone, shale, and limestone (Plate I I ) .
Valley width is coincidental with the band of sedimentary
rocks which compose the depression 's lithology. Somewhat constric ted
in the north , the valley widens considerably in the v ic in ity of New
foundland, New Jersey . Near Wharton, i t narrows again; however, some
widening does take place a few miles to the south, in the German Valley.
The limestone b e l t ends a t High Bridge and the valley term inates there .
Along i t s en tire ex ten t, the valley is an imposing topographic
fea tu re , fo r i t is generally s itu a ted from 300 to 600 fe e t below the
summits of the Central and Eastern Highlands. The higher elevations of
the former range provide slopes on the western side of the valley th a t
are often g rea te r and steeper than those along the eastern margin. In
tru th , the western slopes are so steep in places as to suggest escarpments
formed by fau ltin g . The following descrip tion of the valley near Green
Pond, amply i l lu s t r a te s th is point:
. . . [Green Pond Mountain] r ise s on the northwest sideof the Pond, in abrupt, almost perpendicular b lu ffs , to the height of th ir ty , and sometimes fo rty , fe e t , and is composed of conglomerate and sandstone. These b lu ffs , which present an appearance very sim ila r to the Palisades o f the Hudson River, extend the e n tire length of the pond . . . On the southeastern side the h i l l s are more sloping, running down to water a t an angle of not more than twenty o r th ir ty degrees, and present many spots capable of cultivation.®
16
In several places throughout the valley , grassy or sparsely
timbered knobs o f re s is ta n t sandstone or in trusive igneous m aterial
r is e from the flo o r. Swamps and numerous lakes dominate the northern
regions, while n a tu ra l meadows are in evidence in the south.
All Highlands streams are subject to freshets or moderate
floods in the spring as they try to accommodate the melting snow and
ice of the region. Only in the event of unusually heavy snow accumu^
la tions or sudden melting do serious flooding and heavy damage take
place.®
Events during the Pleistocene did much to a l te r the configuration
of Highlands landforms and topography. G laciers once covered about
two-thirds o f the region as shown by the position of the terminal moraine
(Plate I ) . The scouring and scraping action of the moving ice sharpened
landforms, steepened slopes, and exposed large patches of bedrock near
the tops of ridges. With g la c ia l r e tre a t , only the highest summits were
spared a mantle of debris and morainal m a te ria l. Scattered ponds, lakes,
and wetlands occupy depressions in the g la c ia l d r i f t . Drainage is quite
d isoriented as the d r i f t dammed many of the r iv e r v a lley s.
Several conspicuous topographic features owe their-ex istence to
the irreg u la r d is trib u tio n of the d r i f t . F latlands, notably those a t
Succasunna, are seen in various segments of the Highlands. H ills lin e
the terminal moraine and are carved from d r i f t accumulations in the
Musconetcong Valley. Smaller drift-produced surface ir re g u la r it ie s are
found in the Vemon-Sparta Valley. Salisbury believed th a t the important
topographic features had been developed before the deposition of the
d r i f t . Thus, features re la tin g to the d r i f t are s t r i c t ly subordinate to
those due to the lithology.^®
17
D istribution of the Iron Deposits
Location and foimation of the veins of iron ore have been
rela ted to metasedimentary, c ry sta llin e limestone, and in trusive
igneous formations. The ore zones are not sharply defined and some
evidence fo r s tru c tu ra l control has been found. Iron deposits consist
of many short, p a ra lle l veins which form discontinuous b e lts , usually
cropping out on ridges. Few important mineral occurrences can be
found outside of these d is t r ic ts . The most productive mines were found
near Andover, Dover, Franklin, Oxford, and Ringwood, New Jersey, and
a t S terling Lake, New York (Plate I I I ) .
The primary iron ore in the Highlands is magnetite, and i t is
an essen tia l constituent of the Precambrian ro c k s .^ The ore has been
described as being massive, compact, and hard, although i t occurs as
granular aggregates--"shot ore"--and occasionally as c rysta llized
cubes and o c t a h e d r o n s .^ The widespread nature of rocks stained by
iron oxide indicates tha t metasomatism, or replacement of minerals by13percolating waters, was responsible fo r the deposits of ore.
The ore bodies are pencil-like pods called "shoots" separated
by lean vein rock, or "pinches." The dimensions of the concentrations
vary considerably; however, the ore pods average five to twenty fee t in
width and are about 200 fe e t deep.
In addition to magnetite, deposits of limoriite and hematite
are evident in the Highlands. Limonite ores occur as small, scattered
deposits in many valleys of the north. They are u su a lly foimed as a
residual crust on decaying vegetation in areas of poor drainage. By
th e ir nature, the ores were never regarded as p ro fitab le by the Highlands
ironworker..
PLATE III18
75 *
New York - New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
'S te r lin g
Miles
41*
'Andover
« •
D istribution of Iron M ines
One Iron Minel .Ox fo rd
4 5
SO URCES* B a y le y ( l9 IO ) , Co1ony(l 92J)
19
P ractica lly a l l of the hematite ore is a specular type of dark
grey or black color, arranged in th in , p a ra lle l p la tes or ra ther finely
ground scales and somewhat magnetic. Most occurrences are found in
shallow, irregu larly shaped basins near the tops of ridges. The mines
at Andover were the only deposits successfully exploited in the study 14a re a .x
Soils
A modem so ils map of the Highlands would bear a s trik ing
sim ila rity to a geologic map of the region. The primary difference
is between the glaciated and unglaciated portions of the study area.
Many of the so ils in the north are derived chiefly from g lac ia l d r i f t .
This m aterial is closely re la ted to the underlying rock, p articu la rly
in those areas where the t i l l tends to be th in . The southern so ils
almost wholly re su lt from d isin tegration of bedrock. In the v ic in ity
of the teim inal moraine, so ils are derived in part from g lac ia l d r i f t ,
outwash m aterials, decomposed bedrock, and muck, a remnant of ancient
hydrographic features.
On the highland ridges and mountain masses, the presence of
the gneiss ic bedrock is evident in the so ils . Rock fragments--to
boulder size--frequently pierce the th in so il cover on the slopes.
Stoniness is a general ch a rac te ris tic everywhere. North of the teiminal
moraine, the land is covered by g lac ia l t i l l of variable depth.
Accumulations of sand and gravel are found in shallow depressions,
producing weak, droughty so il conditions. Some marshy hollows are
also present.
20
South of the moraine, g r ittin e ss and stoniness prevail in the
so ils . Rock d isin tegration is well advanced and some bedrock fragments
can be seen on the steeper slopes, where the fin er m aterials have been
washed away. On the broad highland ridges and gentle slopes, the so il
is deep, loamy, and not very stony. These areas have been extensively
cultivated , whereas, the steeper lands have been le f t uncleared. Some
wetness appears in swales and on many broad, f la t surfaces.
The intermontane valleys, too, show marked contrasts in th e ir
g lacia ted and nonglaciated sections. G lacial t i l l is quite deep, and
the bedrock--limestone, sandstone, and sha le--is exposed only as
knobby ridges or as fragments on slopes. Old terraces composed of d r i f t
l ie adjacent to floodplains of alluvium derived from gneissoid m aterials.
Limestone so ils in the valleys of Pohatcong Creek and the
Musconetcong River may be the richest in the study area. Even though
much free lime has been removed, there is a fine , granulated texture
in the present so ils . Partly composed of m aterial eroded from surrounding
gneiss rocks, the loamy or s i l ty surface m aterial is deep and not very
stony. F e rtile and well drained, the land has been cultivated by white
men fo r over two centuries.
Several areas of s la te are found south of the teiminal moraine,
notably in the region of Hackettstown. Producing neither as well
developed nor as deep a so il as th a t of the limestone d is t r ic ts , these
sectors have not been intensively cultivated. Brownish in color, the
so il often tends to thinness. In many places only rock fragments, a
few inches deep, foim the ground cover.
21
The region around the teiminal moraine has certain characte ris tics
of i t s own. Great complexity is to be found where s t r a t i f ie d sands and
gravels are intermixed with masses of unsorted fine and coarse m aterials.
Although found elsewhere in the g laciated Highlands, nowhere are the
conditions as-pronounced as in the one- to three-mile-wide b e lt marking
the southernmost advance of the g lac ie r.
Along the southern maigin of the moraine are scattered deposits
of outwash m aterials. Notable are those located near Hackettstown,
Morris P lains, and Succasunna--the la s t named being the la rgest. Sand
and gravel of gneissoid orig in predominate. Limestone is present only
in minute amounts. Usually well drained, locally the p lains are ra ther
wet and marshy.
Mucklands in the Pequest River Valley are also associated with
the Pleistocene g lacia tion . Inadequate drainage following g lac ia l
re tre a t produced shallow la k e s .^ The lakes provided excellent s ite s
fo r vegetation growth and the accumulation of p a r tia lly decomposed p lant
remains. Draining uncovered masses of black, heavy clay. Prone to
wetness, the lands were usually avoided by the early European s e t t le rs .
Climate
The climate of the Highlands is generally more severe in winter
but l i t t l e d iffe ren t in summer when compared to neighboring sections of
New York and New Jersey. Several representative sta tions are given in
Tables 1 and 2. Topography and elevation furnish ample p o ss ib ilit ie s
fo r microclimatic variations within the study area.
Winter conditions are influenced largely by a succession of
stoims crossing the Great Lakes and moving along the St. Lawrence Valley.
TABLE 1
SELECTED HIGHLANDS TEMPERATURES
County Station Temperature Growing Season(degrees) (days)
Jan.Ave.
JulyAve.
Maximum Minimum
Orange West Point 28.3 74.6 106 -17 194
Morris Boonton 27.1 71.9 103 -21 160
Morris Dover 27.6 71.9 102 -21 155
Passaic Charlottesburg 27.7 70.9 105 -26 137
Sussex Newton 27.1 72.5 105 -20 168
Warren Phillipsburg 28.4 73.9 105 -12 173
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1941.
TABLE 2
SELECTED HIGHLANDS PRECIPITATION
County Station Precip itation(inches)
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. TotalOrange West Point 3.18 2.96 3.57 3.62 3.14 3.56 3.79 3.78 4.09 3.16 3.16 3.17 41.18Morris Boonton 3.38 3.20 3.41 3.76 3.59 3.96 4.40 4.34 4.25 3.54 3.24 3.32 44.39Morris Dover 4.01 3.66 4.08 4.02 3.56 4.64 5.23 4.53 4.48 3.97 3.48 4.10 49.76Passaic Charlottesburg 3.74 3.56 4.04 4.30 3.71 4.64 4.52 4.60 4.57 4.25 3.58 3.95 49.46Sussex Newton 3.37 3.03 3.44 3.52 3.43 4.71 4.78 4.31 4.18 3.62 2.98 3.34 44.71Warren Phillipsburg 3.47 3.26 3.47 3.43 3.18 4.08 4.61 4.66 3.89 3.49 2.78 3.42 43.74
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1941.
24
Coastal storms, which might provide a moderating e ffe c t, are deflected
by the f i r s t range o f mountains and rare ly penetrate the Highlands
except in areas bordering the Delaware and Hudson riv e rs , Monthly
temperatures in December, January, and February average well below
freezing , causing ice to form on smaller streams and a t the head
waters of the major Highlands r iv e rs . In the era of the waterpowered
iron manufactory, icing was a chief cause fo r suspending operations.
P rec ip ita tio n is well d istrib u ted throughout the winter months.
Mich of i t occurs as snow--over f i f t y inches in some places--but
seldom in individual f a l ls of as much as ten or twelve inches.
Summers are usually qu ite warm, and prevailing winds blow from
the southwest. Several days with temperatures above ninety degrees
and high humidity can be counted on each year. A growing season of
160 to 170 days is to be expected, allowing ample time fo r growing most
foodstuffs. P rec ip ita tion reaches a s lig h t maximum during the waimest
months; y e t, periodic droughts have been experienced. Often coupled
with a lowering of the water tab le , droughts cause severely re s tr ic te d
stream flowage.
Vegetation
The ex ten t, i f not the composition, of the pre-European High
lands fo re s t was quite d iffe ren t frcm the present day. Human habitation
and cu ltiv a tio n , especially in the southern Highlands, has ob lite ra ted
much of the fo re s t in the valleys and on the arable slopes . ^
Present fo re s t remnants may not give an accurate indication of
what early fo rests were like ; however, Raup suggests th a t the vegetational
covering on sparsely se ttle d h illto p s and slopes in the Hudson Highlands
has not changed s ig n ifican tly since precolonial times.
25
A predominantly broadleaf deciduous fo rest covered much o f the
region. Ridges, slopes, and many of the valleys were clothed in various
species of oak (Quercus alba, Q. rubra, Q. ve lu tina , Q. p rinus),
hickory (Carya ovata, C. g labra), maple (Acer rubrum, A. saccharum),
and birch (Betula len ta, B_. lutea, B. popu lifo lia). White ash (Fraxinus
americana), basswood (T ilia americana), beech (Fagus g rand iflo ra), black
cherry (Prunus se ro tin a), American chestnut (Castanea den tata), American
elm (Ulmus americana), and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tu lip ife ra ) were
prominent. Interspersed among the hardwoods were coniferous types such
as p itch pine (Pinus r ig id a ) , white pine (P. strobus), red cedar
(Juniperus v irg in iana), and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Dogwood (Comus
florida) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) were found in the understoiy.
The fo re s t floor consisted of wild berries, mosses, ferns, flowers, and
grasses.'*'® Oaks (Q. coccinea, Q. i l i c i f o l i a ) , sumacs (Rhus typhina,
R. vem ix), mountain laure l (Kalmia la t i f lo r a ) , blueberries (Vaccinium s p .) ,
and ferns covered the patches of exposed country rock or th in so ils on
steeper slopes.
Well-drained valleys were covered extensively by woodlands and
dotted with grassy, or sparsely timbered knolls. Black walnut (Juglans
nigra) was a caiman fo rest species in the limestone areas. Immediately
adjacent to a watercourse was a narrow margin of grasses, mosses, ferns,20willow (Salix n ig ra ), and woody shrubs.
Scattered in the valleys and occupying many upland depressions
were swamps and natural wet meadows. Most numerous north of the terminal
moraine, these features resulted from events during the Pleistocene.
Moist conditions encouraged thickets of American elm, red maple, water
26
ash (F. pennsylvanica), sour gum (Nyssa sy lv a tic a ) , swamp white oak
(Q. b ic o lo r) , and rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum). Furnishing
excellen t pasture and hay when adequately drained, these lands were
eagerly sought by ea rly European s e t t le r s .
27
NOTES
1. A.K. Lobeck, Physiographic Diagram of North America (Maplewood, N .J . : The Geographical Press, 1950), p . 5. "
2. Nevin M. Fenneman, Physiography of Eastern United S tates (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1938), pp. 368-370.
3. George H. Cook, Geology of New Jersey (Newark: Board of Managers, 1868), pp. 18-19.
4. On the geology, see: Cook, ib id ; Henry B. Kurranel, "TheGeology of New Je rsey ," Department of Conservation and Economic Development B u lle tin , 50 (1940); R.S. Tarr, The Physical Geography of New York S tate (New York: Macmillan, 1902jj Kemble Widmer, The Geology and Geography of New Jersey ("New Jersey H isto rica l S e rie s ,"19 [Princeton, 1964]).
5. R ollin D. Salisbury, Physical Geography ("Final Report of the S tate G eologist," IV [Trenton, 1898]), 21.
6. William Morris Davis, Geographical Essays (New York:Dover P ub lica tions, In c ., 1954), p . 493.
7. Salisbury, op. c i t . , p. 23.
8. "A rtis t-L ife in the Highlands, The Iron Region o f New Je rsey ," Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, XX (1860), 585.
9. B.F. Fackenthal l i s t s many of the floods from the ea rly 1700's to the 1920's. Improving Navigation on the Delaware Riverw ith Some Account o f I t s F e rrie s , Bridges, Canals and Floods ("Collections of Papers, Bucks County H isto rica l S ociety ," VI [Doylestown, 1932]),212 f f . Thomas Gordon s ta te d "Of th is power of the flood, the years 1784 and 1832, affords memorable examples." Op. c i t . , p. 42.
10. Op. c i t . , p . 26.
11. On the geology o f the m agnetite o res, see: William S.Bay ley , Iron Mines and Mining in New Jersey ("Final Report of the S tate G eologist," VII [Trenton, 1910]); R7J. Colony, 'The Magnetite Iron Deposits of Southeastern New York," New York S tate Museum B u lle tin , 249-250 (1921); Preston E. Hotz, 'M agnetite Deposits of the S te rlin g Lake, N.Y. - Ringwood, N .J. Area," United S tate Geological Survey B u lle tin , 982 (1952-53); Paul K. Sims, "Geology of the Dover Magnetite D is t r ic t , Morris County, N .J .," United S tates Geological Survey B u lle tin , 982 (1952-53).
12. Colony, op. c i t . , p . 66.
28
13. Alan M. Bateman, Economic Mineral Deposits (2nd e d .;New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1950), p. 137.
14. On the geology of the hematite mines, see: P.K. Sims and B.F. Leonard, "Geology of the Andover Mining D is tr ic t , Sussex County, New Jersey ," Department of Conservation and Economic Development B u lle tin , 62 (1952); Widmer, op. c i t . , p. 31'.'
15. For additional information on s o ils , consult: Marlin G.Cline, "Soils and Soil Associations of New York," Cornell Extension B ulletin , 930 (1955); Granville A. Quakenbush, "Our New Jersey Land," New Jersey A gricultural Experiment Station B u lle tin , 775 (1955).
16. W.S. Bayley, H.B. Kummel, and R.D. Salisbury, Raritan Folio ("Geologic Atlas of the United S ta tes ," 191 [Field ed ition ; Washington, D.C., 1914]), 228.
17. For a complete analysis of the Highlands woodlands, see: Muntz, The Changing Geography of the New Jersey Woodlands 1600-1900; Hugh M. Raup, "Botanical Studies in the Black Rock F orest," The Black Rock Forest B u lle tin , 7 (1938); A.B. Ricknagel, The Forests of New York S tate (New York: Macmillan, 1923).
18. Raup, op. c i t . , p. 83.
19. For a catalogue of these p lan ts , see: Ib id . , pp. 109-158.
20. Samuel L. M itchell, "A Sketch o f the M ineralogical History of the State of New York," Medical Repository, I (1797), 298-300.
CHAPTER II
TECHNOLOGY AND IRON
The role o f technology, i t s e ffec t on the iron industry, and in
turn, i t s e ffec t on the early American landscape was strik ing . Changes
wrought by the e a r l ie s t and most prim itive iron communities were minor
when compared to those produced by an increasingly e ff ic ie n t technology
and larger iron manufactories.
The area of the A tlantic Coastal P lain--especially in
Massachusetts, southern New Jersey, V irginia, and Maryland^-presented
iron makers with fa r d ifferen t conditions for mining and smelting than
did la te r s ite s in the highlands of New York, northern New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania.
The basic techniques of iron manufacture used in America were
developed in Europe. In most instances, th is technology diffused into
the colonies with the migration of ironworkers, usually English, Scotch-
I rish , and Germans. The following paragraphs describe those iron-making
techniques which were brought into the Highlands by the eighteenth-
century ironmaster. Wherever pertinen t, s ign ifican t American innovations
are included.
29
30
Iron Mining
The coastal ironworks produced iron from bog ore, a type of
limonite found in the numerous shallow lakes, swamps, and wet meadows
which abound in the region. Beginnings of the ore can be traced to
the ferruginous deposits, prim arily greensands and marls, through which
percolated waters enriched with organic m aterial. The waters caused
the iron to oxidize and go into solution. When exposed to the a i r , the
iron-rich solution was deposited as a "sludge" on twigs, roots, and
other m atter in the shallow basin. In some deposits the iron formed
individual nodules rather than crusting on the bottom m aterials. Since
the la t te r form was purer, i t was the most highly prized. A trav e le r
to Bats to , in southern New Jersey, during the la te nineteenth century
observed th a t bog ore appeared to have renewed i t s e l f three times in1
the span of twenty-eight years.
Disregarding the ra ther wet environment, mining was re la tiv e ly
simple. The ore was dredged frcan a basin, sorted to remove unwanted
m aterial, and then dried. Drying was done by exposing the m aterial
to the a i r and allowing the moisture to evaporate. Somewhat la te r in
time, heat was applied in order to drive o ff the moisture. Bog ore
prepared in th is manner contained about f i f ty percent iron and could
be used d irec tly in the iron manufactory.
The iron ores of the in te rio r lands presented a fa r d iffe ren t
p icture. As the metal was usually incorporated into the country rock,
mining procedures and techniques changed. Many ore bodies were exposed
in accessible outcrops. Because of ease in handling, these s ite s were
sought out and exploited quickly. Generally the rocky ore was poundedO
and b lasted loose in successive step-like terraces. Crumbling of the
31
mine walls was avoided e ith e r by maintaining a proper degree of slope
or by u til iz in g props of timber. The re su lt of the operations was an
open p i t , variable in size and depth (Fig. 4).
As the demand fo r iron grew, the open-pit mines were unable to
furnish the necessary ore to a burgeoning iron industry. Shafts and
ad it tunnels replaced open p i ts in most large-scale mining operations
by the beginning of the nineteenth century (Fig. 5).
An anonymous trav e ler to the mines a t Hibernia, New Jersey, in
the mid-nineteenth century described the procedures used there:
The mode of extracting the ore here . . . is called 'stop ing ' by the miners, and there are two ways of doing it--o n e called 'overhand', and the other 'underhand stop ing '. In the foimer the ore is removed from below upward, and in the la t te r . . . from above downward. The la s t is most generally practiced in th is region, being considered the most economical. As the ore is removed timbers are inserted , reaching across from wall to w all, and upon these are p iled the rubbish and "lean ore", foiming . . . 's t u l l s ' . In many of the mines the deposit is so pure th a t i t is removed without leaving su ffic ien t rubbish to support the w alls, and so much stoping surface being exposed renders the mines dangerous to the w o rk m e n .3
The ad it tunnels, as they are termed, u til iz e d small ca rts , drawn by
man and animals--horses, mules', o r oxen--to get out the ore. Venti
la tion was supplied by v e rtic a l shafts connecting ad it with surface
and the workings were kept free of excess water by gravity--the gentle
inc lination of the tunnel allowing any water to flow from the mine
opening.
The shaft mine was essen tia lly like those operating today. A
v e rtic a l or s lig h tly angled shaft was sunk in to the ore body,^ the ore
loosened, loaded into buckets, and hauled to the surface by means of a
32
hand- or animal-operated windlass. Such mines usually were kept c lear
of water by pumps and of gas by a chimney f i r e and flue connected with
the shaft.
Iron Making
Once the iron had been raised to the surface, i t was transported
to the iron manufactory. Frequently, the ironworks were located on a
s i te convenient to a stream which furnished power, amid woodlands which
were converted into charcoal, and within a few miles of one or more
mines which supplied the ore.
The early manufactories were generally patterned a f te r those
in the mother country, i . e . , England, Germany, and A ustria. Exploration
of new landscapes for m aterials so necessary to th e ir occupation le f t
ironmasters l i t t l e time for experimentation and less fo r consideration
of un tried theories. Bining, in h is work on the Pennsylvania ironworks
of the eighteenth century, pointed out th a t th is was especially true of
b last-fum ace production, including type of furnace, b la s t, fue l, andr
methods of casting.
Iron ores were manufactured into saleable products by e ith e r
smelting, forging, or a combination of the two. Smelting required a
b la s t furnace in which high temperatures would cause the ore to melt and
separate into molten metal and slag. After being drawn from the hearth,
the iron was cooled as pigs or various cast-iron items. Forging
operations did not separate metal from slag, but only made the mass so ft
and malleable. In th is s ta te , impurities were removed by a large t i l t
hammer and wrought iron was produced. In conjunction with the furnace,
a forge used pig iron and refined i t into bars. This commodity was in
much demand a t the marketplace.
33
Forging came f i r s t in the technological development of the iron
industry . Prim itive methods of ore reduction had been practiced by the
H itt i te s , Remans, and various north Europeans. These changed l i t t l e ,
except fo r the enlargement of operations and the development of
specialized labor, u n ti l the appearance of the Catalan foige or bloomery
The concept of the Catalan forge was brought to the American
colonies by s e t t le r s from Great B rita in . Usually b u il t beside a stream
or raceway, the forge consisted of a stone firep lace lined with cast-
iron p la tes or refracto ry m aterial and a waterwheel which supplied the
power to operate a p a ir of bellows. The hearth measured twenty to th ir ty
inches square and f if te e n to twenty inches deep (Figs. 6 and 7). Two,
four, or more f ire s were operated w ithin the same building.
Ore, charcoal, and limestone were placed in the hearth , and
reduced in the following manner:
. . . the hearth was heated by keeping i t two-thirds f u l l of ign ited charcoal fo r four or five hours.The fuel was then pushed up against the a ir -b la s tin le t (tuyere) and sloped in an incline towards the opposite side , and upon th is bed of hot coalswas placed the ore, flux and charcoal. The a i r b la s t was then gradually applied. The chaige of iron was now slowly worked with a bar so as to allow the a i r current to come in to contact with a l l parts of the mass. The 'loop ' [bloom], as i t was ca lled , while largely m etallic iron, contained many im purities. This mass was l i f te d out and subjected to the blows of a heavy hammer by which some of the foreign m atter was hammered out and the iron wrought in to a more regular shape. 7
By th is method saleable wrought iron was manufactured d irec tly from the
ore without requiring additional processing.® The production of the
colonial bloomeries was as high as two tons per week fo r each forge f i r e ,
although they operated only while streams were not blocked by ice.
34
The t i l t hammer, so v i ta l to successful operation of a Catalan
forge, was situa ted in close proximity to the firep lace. The hammer
was about fourteen inches square and three fee t in height with a hole
near the upper end, through which a heavy beam was inserted. Pivoted
so th a t i t could swing up and down, the handle was connected to a shaft
which led to an outside waterwheel. The shaft had a large iron band
with four cogs and, as the wheel turned, the cogs in ro tation engaged
the hammer handle, l i f te d i t about a foot, and then l e t i t drop onto
the anvil. The hammer rose and f e l l four times fo r every turn of the
wheel. Speed of the blows was regulated by the flow of water against
the waterwheel (Figs. 6 and 8).
As the demand fo r iron products increased and iron technology
expanded, the true forge evolved from the bloomery and assumed the task
of refining pig metal which issued from the b la s t furnaces. Once pig
iron was manufactured i t was taken to? the "finery" (refining fo rge),
where i t was heated to a semi-molten s ta te in an attempt to decarburize
the metal. The resu ltan t bloom of iron was then shaped into a rough
bar form, or ancony, by a t i l t hammer. The ancony was passed to the
"chafery" forge where i t was successively heated and pounded into
refined bar iron or prepared fo r the ro lling or s l i t t in g process (Fig. 9).
The several heatings and hammerings effected a weight loss of th ir ty
percent in the conversion of pigs in to bars. Coupled with an increase
in the amount of charcoal per ton of iron made and a g reater use of
labor, i t came as no surprise to find bar iron often sold for severeil
times the price of pig metal.
35
The advent of the b la s t furnace occurred in Europe some three
centuries a f te r the development of the Catalan forge. I ts invention
was motivated by a desire on the p a rt of the ironmasters to improve
upon the bloomery. Numerous experiments were undertaken to a tta in the
high temperatures necessary fo r melting iron. The b la s t furnace
culminated these e ffo rts .
The f i r s t step in the evolution of the b la s t furnace was the
development of the Stuckofen, or high bloomery. Probably a German
introduction, i t was found in the Lahn Valley by the end of the eighth
century.^ Use la te r spread into France, England, Sweden, and the Low
Countries. The quadrangular or cy lind rical struc tu re d iffe red l i t t l e
in outward appearance from the la te r b la s t furnace (Fig. 10).^ By
extending the sides upward ten fe e t or more in an attempt to u t i l iz e
a portion of the wasted heat of the bloomery and produce a stronger
b la s t, a pasty, malleable mass of metal was produced.^ Quite popular
fo r a time, the Stuckofen was never able to compete with i t s more
e ffec tiv e and s lig h tly la rger o ffspring--the b la s t furnace.
The tran s itio n to the b la s t furnace, or Hochofen, took place
about the middle of the fourteenth century a t an undetermined place
in the Rhineland provinces of Germany. ̂ Within two hundred years i t
had been perfected and i t s use had spread throughout the continent and
in to England. I t was now possible to liq u ify and completely separate
iron from the gangue. The furnace was la te r introduced in to the American
colonies by iron makers of various n a tio n a litie s . Diffusion had changed
European furnaces l i t t l e , and those found in the Highlands could be
deemed type examples (Fig • H and 12).
36
The furnace was a four-sided stack of native stone about twenty
to th ir ty fe e t in height, with a base of twenty to twenty-five fee t
square tapering toward a top of two-thirds the base dimensions. Within
th is struc tu re , separated from the outside wall by mortar, broken stone,
or sand, was a furnace core lined with fireb rick , s la te , or other
refractory m aterial. Dimensions of the core varied from three to ten
fee t a t i t s widest p a rt--th e larger size being a la te r development.
Arches were constructed into the four sides of the masonry through which
the a i r b la s t (tuyere) extended and from which the molten iron and slag
could be drawn o ff (Fig. 13). The casting arch--the side which tapped
the iron--was enclosed by a large shed which was frequently destroyed
by f ire s ignited by sparks emitted from the furnace (Fig. 14).
The "blowing in" or s ta rtin g of a furnace was a most d if f ic u lt
procedure and one of the best accounts of how i t was accomplished was
given by Bining:
The stack was f i r s t f i l le d with charcoal and lighted from the top. After several days, when the f ire had burned down and reached the tuyere opening, the furnace was re f i l le d with charcoal. The f ire now worked back up to the top. The b la s t was then applied, and ore and flux put in from the tunnel head in gradually increasing quan tities. After a few days slag and iron ran in to the hearth below. The proportion of ore and flux to charcoal was gradually increased u n til Hie furnace was workingnormally.
Since i t was necessary to apply the a i r b la s t to produce the
heat required to maintain the charge in a molten s ta te , the furnace
was operable only as long- as the waterwheels were ice free . During the
"blown out" period of w inter, the furnace was relined and repaired.
37
A continuous supply of water and charcoal necessitated the
placement of early furnaces near waterways and within w ell-forested
regions. Also, the Highlands furnaces were usually b u ilt on the side
of a h i l l to f a c i l i ta te recharging with the necessary m aterials.
Bushels of iron ore, charcoal, and limestone were carted over a log
or plank bridge b u il t from the h ills id e to the top of the stack.
A single charcoal furnace was capable of producing from ten
to a maximum of twenty-five tons per week by the conclusion of the
American Revolution. Because of refinements by individual ironmasters
and the varying efficiency of the furnaces, i t is d if f ic u lt to give
more than a rough estimate of the amount of m aterial demanded for
successful operation. According to trad itio n , one of the oldest
furnaces in the Highlands a t Oxford, in the mid-eighteenth century,
consumed 300 to 400 bushels of charcoal fo r each ton of pig iron. A
sim ilar, but more e ff ic ie n t, furnace on the same s i te in the 1830's
used only 275 bushels per ton of i r o n .^ K itch e ll 's survey of the iron
industry c ited the needs of the Wawayanda Furnace in Sussex County
during the 1850's as being:
Charcoal 160-200 bushelsMagnetic iron ore........................... 2 tonsLimestone 0.25 to n s^
The basic charcoal furnace continued to be used in the Highlands
u n ti l the middle nineteenth century with but two major changes: the
substitu tion of hot a i r for cold in the a ir b la s t and replacement of
leather bellows by wooden tubs.
Devices fo r in jecting a ir in to an iron manufactory to aid
conbustion and increase temperatures had been used throughout Europe
fo r many centuries. ^ Credit fo r the introduction of the a ir b la s t
38
into the American colonies must go to English and Geiman ironmasters,
who u ti l iz e d the bellows on a l l forges and furnaces.
The e a r l ie s t b la s t mechanism used on an American manufactory
was a p a ir of large, lea ther bellows. Operating by means of a shaft
connected to a waterwheel, the bellows a lternate ly in jected in term itten t
b lasts of a i r in to the forge or furnace as the raceway revolved the
wheel (Figs. 11 and 15). D ifficu lty in replacing the leather of the
bellows in it ia te d a search fo r an alternative means of delivering the
necessary a i r b la s t.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century a new device was
introduced. Two wooden tubs or drums were attached to a waterwheel
and connected to the manufactory v ia an iron pipe, the tuyere (Figs. 16
and 17). Each tub had a t ig h t- f i t t in g bottom with a leather in le t a ir
valve, an- o u tle t pipe, and a c ircu la r p iston , around the circumference
of which was fastened a lea ther c o lla r to make an a ir t ig h t enclosure.
The pistons moved up and down on a v e rtic a l shaft attached to a pivot
beam, which was operated by a waterwheel in a manner sim ilar to the
hammer. The a lternate strokes of the piston furnished an almost
continual a i r b la s t.
The b la s t obtainable from water-driven bellows, however, was
in su ffic ien t to maintain the heat needed in coal-using furnaces and
was supplanted by more elaborate devices.
Application of a hot b la s t f i r s t appeared in America a t Oxford1 7
Furnace in 1834. The manager of the operation, William Henry,
experimented with several methods of heating the a ir before introducing
i t into the furnace. F inally Henry se ttled on a process which was
39
widely copied during the following generation. An oven containing
cast-iron pipes was placed atop the manufactory stack and a ir was
heated by the flame which issued from the tunnel head. The innovation
raised b la s t temperatures 500°, increased production by almost f i f ty
percent, and effected a sim ilar saving in fuel. Unrealized a t the time,
th is invention spelled the beginning of the end fo r the charcoal furnace.
The hot b la s t made possible the use of immense quantities of anthracite
coal and coke as fuel. Ironically , a Highlands invention would cost
th a t region i t s position of eminence in iron production.
Manufacture of Charcoal
Charcoal necessary fo r the operation of forges and furnaces
was produced by methods common in Europe p rio r to the introduction of
the iron industry to the New World. The dominant method was f i r s t
brought to New England from the mother country and spread throughout
the eastern seaboard. In i t ia l ly a p i t , which consisted of a p ile of
wood f if te e n fee t in diameter and about ten fee t high, was constructed
(Fig. 18). Eight to ten cords of four-foot logs were needed. The
p ile was covered with tu rf and ignited , was allowed to bum for eight
to ten days, and was continually watched by a team of c o llie rs .
Several p its were kept going a t one time and each, when opened, might18y ie ld 200 or more bushels of charcoal.
A second method of burning originated in continental Europe.
I t was not widespread within the Highlands, being found only“among
s e tt le rs not exposed to the English method. P its were dug into the
ground, f i l le d with logs, and covered with earth . Once ign ited , the
p its were allowed to smolder fo r two or three weeks and yielded about
500 bushels of charcoal.
40
Charcoal proved to be an ideal fuel for use in the manufacture
of iron. Almost en tire ly free of sulphur, wood ash consisted largely
of lime and a lk a lis providing seme of the flux needed in the smelting
p ro c e ss .^ However, as the iron industry grew, the vast forests of
eastern America could never have met the po ten tia l demand for fuel.
41
NOTES
1. Ju lian U. Niemcewicz, Under th e ir Vine and Fig Tree, trans. and ed. by Metchie J.E . Budka ("Collections of the NewJbrseyHHistorical Society," XTV [Elizabeth, 1965]), 223.
2. Black powder was used in the operation. In v ir tu a lly a l l account books and ledgers examined, black powder constituted a major expenditure fo r mine owners.
3. "A rtist-L ife in the Highlands, the Iron Region of New Jersey," op. c i t . , p. 592.
4. Often several shafts were sunk in to the same vein of ore and each was enumerated in reports of iron production as separate mines.
5. Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century(''Publications of Pennsylvania H istorical Commission," IV [Harrisburg, 1938]), 95.
6. The forge was developed within the old iron d is t r ic ts of Catalonia, Spain, before the tenth century.
7. Boyer, op. c i t . , p. 3.
8. A survey by William K itchell revealed tha t the average quantity of ore and charcoal required to make one ton of blooms was two tons of ore and 300 bushels of charcoal. ("Report of the Superintendent and State Geologist, fo r the Year 1856," Third Annual Report [Trenton: Geological Survey of New Jersey, 1857]), pp. 18-19.
9. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Tenth Census of the United States: 1880. Report on the Manufactures of the United S ta tes, Vol. II (Washington, D.CT: Government Printing Office, 1883), p. 775.
10. The primary difference between the Stuckofen and the Hochofen was the end product, not appearance. An apparatus which produced molten iron was a furnace; a l l others were bloomeries.
11. Georgius Agricola, De ReM etallica, trans. Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover (New York: Dover Publications, In c ., 1950),p. 420.
12. In a l l p robability the f i r s t b la s t furnace was an enlarged Stuckofen capable of maintaining the high temperatures necessary to produce a molten product.
13. Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century,p . 80.
42
14. Cook, op. c i t . , p. 637.
15. Op. c i t . , pp. 21-22.
16. For a discussion of the dispersal of the a i r b la s t in Europe, see: Charles Singer e t a l . , A History of Technology (NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1954-58), I , 592-598yTTl7 69 -78.
17. Swank, op. c i t . , p. 453.
18. Cf. Robert J . Sim and Harry B. Weiss, Charcoal-Burningin New Jersey From Early Time to the Present (Trenton: New JerseyA gricultural Society,- 1955), pp. 20-31.
19. Statement by Thomas Whitmore, personal interview.
20. Bining, Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century, p. 73.
CHAPTER I I I
COLONIAL ANTECEDENTS OF HIGHLANDS IRON INDUSTRY
P rio r to the in troduction of ironworking in to the Highlands,
i t s manufacture had spread over much o f the eastern seaboard. The
growing co lon ial demand and the lu re of foreign m arkets--a prospect
strengthened by the in a b il i ty of English ironmasters to meet th e ir
country 's needs ̂ ---encouraged many entrepreneurs to pursue the manu
facture of iron.
The idea of cu ltiv a tin g an iron industry in the New World
f i r s t came to lig h t with S ir Walter R aleigh's second e:xpedition in
1585. ̂ Abundant fo rests and bog ore near Roanoke Island might have
supported ironworks, but when the aspiring colony fa ile d , the
suggestion passed in to h isto ry .
Establishment of a permanent settlem ent a t Jamestown afforded
the V irg in ia Company an opportunity to send a number o f workers in
order to construct f a c i l i t i e s fo r the manufacture o f iron. A s i te on
Falling Creek, about s ix ty -fiv e miles above Jamestown, was chosen fo r
the experiment. No evidence has been uncovered regarding the type of
manufactory; nevertheless, Swank f e l t i t included a furnace and finery*2
and chafery forges--a complex common in England about th is time.
43
44
In te re s t in expanding the in i t i a l operation was wanting due to
a lack of cap ita l and need fo r workers in fam ing the various p lan tations.
However, en thusiastic supporters f e l t an iron industry was good for
England and the colonies, as i t would provide raw and semifinished goods
for the mother country and a means of payment fo r English wares needed
in North America.
Subsequent developments in the manufacture of iron sh ifted to
New England. Although one of the in ten ts of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony from i t s inception, the f i r s t ironworks was not b u il t near the
bog ore deposits of Saugus u n til 1643.^ The completed works consisted
of a furnace, a two-fire forge, and a ro lling and s l i t t in g m ill. Iron
of good quality was manufactured, but expansion was deterred by lawsuits,
Indian attacks, lack of sk illed labor, opposition to the large amount of
wood consumed, and a preference fo r English iron.
The lim ited success and myriad problems encountered a t Saugus
hindered establishment of additional manufactories throughout the
seventeenth century. Many of those attempted fa ile d outright or, a t
best, operated in te m itte n tly and f in a lly lapsed into in ac tiv ity . Real
development began with the f i r s t years of the eighteenth century.
Within two decades progress had been made in seme of the colonies
su ffic ien t to alarm the English ironmasters.^
The migration of s e tt le rs from Europe and New England to other
colonies along the coast embraced ironworkers carrying on a search fo r
deposits of iron ore, copious fo rests , and a dependable source of power.
North of the Carolinas, several areas were gradually to assume a
greater measure of importance.
45
One such location was the Pine Barrens region of southern
New Jersey.^ The immense quantities of ore, continually flowing streams,
untapped fo re s ts , and a profusion of oyster and clam she lls necessary
for fluxing furnished a beachhead from which the iron industry could
la te r turn inland. With the establishment of the f i r s t ironworks a t
Tintem Falls in 1674, the industry spread along the major waterways of
South Jersey. Within f i f ty years the region became one of the leading
industria l areas in the colonies.
Special inducements to ironworkers brought about a reb irth of
iron making in the Chesapeake Bay region.^ Soon ironworks appeared
north and south of the Potcmac River. By the middle of the eighteenth
century there were a t le a s t ten b la s t furnaces making an annual average
of 500 tons of pig iron each.
R evitalization of the iron industry took place in New England
as well. Building upon the i l l - f a te d Saugus operations, Massachusetts
a ttrac ted many persons sk illed in producing iron. Bounties p articu la rly
encouraged the manufacture of ironware. Similar inducements led to
the establishment of manufactories in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the
eastern end of Long Island. By 1733, New England had a t le a s t sixO
furnaces and nineteen forges, and twenty-five years la te r , Massachusetts
boasted fourteen furnaces and forty-one forges.^
Discovery and development of the magnetite ores in eastern
Pennsylvania did much to expand the colonial iron industry. Manu
facturing commenced in 1716 and soon spread from the southeastern
counties and the Schuylkill Valley to the Delaware River, adjacent to i nthe Highlands. At le a s t thirty-seven s ite s were in operation by the
46
mid-eighteenth century. Suffice i t to say, Pennsylvania was the
leading producer of iron in America — a position she maintained u n ti l
th is century.
A flourishing iron trade was one m anifestation of increased
manufactural ac tiv ity . Quantities of pig iron had been shipped from
Pennsylvania, V irg in ia, and Maryland to England since early in the
eighteenth century (Table 3). Shortly, th e rea fte r, axes and other
Implements were exported to the ag ricu ltu ra l communities of the
Carolinas. According to B ritish ironmongers, ironmasters in New England,
Maryland, and V irg in ia had taken over much of the colonial tool market
by the 1730's . ^ Furthermore, large quan tities of American-made n a ils
and anchors were ccmpeting successfully with the English product.
Production costs were a primary reason fo r the progress of American
iron. English ironmasters, th e ir lands denuded of usable tre e s , were
forced to pay tremendous p rices fo r fuel. At many furnaces fuel12represented over seventy percent of the cost of making iron. Colonial
furnaces, with vast fo rests near a t hand, never approached the figure .
Labor and transporta tion expenditures also favored the colonial ironworker.
In 1750, bar iron produced in England was se llin g fo r L17 per ton, 13
whereas, American iron brought t l4 to L16 per ton in P h ilad e lp h ia .^
Transportation accounted for much of the p rice d if fe re n tia l. English
iron prices included L2.8 per ton fo r transport as compared with L l. 5
per ton fo r American iron. ^ Import duties prevented much competition
in English markets, but could not check England's diminishing share of
the business in the American colonies.
TABLE 3IRON EXPORTED TO GREAT BRITAIN
FROM 1730 to 1745
Year Iron Pennsylvania V irginia and Maryland(Tons) (Tons)
1730 Pig 199 1,5271730-1 Pig 169 2,0811731-2 Pig 107 2,2251732-3 Pig 95 2,3101733-4 Pig 147 2,0421734-5 Pig 243 2,412
Bar 20 —
1736-8 No data1739 Pig 170 2,242
Bar 44 —
1740 Pig 159 2,020Bar — 5
1741 Pig 153 3,264Bar ----------- 5
1742 Pig 143 1,9261743 Pig 63 2,816
Bar — 571744 Pig 88 1,748
Bar 85 —
1745 Pig 97 2,131Bar — 5
Source: French, op. c i t . , pp. 7-8.
48
The diverse problems and in te rests of colonial and English
iron makers, merchants, and ironmongers resu lted in the passage of
the Iron Act of 1750. The act provided for duty-free importation
of American bar iron into England, while prohibiting expansion of
the manufacture of ironware in the colonies. ^ I t was hoped tha t
England's chronic shortage of bar iron might be relieved and competition
in the colonies checked. In sp ite of the expectations, the Iron
Act did l i t t l e to hamper the growth of colonial manufactories. The
o ffe r of a duty-free market actually resulted in fu rther expansion
(Table 4). Pennsylvania, V irginia, Maryland, and the Highlands of
New York and New Jersey became the major producing areas. The
combined e ffo rts of coastal and mountain ironworks allowed the
American colonies to become se lf-su ffic ie n t in a l l iron products
ju s t p rio r to the Revolutionary War,
TABLE 4PIG AND BAR IRON EXPORTED BY THE
AMERICAN COLONIES TO GREAT BRITAIN
Year Pig Iron Bar Iron(Tons) (Tons)
1750 ................ 2,924175 1 .................. 3,2101752 ................ 2,979 821753 2,736 2081754 ................ 3,245 1711755 ............... 3,439 3901761 ............... 2,766 391762 ................ 1,763 1231763 ................ 2,566 3101764 ............... 2,554 1,0591765 ............... 3,264 1,0791766 ............... 2,887 1,2581767 ................ 3,323 1,3261768 ................ 2,953 1,9901769 . . . . . 3,402 1,7801770 ............... 4,233 1,7161771 ................ 5,303 2,2221772 ................ 3,725 9661773 ................ 2,938 8371774 ................ 3,452 6391775 ................ 2,996 9161776 ................ 316 28
Source: French, op. c i t . , pp .8-
50
NOTES
1. I t was estim ated in 1738 th a t of a to ta l of 35,000 tons of iron required fo r trad e , a t le a s t 23,000 tons had to be secured from abroad. By 1775, the to ta l amount of iron imported to Great B rita in frcm Sweden, Russia, and o ther sources was between 45,000 and 50,000 tons a year. Lawrence H. Gipson, The B ritish Empire Before the American Revolution (Revised ed itio n , New York: A lfred A.Knopf, 1960), I I I , 211.
2. Bining, B ritish Regulation of the Colonial Iron Industry,p. 5.
3. Op. c i t . , p. 105.
4. For a complete account of the Saugus Ironworks, see:H artley, op. c i t . .
5. Arguments fo r and against expansion o f the American iron industry and regulation o f sa id industry can be found in "Papers re la tin g to Iron, P e ltr ie s , Trade, e t c . , 1712-1817," Penn MSS, H isto rica l Society of Pennsylvania.
6. For additional information on the South Jersey manufactories, see: Caimita DeS. Jones, "Batsto and the Bloomeries," The Pennsylvania Magazine of H istory and Biography, 47 (1923), 185-195; Arthur D. P ierce, Iron in the Pines (New Brunswick: Rutgers U niversity Press,1957).
7. Kathleen Bruce, V irginia Iron Manufacture in the Slave Era (Hew York: Century Company, 1930), pp. 9-12.
8. Penn MSS, p. 81.
9. Bining, B ritish Regulation of the Colonial Iron Industry,p. 14.
10. For a complete account of Pennsylvania's iron industry , see: Bining, "Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the EighteenthCentury," op. c i t . .
11. Penn MSS, p. 45.
12. B.L.C. Johnson, "The Charcoal Iron Industry in the Early Eighteenth Century," Geographical Journal, CXVII (1951), 174.
51
13. A ll foreign monetary values c ited in the tex t are given in B ritish s te rlin g currency. Throughout the eighteenth century colonial businessmen had to contend with "pounds," "sh illin g s ," and "pence" issued e ith e r by the B ritish government (s terling money) or by the various colonies (lawful or proclamation money). I t was customary to think of the widely circulated Spanish-milled do lla r, forerunner of the American d o lla r, as the standard of value. Commonly, one Spanish do llar could be exchanged for four sh illings sixpence s te rlin g money or six sh illin g s proclamation money. Nevertheless, the actual value of the lawful money varied from colony to colony. Gipson, op. c i t . , X, 160.
14. Is rae l Acrelius, History of New Sweden: or The Settlementson the River Delaware, trans. by W.M. Reynolds ("Memoirs of the H istorical Society of Pennsylvania," XI [Philadelphia, 1874]), 169.
15. Ib id . , p. 169; Gipson, op. c i t . , I I I , 214.
16. A clause prohibited erection a f te r June 24, 1750,". . . no m ill, or other engine fo r s l i t t in g or ro lling of Iron, or any p la ting forge to work with a tilt-hammer, or any furnace fo r making s te e l. . . . " A fu l l discussion of the regulations and resu lts thereof can be found in Penn MSS.
CHAPTER IV
CHARCOAL, IRON, AND HIGHLANDS SETTLEMENT
Establishment of the physical and technological environments
must be accompanied by an attempt to show the changing geographic
patterns which iron making carved on the Highlands landscape. Certainly
the present Highlands re f le c t many altera tions in it ia te d during th is
period of in d u stria l exploitation.
The o rig inal land offered tremendous advantages to the
foundation of a successful iron industry. Magnetite ore was incorporated
in the country rock of the ridges and mountain masses. Limestone
constituted a portion of the base m aterial of many interhighland valleys.
Abundant woodlands covered not only the highlands, but also the most
accessible lowlands. Streams were everywhere and th e ir valleys offered
countless s ite s su itable fo r the erection of iron manufactories.
In addition, the technological level of the Highlands s e t t le r
cannot be overlooked. Many were well versed in the manufacture of
iron. Techniques had been transported d irec tly from Europe, or borrowed
from Europeans. The methods had proven successful elsewhere on the
eastern seaboard and in Europe. The Highlands iron industry was a
deliberate extension of a colonial industry heretofore confined mainly
to the coastal plain .
52
53
Indian Occupance and European Penetrations
The e a r l ie s t inhabitants of the Highlands were Indians known
as the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware. Records indicate th a t they were
most numerous w ithin the Musconetcong Valley and on the Highlands
margins adjacent to the Hudson and Delaware riv e rs .^ Food was obtained
by hunting, gathering, and agricu ltu re. Game, roo ts, nu ts, and berries
were p le n tifu l. Maize, beans, and squash occupied small clearings in
the valleys. Rock ledges, caves, and wooden houses provided sh e lte r .
Trade was widespread, linking the Highlands dwellers w ith peoples to
the east and west. Numerous t r a i l s were established, following the
watercourses or the interhighlands valleys.
Although a good deal of information is available on the
American Indian and h is usage of iron ores, no evidence has been found
to indicate th a t he was fam iliar with iron making p rio r to European
contact. Mention was made of Indian discoveries of iron ore in the
Hudson Highlands; however, there is no record of these deposits ever7
being exploited.
I n i t ia l contact with the European did l i t t l e to a l te r Indian
occupance of the Highlands. M aterially , Indians did adopt the r i f l e ,
c lo th , and metal u ten s ils . In turn , Europeans expressed in te re s t in
Indian crops, the location of good ag ricu ltu ra l land, and Indian ta le s
of p le n tifu l supplies of iron ore. During the eighteenth century many
of the Delaware were driven westward and th e ir ag ricu ltu ra l lands be
came occupied by Europeans. Formerly cultivated land reverted to patches
of undergrowth known as Mold f ie ld s" where settlem ent succession did not
occur. The tran s itio n from Indian to European occupance was most
54
noticeable in the Modna Creek, Ramapo River, and Musconetcong River
valleys. By the 1730’s the Indians who remained behind had re trea ted
e ith e r to poor lands near the headwaters of the Musconetcong and Black
rivers or to the recesses of the Hudson Highlands.^
The ro le of the pioneer Highlands s e t t le r and h is s k i l ls has
long been m isinterpreted. Early au th o ritie s , such as Coxe and Gordon,
saw the co lon ists as manufacturers opening the way fo r a g r ic u ltu ra lis ts .
They deemed the forge uniformly as the precursor of the farm. A fter
iron making had exhausted the land of i t s timber and iron , i t was sub
divided in to faimsteads. The w rite r believes the actual settlem ent
sequence was more complex than envisioned by nineteenth-century
chron ic lers.
S e ttle rs h esitan tly approached the rugged, fo rested Highlands
p r io r to 1700; moreover, they were confined to the most accessible
sections along the periphery of the study area and to the trib u ta ry
valleys of the Hudson and Delaware riv e rs . The f i r s t years of the
eighteenth century saw Dutch s e t t le r s from U lste r County, New York,
move southward into the W allkill Valley on the edge of the Western
Highlands. Germans frcan Pennsylvania took up lands in the unglaciated
valleys of the southern Highlands. Captain John Evans". . . expended
g reat sums of money in clearing several places fo r Farms, and planted
several Families of Scots and Ir ish . . on a large tr a c t of land
along Murderer's (Modna) Creek in the Hudson Highlands.^ The sa le of
well-timbered land, p le n tifu l meadows, and wheat acreage on the Rockaway
River a ttrac ted s e t t le r s from Newark, Elizabeth, and New York. In
addition, surveys were conducted to deteimine the character of the in te r io r
55
segments of the Highlands. Charles Clinton, surveyor of a goodly
portion of the Hudson Highlands between 1735 and 1749, often evaluated
the ag ricu ltu ra l p o ten tia l of the lo ts he had la id ou t. Land was
described as being " . . . Scarcily Sufficien t fo r a Settlement . . . ,"
" . . . p re tty well tim ber'd with Oak but Generally Stoney . . . or
having " . . . Some very Good dry Swamp or Rather Lowland th a t may be
plowed and Good Swamp fo r meadow. . . . "
To other prospective s e t t le r s the Highlands looked ra th e r in
hospitable and were thought to be incapable of improvement and wholly
without transport f a c i l i t i e s . Valuable only fo r firewood, " . . . no
man [would] accept any p a rt of i t . . . unless i t be what i s contiguousQ
to the River, where he may with ease transport the wood."
In sp ite of the great expenditures of money and labor,
agriculture met with only mixed success and the pace of Highlands
settlem ent was exceedingly slow. I t should be kept in mind, however,
th a t the adjacent Trias s ic Lowland and K ittatinny Valley continually
offered g rea ter rewards to the ag ricu ltu ra lly minded s e t t l e r s . By
1710, probably fewer than three thousand persons were residing w ithin
the confines of the study area.
Establishment of the Iron Industry
In te re s t was now directed to reports of iron ore found through
out the Highlands" . . . in g rea t quan tities . . . but a t a g reat distanceQ
from the B ritish and amongst the Indian Settlem ents." The change in
a ttitu d e is also evident in Clinton who, in the l a s t years, remarked of
the " . . . A ttraction of Iron Oar [sic] and Loadstone [sic] which is in
56
Every h i l l here in th is part of the Mountain . . . M or th a t " . . .10there would be a good f a l l had here fo r an Ironworks or m ill. . .
Soon land advertisements promoted those a ttrib u tes of the landscape which
led to the manufacture of iron:
To be Sold, or Leased
Several Tracts of Land in the Province of New-York and New-Jersey, v iz . New-York. In Orange County About 2000 Acres, in Cheescock's Patent, Part thereof adjoining Haverstraw, on Hudson* s River, about 40 Miles from New-York, and Part in the Clove, which is very fine Land; the Rest is Mountain Land, extending from Haverstraw to the Clove: This Tract w ill besold, or leased in Lots of 100 Acres and upwards; i t affords the best conveniences fo r Iron Works, of any Tract in North-America, having plenty of Iron Oar [sic] and Wood, and a very fine Stream, su ffic ien t fo r several Furnaces or Forges, within seven Miles of a good Landing on Hudson's River. . . .
So thoroughly were the conveniences publicized and so widespread
was the response, tha t by the Revolution, p rac tica lly every ore body
known today in the Highlands had been opened.
A blocmery, the f i r s t ironworks associated with the Highlands,
was erected a t Whippany soon a f te r that community's founding by a
number of s e tt le rs from Newark and environs (Plate IV) . ̂ The necessary13ores came from magnetite outcrops like those a t Succasunna, and from
limonite found along the Whippany River. Limestone was obtained from
small, iso lated exposures in the Whippany Valley or gathered from the
abundant g lac ia l t i l l . Production was consumed locally--m ostly as
various and sundry u te n s ils --o r shipped as bars to Newark and E liza
beth v ia horseback over almost nonexistent t r a i l s .
PLATE IV
(
57
30
New York-New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
iS o o rd 'iM ills
.Ogden's,
41*
Charcoal Iron Manufactories
(ca. 1750),Wmppcny
Bloomery or Forge
Furnace
P lantation
kUnion
Compiled from num erous l o u r e s s
74*
58
Adjacent to one of the la rg est p lains areas within the High
lands, Whippany became the focus of regional settlement u n til the mid
eighteenth century. The Whippany River and i t s tr ib u ta rie s furnished
access to lands within the Passaic Range and to portions of the High
Bridge Valley. Crude roads led across the drift-covered Morris p la ins.
Enticed by the prospect of open lands, additional s e tt le rs journeyed
from New England, New York, and Burlington, to join those from Newark
and Elizabeth. Land was touted fo r i t s a b ility to sustain iron making
and ag ricu ltu re . ^ Several forges were erected prim arily to r id the1 ^area of surplus wood and to provide local faimers with implements.
Shortly the reafte r, agriculture surpassed iron making as the region's
p rincipal occupation. The landscape had undergone extensive tran s
formation. Houses and bams were of English sty le ; meadows were in
English grass; and flax , com, and orchards occupied the f i e ld s .^
Other pioneers began to descend on the Highlands--north and
south. Welsh and Scotch-Irish folk from East Jersey journeyed along
the Wanaque and Pequannock valleys to reach trac ts of land purchased1 7expressly fo r the purpose of developing ironworks, and were followed
by a few se ttle rs in ten t on clearing land fo r agriculture.
The h i l l s of the Eastern Highlands amply furnished raw m aterials
fo r iron making; nevertheless, rugged te rra in iso lated the small groups
of pioneers. Often, provisions and iron products had to be carried by
men because i t was " . . . Impossible for a horse to follow Over the
vast h i l l s .
From the ou tset, manufactories encountered d if f ic u lt ie s in
th a t the sparse population provided l i t t l e or no local market fo r iron.
59
Roads had to be constructed in order to f a c i l i ta te the transport of
iron to regions outside the Highlands. Old Indian pathways were
converted in to roads by cutting back the trees to allow passage of
horses, mules, or wagons (Fig. 19). T raffic moved northward through
the Ramapo Valley and southward to Aquackanorik Landing (Passaic), v ia
Pampton and Wanaque (Plate V).
The southern invasions came from Europe and Pennsylvania by
way of the Delaware River and i t s tr ib u ta r ie s , ch iefly the Musconetcong
River. Lying south of the terminal moraine, the landscape presented an
environment conducive to iron manufacturing, while also being
regarded as " . . . exceeding f e r t i le fo r Grain or any Thing else that
may or w ill be sown or planted therein.
Commencing with the founding of Oxford Furnace in 1742,20
men of diverse sk il ls were a ttrac ted to lands near the newly established
ironworks. C olliers, lumbermen, farmers, and tradesmen of English,
Welsh, German, and Scotch-Irish heritage found places in communities9 *i
springing up around the manufactories. Primarily due to the introduction
of the iron industry, population in the, southern Highlands almost doubled
between 1738 and 1745.22
So fam iliar did these iron communities become th a t land
advertisements often mentioned them, although they usually had l i t t l e
to do with the place being described:
The f i r s t Tract lie s about two Miles from Oxford Furnace . . . containing near 300 Acres of Land, being noted fo r the best place to raise Stock of any in tha t County, having upwards of 100 Acres of drained Meadow already made on the Premises, and great Part thereof fine Timothy and Clover Grass, besides other improvements, and sundry Advantages which are natural to th a t Place. . . .23
PLATE V60
45 ' 30 '
New York-New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
Transportation Patterns
Roads (1778)
A dd itiona l Roads (1800)
• • • • • • Turnpikes (1828)
h—i—i- Railroads (I86 0 )
Compiled from numerous sources
61
The natural a ff in ity of furnace and forge led to the founding
of a c lu s te r of small fin e ries and chaferies around some prominent
furnace. For example, Oxford was instrumental in establishing forges
a t Changewater, Greenwich, and Chelsea (Plate IV).
A flourishing trade arose as the furnace supplied pig iron
necessary fo r operation of the forge. Additional trading ac tiv ity was
generated between manufactory and local inhabitants as well as between
manufactory and peripheral market c i t ie s .
Farmers found settlement near ironworks advantageous " . . . on
Account [of] the g reat Numer [sic] of People employ'd a t the Iron Works
. . . there is generally as good a Market fo r Grain, and other Produce,
as a t N e w - Y o r k . I n exchange, the manufactories provided u te n s ils ,
chimney backs, n a ils , and sundry other products. An advertisement in
the New Jersey Journal offered fo r sale:
Scythes, n a ils , po ts, k e ttle s , griddles, and-irons, smoothing-irons, morters [s ic ] , cart and wagon boxes, six and ten p la te stoves, weights, e tc . 25
Iron and iron products not consumed locally were transported
overland to the Delaware River fo r shipment to Philadelphia and to
markets in England. At Oxford, Jonathan Robeson also claimed some trade
with New York, c itin g " . . . the p rice and carriage of iron . . . being
about the same." Lewis Evans gave a ra te of twenty sh illings per ton
fo r pig iron shipped down the Delaware River to Philadelphia in 1755.2?
Pig iron then brought about L4 per ton a t the marketplace.
The extent of the annual tonnage and categorizing of the trade
cannot be ascertained with any degree of f in a li ty . Few Jersey ports
handled Highlands iron. Moreover,. the principal c i t ie s of New York and
Philadelphia seldom specified the orig in of the iron shipments.
62
By the mid-eighteenth century, the Highlands manufactories
began to grow and spread rapidly. Impetus was furnished by the newly
opened duty-free English market, the needs of a growing local population,
demands for iron in other colonies, and by the Revolutionary War. Soon
the charcoal iron industry would reach in to every secto r of the study
area.
As the most accessible fo rests were cleared fo r towns and farm
steads or converted in to charcoal fo r the iron manufactories, ironmasters
were forced to seek additional woodlands fo r the maintenance of th e ir
trade. The settlements and transportation networks, developed in
conjunction with e a r l ie r ironworks, became springboards fo r the penetration
of the Highlands in te r io r valleys and ridges. In evidence throughout the
industria l expansion was the concentration of major producing f a c i l i t ie s
in the headwaters regions of the larger streams and th e ir tr ib u ta rie s
(Plate V I).
A newly kindled in te re s t was taken in the iron poten tia ls of
the remote Western Highlands and in the Hudson Highlands. Early seven
teenth-century movements of Dutch, English, and Germans had brought
settlem ent only to the limestone K ittatinny Valley. The rugged, forested
slopes and s te r i le so ils of the neighboring ridges discouraged the
advances of a g r ic u ltu ra lis ts . ^8
Discovery of iron ore on unexploited lands encouraged the founding
of an iron community a t Andover by English in te re s ts from Philadelphia.
The plantation consisted of M . . . a n elegant Stone Dwelling-house,
Stables, Smith's Shop, Springhouse, and a Number of Outhouses fo r Workmen;
PLATE VI63
Forest of | B Deon
HIGHLANDS
Ringwood
•FranJilir
HBV R i^r / f# C h o rlo tle b u rfl'-s7> § L J^Pompton
^Woterloo
Charcoal Iron Manufactories
(1760-1800)
Morristown• Bloomery or Forge
■ Furnace 9 Plontation
Bloomsbury
Compiled from numerous sources
64
a large Coalhouse . . . also 5000 acres of well timbered Land to29acccmodate [sic] the Furnace. . . . "
Following a pattern established in the southern Highlands,
operation of the Andover manufactory was instrumental in a ttrac tin g
men to operate the foiges which were erected to refine Andover pig
metal. Merchants from the nearby K ittatinny Valley were eager to
market iron products and supply manufactories with necessary a r tic le s .
Farmers occupied and cultivated the Vernon and W allkill valleys. G rist-
and sawmills were b u ilt to serve ironworker and farmer alike.
Under certain circumstances iron maker and ag ric u ltu ra lis t
were one and the same. In a marshy valley , a dam might be erected
and waterwheels constructed fo r a small ironworks. Within a few years,
fom erly useless land was drained and cleared. Fields and meadows
replaced the manufactory and the fo rests which had previously clothed
the lower mountain slopes (Fig. 1).
In te res t in the Hudson Highlands was exemplified by the growth
and d is tribu tion of the population. Heretofore confined to Modna
Creek Valley and the lowland about Haverstraw and Goshen, the iron
industry provided a means of livelihood fo r s e ttle rs who wished to
occupy the bouldery, in fe r t i le valleys and steep-sided ridges. Over
a span of three decades, the numbers of inhabitants increased fourfold
in Orange County (Table '5). Roads were b u ilt to furnish access to the
markets of New York and to serve the local populace. Mich o f the
former t r a f f ic u til iz e d the Ramapo Valley or a road crossing the High
lands to Haverstraw on the Hudson River (Plate V).
65
TABLE 5
POPULATION OF HIGHLANDS COUNTIES FRCM 1745 TO 1790
Year Hunterdon Morris Bergen* Sussex** Orange***
1745 9,151 4,436 3,006 -----# ------
1746 ------ ------ ------ ------ 3,2681750 ------ ------ ------ 600 ------
1756 ------ ------ ------ ------ 4,8861772 15,605 11,535 ------ 9,229 ------
1776 ------ ------ ------ ------ 14,0621784 18,363 13,416 9,356 14,187 ------
1790 20,153 16,216 12,601 19,500 18,478
* Included Bergen and Passaic comities.** Included Warren and Sussex counties.
*** Included Orange and Rockland counties.# Indicates an absence of data fo r the year cited .
Source: Greene and Harrington, op. c i t . , pp .95-113.
66
An accurate determination of the number of ironworks active
during the la t te r h a lf of the eighteenth century is d if f ic u lt .
However, often forges and furnaces were so numerous th a t travelers
thought i t impossible to journey across the Highlands without meeting
some l i t t l e manufactory.30
A survey taken in 1784 credited New Jersey with eight furnaces
and seventy-nine forges engaged in iron manufacture, a majority of
which were in the Highlands.3 ̂ No figures were given fo r the Hudson
Highlands, although th is w rite r’s investigations show six furnaces and
seven forges active during the concluding decades o f the eighteenth
century. Jedidiah Morse in 1795 a ttrib u ted to Morris County 11. . .n o
less than seven rich iron mines, from which might be taken ore su ffic ien t
to supply the United States; and to work i t in to iron are two furnaces,
two ro llin g and s l i t t in g m ills , and about th ir ty forges, containing from*7 0
two to four f ire s each."0
The Highlands Landscape c. 1790
Almost a century of European exploitation and settlem ent had
profoundly a ltered the appearance of the study region. Bountiful
natural a ttribu tes--stream s, iron ore, and timber--had a ttrac ted iron
making even to the most remote segment of the area. The Highlands had
become, with eastern Pennsylvania and V irginia, one of the leading
regions of iron manufacture in North America.
Ironmasters of diverse origins se ttle d within the area. English,
Germans, and Scotch-Irish d irec t from Europe joined like groups freon
New England, West Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These folk , th e ir trade,
67
and th e ir cu ltu ra l heritage played a sign ifican t ro le in the evolution
of the Highlands landscape.
Laige tra c ts of land were taken up by iron makers to supply
charcoal and iron ore fo r the manufactories, to furnish food fo r men
and th e ir fam ilies, and to provide pasturage fo r animals. Requirements
fo r good charcoal-making land were summed up in the following statement
". . . about 2000 Acres of Woodland, the fa rth es t not more than two
Miles and an Half d istan t . . . most of i t well timbered. . . The
bulkiness of charcoal and i t s transportation over d if f ic u lt te rra in
influenced the distance from the ironworks as c ited above. Conifers
and broadleaf deciduous trees were used in making charcoal. The sprout
hardwoods were preferred fo r the consistent quality of the charcoal
produced and because the trees rejuvenated quickly--only f if te en or
twenty years' growth furnished another usable tre e .
One or more iron mines were usually found on lands adjacent to
the ironworks. Sustaining a furnace with a capacity of twenty tons^of
pig iron per week (500 tons per annum) necessitated the production of
a t le a s t twice tha t amount of iron ore. Few mines could furnish the
required ores singlehandedly. Hibernia Furnace, surrounded by several
good iron mines, was obliged to ca rt ore from mines many miles away to•Z.A
meet the demands of the b la s t furnace. Seldom, i f ever, were a l l
mines associated with a p a rticu la r manufactory operated simultaneously.
Closing of old mines and opening of new ones was merely a migration of
holes along a number of ore pods in a continuous ore deposit.
Small patches of meadow were cleared and drained as pasturage
fo r livestock. Cultivated p lo ts , or cabbage gardens, furnished food fo r
the ironworkers and th e ir fam ilies.
68
In view of the above land requirements, most iron communities
covered expanses encompassing 1500 to 5,000 acres or more.
Numerous opportunities fo r employment were afforded by the
ironworks to sk illed and unskilled laborers a like . Size and composition
of the work force varied considerably with the type of manufactory. A
fo u r-fire forge might employ as few as fo rty men; whereas, 183 were
needed to operate the S terling p lantation--including f if ty - f iv e wood
cu tte rs , th ir ty -f iv e furnace and forge workers, and eighteen ore and
charcoal hau lers . ^ Poor pay and poorer liv ing conditions resu lted in
a high desertion ra te and a perpetual shortage of laborers. Slaves had
been tr ie d in a few sm aller ironworks during the early years, but were
eliminated in favor of employing European indentured servants. Often
neighboring farmers and th e ir animal teams were contracted fo r hauling
in the w inter months.
The s itu a tio n was somewhat b e tte r fo r the sk illed worker.
Faced with a demand g reater than the supply, ironmasters offered
inducements such as b e tte r pay and more substan tia l housing to a t tra c t
the required fumaceman, founders, blacksmiths, carpenters, and the lik e .
A manager and a clerk were needed to oversee and account fo r the
operation of each forge and furnace.
Advertisements fo r a l l of the aforementioned positions appeared
regularly in local newspapers as well as those from New York and
Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War, the Mount Hope and Hibernia
en terprises sought service exemptions fo r between f if te e n and th ir ty
". . . Men such as are used to Wood cu tting , Coaling and Laborer
Suitable fo r Iron Works.
69
The constant depletion of n a tu ra l resources gave a somewhat
tran sito ry nature to the iron industry. An ever-increasing penetration
of the in te r io r valleys o f the study area resu lted from the abandonment
of e a r l ie r s i te s . Those, prim arily on the periphery of the Highlands
and in the more f e r t i l e and read ily accessible valleys, were replaced
by general ag ricu ltu re , m illing , lumbering, and town developments
(Fig. 20). As early as 1779, advertisements lik e the following in the
Pennsylvania Packet appeared:
One lo t of about one hundred and th ir ty acres. . . . I t includes a good stream, Pine Brook, with a very fine m ill dam, the remains of a bloomery forge and saw-mill, some good buildings and improved meadows and plowlands. . . .
By the turn of the centuiy, the only active ironworks in the
lower Musconetcong Valley, Greenwich and Changewater, were operating
in te rm itten tly . Much the same was occurring along the upper courses of
the Raritan and the lower reaches o f the Rockaway, Passaic, and Pequannock
rivers and th e ir tr ib u ta r ie s (Plate V I).
The iron industry was also responsible fo r several other extant
cu ltu ra l m anifestations. Dwellings associated with forges, furnaces,
and p lan tations d iffered widely with regard to mode of construction
and m aterials used. The d iv ersity of national origins represented by
ironworker and ironmaster resu lted in houses which expressed not only
cu ltu ra l heritage, but also local expediency o r individual fancy.
Rather crudely constructed homes of log, stone, or half-tim ber were
erected fo r the various and sundry laborers. More opulent dwellings
of sim ilar m aterials or frame construction were occupied by the iro n
master or manager.
70
Perusal of contemporary m ateria ls , especia lly newspaper
advertisements, netted few worthwhile descriptions of houses associated
with ironworks. An advertisement fo r the sa le of Chelsea Forge, s ta ffed
and operated primarily, by English and Scotch-Irish fo lk , noted:
. . . three convenient dwelling-houses, one of which is stone, two s to rie s high, w ith firep lacesa t each end . . . the other two of frame andsquare logs well fin ished with convenient f i r e places . . . and a number of log-houses su ffic ien t fo r accommodating the hands necessary fo r carrying on the works. . . .
A drawing of an old dwelling a t Hibernia depicts a one and one-half39story log house with a projecting roof and a gable-end chimney.
Although the basic plan is German in orig in , Wacker believes English
influence brought about the su b stitu tio n o f a gable-end chimney fo r
the cen tral one preferred by the Germans.^0 Culture heritage might
explain the presence of the house type in northern Morris County, fo r
German and English fo lk worked several iron manufactories in the
v ic in ity of Hibernia. At Andover, with plenty of good limestone to be
had fo r building, the tenant houses were constructed su b stan tia lly of
stone.
The overseer's house was well constructed, commodious, and
furnished with items purchased in New York, Philadelphia, or Europe.
Other than bigness, each manor house was unique and did not represent
a specific heritage. Rather, plan and construction were d ic ta ted by
contemporary fashion .
As ironworks and appurtenant settlem ent pushed in to the High
lands in te r io r , they were followed by a marked increase in the number
and density of roads (Plate V). The nature of iron making often separated
i
71
manufactories from the markets and each other. Furnaces were iso la ted
by the thousands of acres of woodland needed fo r charcoal. Operators
of f in e rie s and chaferies, in an attempt to o ffse t high manufacturing
costs with low d istribu tion expenses, chose riverine s ite s near e ith e r
market or transport, not near the furnace. Old Indian t r a i l s gave
way to many miles of ungraded, stum p-filled tracks traveled by pack-
horses and carts . Good wagon roads were found exclusively near the
older and most populous settlem ents. Cheap water transportation was
furnished by the Delaware, Hudson, Passaic, and Raritan riv e rs , but
only a f te r an arduous overland journey. Elizabeth, Newark, Aquackanonk,
New Brunswick, Trenton, and Morristown emerged as trading centers for
the iron communities. New York and Philadelphia continued to represent
Highlands iron in foreign commerce.
Early settlement of the Highlands had established a pattern
fo r the en tire eighteenth century. The f e r t i le so ils and:.moderate
r e l ie f of the southern Highlands were more conducive to settlement than
the rugged, g laciated northern portion. A griculture, lumbering, and
m illing amply met the needs of the greater population density. Often
these occupations offered employment to persons displaced by the fa ilu re
or removal of ironworks. Forgemen, miners, and c o llie rs were encouraged
to cu ltiva te the land u n ti l conditions permitted resto ration of the
manufactories.
A comparison of the growing Highlands population from 1745 to
1790 can be found in Table 5. The growth of Morris, Sussex, and Orange
counties paralle led the r ise of iron working in those regions. Neverthe
le ss , only Morris County lay predominantly within the study region; thus,
most figures include population growth in areas adjacent to the Highlands.
72
Early maps by Evans, Faden, Sotzmann, and an unknown author,
available a t the New Jersey H isto rical Society and the New York
H isto rica l Society, confiim the uneven cu ltu ra l development w ithin
the H i g h l a n d s . Numerous roads'and a ra th er large number o f s e t t l e
ments appeared south of the term inal moraine. Many of the communities
were d irec tly a ttrib u tab le to the iron industry. Others were trading
centers or ag ricu ltu ra l v illag es anc illa ry to the industry. Consequently,
i t was the unglaciated, f e r t i l e , and easily accessible areas of the
southern Highlands th a t conformed most s trik in g ly to the settlem ent
succession described by Coxe and Gordon (see page 54).
In contrast to a l l the a c tiv ity in the southern Highlands,
many northern regions continued to r e s is t hab itation . The demise of
iron manufactories did not re su lt in ag ricu ltu ra l settlem ent. More
often than not, abandonment o f an ironworks led to a general depopulation
of the surrounding lands. Poor so ils of g lac ia l o rig in , rugged te rra in ,
and inadequate transport combined to in h ib it the a rea’s growth. The
Ramapos, especially , witnessed a sm aller population increase and less
movement into the region than did any other segment of the Highlands.
The only appreciable c lu ste rs of people were situ a ted in ce rta in favored
valleys or near the sca tte red ironworks. Chastellux observed th a t, as
he proceeded in to the mountains north of Ringwood, he was to " . . .
plunge in to the woods by a road with which nobody was too well acquainted.
The country I was to pass through, ca lled ’the Clove,' i s extremely wild,
and was scarc ily [sic] known before the war. . .
Maps also provide evidence of the rich heritage o f place names
a ttrib u tab le to the iron industry. Succasunna and Irondale were prominent
73
mine s i te s . Mount Hope, Ringwood, Andover, and Hibernia were among
the several iron p lan tations. Oxford, Franklin, Changewater, and
Greenwich denoted forge and furnace establishments which endured.
A fter the disappearance of the iron industry, the aforementioned
settlem ents and many more continued to dot the Highlands landscape.
Perhaps the g rea tes t change wrought by the charcoal iron industry
was in re la tio n to the extent and condition of the fo re s t cover. In
Europe, the use of charcoal fo r making iron had led to a la ige-scale
devastation of fo re s ts . Leading in d u stria l nations, such as England,
re s tr ic te d the use of woodlands fo r smelting. Upon coming to the High
lands, the ironmaster was struck by the expanse of timber which seemed,
fo r a time, a lim itle ss supply of fuel fo r maintenance of a manufactory.
Taking t i t l e to a l l accessible fo re s t lands, the ironworker usually
. rendered [them] almost useless to anybody e lse . . .
The practice of cu tting o ff the fo re s t cover was fraught with
danger and some travelers expressed doubt as to the pemanence of the
Highlands iron industry. One such description:
The business of the mines and foundries, in New Jersey as well as throughout America, cannot be said to be on as f im a basis as in most parts o f Europe, because nobody is concerned about fo rest preservation, and without an uninterrupted supply of fuel and timber, many works must go to ru in , as indeed has already been the case here and there . Not the le a s t economy is observed [in] regard to fo re s ts . The owners of furnaces and foundries possess fo r the most p a rt g reat tra c ts of appurtenant woods, which are cu t-o ff however, without system or order . . . the Union, a high furnace in New Jersey exhausted a fo rest of nearly 20,000 acres in about twelve or f if te e n years, and the works had to be abandoned fo r lack of w o o d .44
I t had been widely held th a t 20,000 acres of woodland was
required to keep a furnace operating in d efin ite ly . However, improper
74
management, increased manufactory production, and a variable growth
ra te among fo re s t species contributed to the u n re lia b ili ty of th is
estim ate.
The immense quan tities of charcoal needed by the never-sa tia ted
ironworks contributed much to the elim ination of the more desirable
hardwoods or permanently a lte red the n a tu ra l fo re s t composition through
repeated cuttings. P ersisten t use of the same s ite s fo r charcoal making
permanently damaged so il f e r t i l i t y and resu lted in numerous s te r i le
spots which supported l i t t l e or no p lan t l i f e fo r several decades.
Iron making also provided several secondary agents o f change:
f ire s orig inating from sparks emitted by furnaces and forges or from
smoldering charcoal p i ts ; drainage of wet lands; creation of meadows;
browsing a c tiv itie s of domestic animals; and logging of pine, and red
cedar to meet the needs of local construction.
By the dawn of the nineteenth century, much of the fo re s t cover
had been a l l but o b lite ra ted in several areas. W allkill Valley, Modna
Creek Valley, and the limestone sectors of the southern Highlands were
prime examples. Somewhat less denuded were the gentle slopes and p la ins
areas from Mendham to Dover. Extent of the vegetation cover on the
ridges changed l i t t l e from precolonial times; nevertheless, the ecological
composition had been disturbed. The contrast between se ttle d and un
se ttle d regions was qu ite marked, and described thusly:
Behind these rocks [the Hudson shoreline] are ranges of enormous mountains which extend fa r in to the country, and are covered with track less fo re s ts . In other places . . . foim beau tifu l l i t t l e valleys . . . which terminate a t the base of lo fty mountains. The country thus gently undulated is covered with rich faims, p lan tations, orchards, and gardens, and studded with neat and handsome dwelling-houses.
75
NOTES
1. Dorothy Cross, Archeology of New Jersey . 2 vols. (Trenton:Archaeological Society of New Jersey and New Jersey S tate Museum, 1941 and 1956); William A. R itchie, The Archaeology of New York S tate(Garden City, N.Y.: The Natural H istory Press, 196S').
2. Charles Clinton, Cheescock's Patent ("The Marble Book")MSS, County C lerk 's O ffice, p. 93.
3. Cf. The Pennsylvania Gazette, February 11-18, 1734, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t S eries, XI (1704- 1739); Clinton, op. c i t . , p. 107.
4. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Third Census of the United S ta te s , p. xxxii and Gordon, op. c i t . , p. 185.
5. E.B. O’Callaghan, e d ., Documents Relative to the Colonial H istory o f the S tate of New York (Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company,1853-87), V, 283.
6. The American Weekly Mercury, August 20-27, 1724, quoted in Nelson, op. c i t . , 82.
7. Clinton, op. c i t . , p. 9 ff.
8. L e tte r from Governor Hunter o f New York to the Lords of Trade and P lantations, July 24, 1710, quoted in O'Callaghan, op. c i t . ,V, 167.
9. Representation o f the Lords Commissioners fo r Trade and P lantations to the King upon the S tate of His M ajesties Colonies and P lantations on the Continent of North America, September 8, 1721, quoted in Ib id . , V, 601.
10. Clinton, op. c i t . , pp. 323, 331.
11. The New York Mercury, March 26, 1764, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F ir s t S eries, XXIV (1762-1765), 339.
12. Severed, secondary sources give a date of 1710 fo r th is event. The published journal of John Reading, a surveyor, indicates the presence o f numerous ag ricu ltu ra l settlem ents; nevertheless, he saw no ironworks and had not heard of any in operation during the early summer of 1715. "Copy of Journal of . . . Reading While Surveying Lands in the Northern Part of New Jersey, April 17th to June 10th, 1715," Proceedings of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, 3rd Series, X (1915), JSE T. ----------------- -------------------------
76
13. Reading's journal of May 16, 1715, carried the notation:"We crossed over Sukkasuning where some gathered iro n st6ne." Ib id . , p. 39.
14. Typical of the advertisements were the following:
. . . hath on i t a veiy good Iron Mine, and is well acccmmodated with Streams of Water, one o f which is near the said Mine, f i t to se t a Furnace on, and the other Streams are su itable fo r Finories [ s ic ] . The Pennsylvania G azette,February 23 - March 4, 1730, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F ir s t Series,XI (1704-1739], 237.
A Tract of Good Land, divided by Whippany River, containing Twelve Hundred and Eleven Acres . . . i t i s a square Tract, and good Gripper on both sides the River fo r Meadow, and lie s w ithin h a lf a Mile of the Iron-Works. The New-York Gazette, August 26, 1734, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F ir s t Series, XI (1704- 1739), 353-354.
15. Ed Thompson, personal coranunication.
16. The New-York Gazette, A pril 3, 1732, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XI (1704-1739), 276.
17. Mr. James Noiman o f Newfoundland, New Jersey, mentions a map made p r io r to 1740 which shows a furnace near Bloomingdale, a few miles upstream from Pompton, on the Pequannock River. Personal in te r view. However, th is w rite r could find no other evidence o f i t s existence or operation.
18. Clinton, op. c i t . , p. 14.
19. Pennsylvania G azette, January 6, 1763, quoted in WilliamNelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives', F irs t S eries, XXIV (1762-1765), 122.
20. Boyer, op. c i t . , p. 148.
21. For a detailed study of the Musconetcong Valley, see: Wacker,The Musconetcong Valley of New Jersey: A H isto rical Geography.
22. Evarts B. Greene and V irginia D. Harrington, M ericanPopulation Before the Federal Census of 1790 (New York: ColumbiaU niversity Press, 1932), pp. 109-113.
23. Pennsylvania G azette, February 25, 1762, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives", F irs t S eries, XXIV (1762-1765), 12-13.
77
24. The New York Gazette, March 7, 1763, quoted In William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXIV (1762-1765), 145.
25. June 22, 1779, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New JerseyArchives, Second Series, I II (1779), 460.
26. Pennsylvania Gazette, January 29, 1756, quoted in William Nelson, ed ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XX (1756-1761), 1-3.
27. Lawrence H. Gipson, Lewis Evans (Philadelphia: H istoricalSociety of Pennsylvania, 1939), pp. 164-165. The "Durham” boat was instrumental in early transportation on the Delaware River. F irs t used in connection with Durham Furnace, Lane gives an excellent description of these vessels, th e ir cap ab ilitie s , and eventual d is trib u tion . Wheaton J . Lane, From Indian T rail to Iron Horse — Travel and Transportation in New Jersey 1620-1860 (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1939), pp. 68-70.
28. Lewis Evans' 1755 map of the Middle Colonies showed several settlements between what is now Newton, New Jersey, and Goshen, New York, but none in the adjacent Highlands. Gipson, Lewis Evans, P late VI.
29. Pennsylvania Gazette, October 4, 1770, quoted in Boyer,op. c i t . , p. 27. The use of stone as a building m aterial was ch arac te ris tic of th is segment of the Highlands.
30. Bishop, op. c i t . , I , 550.
31. Ib id . , I , 550.
32. The American Universal Geography (Boston: J.T. Buckingham,1805), I , 519.
33. The Pennsylvania Gazette, May 16, 1765, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXIV (1762-1765),527-528.
34. L etter dated March 9, 1786, from Captain George Ross to John Jacob Faesch. Ford Collection, Box 1, MSS, National Park Service, Morristown National H istorical Park. I t mentioned th a t Col. Samuel Ogden supplied Hibernia Furnace with 700 tons of ore from the Ogden Mine in Sussex County, about twelve miles from the furnace.
35. For a complete ro ste r of the positions a t S terling , see:Calendar of H istorical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution (New York: State of New York, 1868), I I , 69.
36. L etter Book of Joseph and Charles Hoff—-March 10, 1755 to July 10, 1778, MSS, National Park Service, Morristown, National H istorical Park.
78
37. July 31, 1779, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New JerseyArchives, Second S eries, I I I (1779), 535.
38. New Jersey G azette, A pril 5, 1780, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives7~Second Series, IV (1779-1780), 286-287.
39. "A rtist-L ife in the Highlands, The Iron Region of New Jersey ," Harper's New Monthly Magazine XX (1860), 584.
40. "The Log House in New Jersey" (Paper prepared fo r theGeneral Session in Cultural Geography, Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Toronto, Canada, August, 1966).
41. Gipson, Lewis Evans, Plates I I and I I I ; William Faden, The Province of New Jersey, Divided in to East and West, Cammonly ca lled The Jerseys (Charing Cross: Win. Faden, 1777); D.F. Sotzmann, Map ofNew Jersey (Hamburg: Carl Ernst Bohn, 1797); D.F. Sotzmann, Map of New York (Hamburg: Carl Ernst Bohn, 1799); Pensylvania, Nova Jersey e tNova York cum regionibus ad Fluvium Delaware in America s i t i s (Vienna: Conrad L otter, 1748).
42. Francois Jean de Chastellux, Travels in North America in the Years 1780-81-82, tran s . Howard C. Rice, J r . , (Chapel H ill: U niversity of North Carolina P ress, 1962), I , 187.
43. William Roome, The Early Days and Early Surveys of East New Jersey (Morristown: Journeyman Press, 1883), p. 42.
44. John David Schoepf, Travels in the Confederation (1783-84), tran s. Alfred J . Morrison (Philadelphia: William J . Campbell, 1911),I , 36-37.
45. John Lambert, Travels Through Canada and the United States of North America (3rd ed ition ,' London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Jay,1816), I I , 44-45.
CHAPTER V
RINGWOOD: AN IRON PLANTATION
Perhaps the most important contribution of the era of charcoal
iron was development of the iron p lantation or iron manor. Seemingly
of English orig in , these large and often financially able enterprises
had been part of American iron making since the seventeenth-century
founding of Saugus. Dispersal of iron manufacture along the eastern
seaboard introduced the manor to southern New Jersey, Maryland, and
V irginia. Later and more permanent plantations were established in
Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and New York.
Several iron communities were found scattered throughout the
Highlands during the eighteenth century (Plate V I). All were sim ilar
in morphology and function; however, each was unique in time and place.
The regional contributions of Andover and S terling have been alluded to
in a previous chapter. Ringwood has been chosen fo r a more detailed
investigation because of the scope of i t s commercial en terprise , the
changes i t wrought on the land, and the role i t played in se ttlin g a
segment of the northern Highlands. I t exerted an influence on the
cu ltu ra l and physical landscape which remained long a f te r technological
evolution brought a h a lt to iron manufacture in the Highlands.
79
80
Physical Setting
Situated w ithin the meager valley of Ringwood Creek, a
tr ib u ta ry of Wanaque River, Ringwood p lan tation occupied a large
portion of the Ramapo Mountain region along the New York-New Jersey
border (Plate I ) . Doninated by broad, forest-covered masses of gneiss,
whose dissected summits a tta in elevations of 800 to 1000 fe e t, the land
contributes much to a feeling of remoteness and iso la tio n .
A ch a rac te ris tic of the Passaic Range, of which Ramapo
Mountain is a p a r t, is a decided southwesterly slope. Drainage is
oriented toward a ra th er narrow longitudinal valley occupied by the
Wanaque River.
A predominantly broadleaf deciduous fo re s t covers much of the
h ills id e s and summits about Ringwood, as well as the less favored
sections of the tr ib u ta ry valleys. Interspersed among the various
species of hardwoods are small stands of coniferous types such as
pine, red cedar, and hemlock. The fo re s t floo r consists of l i t t e r ,
flowers, ferns, and grasses. Ferns, mosses, woody shrubs, and mountain
lau re l cover the steeper slopes. Patches of bare country rock are
also v is ib le .
Scattered throughout are swamps and natural wet meadows.
These re su lt from inadequate or disrupted drainage due to the d iffe re n tia l
resistance of local rocks to Pleistocene g lac ia tion or to accumulations
of g la c ia l debris.
Soils are ch a rac te ris tic a lly acid, rocky, exhibit shallow
p ro f ile s , and have been adversely affected by drainage conditions.
G laciation produced stony conditions almost equal to those found in
New England. D rif t is not too deep, except in the valleys, The steeper
85-
slopes are covered with th in layers of so il or none a t a l l . The region
has l i t t l e p o ten tia l fo r the a g r ic u ltu ra lis t. Those who have tr ie d
never stayed too long.
H isto rica l Background
I l l - s u i te d to even the most rudimentary type of cu ltiv a tio n ,
the s te r i le s o ils and rugged te rra in offered few inducements to s e t t l e
ment. Shunned by Indians, except fo r infrequent hunting and fish ing
expeditions, and circumvented by early European invaders, the region
could claim no permanent residents u n ti l Cornelius Board established an
ironworks about 1735. Shortly th e rea fte r, several forges were founded
on Ringwood Creek below S terling Lake,-'- and a furnace was erected by
the Ogden family of Newark. A few ag r ic u ltu ra lis ts took up the
natu ra l meadows and swamplands adjacent to the manufactories. The
early s e t t le r s , mainly from the B ritish Is le s , numbered only about two
dozen fam ilies.
Prim itive conditions proved too d if f ic u l t fo r a small manufactory
to overcome. The diminutive market provided by the local populace was
unable to su sta in even a few ironworks. The s itu a tio n was only somewhat
relieved by periodic shipments o f iron over almost nonexistent roads
to Aquackanonk Landing fo r sa le to merchants in Newark, E lizabeth,
and New York. ̂ Although numerous mines were opened, fo re s ts claimed
fo r timber and charcoal, and several permanent dwellings erected, the
Ogdens and th e ir neighbors soon abandoned the lands or offered them fo r
sa le .
The response of Peter Hasenclever, a German liv ing in England,
to the Ogdens1 advertisement heralded the advent of one of the most
82
outstanding developments in the in d u s tria l u ti l iz a tio n of the Highlands.
Spearheaded by Hasenclever and severa1 wealthy acquaintances, the
American Company was formed in order to ". . . exp lo it land in the
American Colonies fo r the production of pig iron , hemp, potash and
other useful i t e m s . ' I n addition to the Ogden t r a c t and surrounding
lands, t i t l e was secured to areas elsewhere in New Jersey and New York.**
P lan tation Components
As viewed by Peter Hasenclever in 1765, the Ringwood area was
" . . . a new, w ild and th in ly-inhabited country . . . and was
described by representatives of the East Jersey proprie tors thusly:
We find the land exceedingly rocky and mountainous. The mountains appear to be almost inaccessible along the r iv e r , some of them bare o f timber, others well timbered. In the whole t r a c t we viewed we saw but two small pieces of swamp which were both taken up, and in the whole there did not appear to be f i f ty acres of plow land. . . . From the place we entered upon th is view fo r near three miles we could not trav e l along the edge of the r iv e r , the mountains on both sides being so rocky and steep th a t i t was impossible to climb them. . . . In our opinion the land is e n tire ly u n f it fo r any purpose but th a t Mr. H. proposed to employ i t in . . . J
Development of the Ringwood p lan ta tion rested on refurbishing
i t s most p ivo ta l fea tu re --th e Ogden furnace.® Hasenclever introduced
several changes which aided in i t s operating efficiency . The ex te rio r
country rock and the furnace capacity of 700 tons of pig iron per annum
were not a lte red . However, s la te was substitu ted for country rock as
the refrac to ry lin in g , prolonging the b la s t period, and a roof was b u i l t
over the furnace, shielding men and equipment from wind and water.
83
Four forges with eleven f ire s (chafery and finery) and six
hammers were erected w ithin three miles of the furnace (Fig. 21).
The forges processed pigs in to bars by the usual method. Housed in a
building eighty by fo rty -fiv e fe e t, four f ire s could produce 250 to 350
tons of bar iron annually.
Hasenclever also in s ta lle d a stamping m ill which reprocessed10furnace and forge cinders, separating usable metal from the slag .
No data are available on the amount of iron recovered in th is manner;
nevertheless, since the m ill was common in conjunction with la te r
furnaces, savings must have been considerable.
Several ore bodies were opened to augment those worked in
previous years. By the Revolutionary War, a t le a s t eight mines were
operative, yielding ores of six ty to seventy percent iron. Additional
p i ts were abandoned because they ". . . abounded in sulphur or copper,
or had q u a litie s which rendered the goodness of the ore dubious.
Power necessary fo r the operation of the furnace, forges,
stamping m ill, and other p lan tation a c tiv itie s was furnished by water
from the nearby Ringwood Creek. Dependence on th is energy source
proved to be a nuisance a t several times in the year. Winter ice
choked the waterwheels, v ir tu a lly halting a l l a c tiv i t ie s ; spring floods
were responsible fo r damage to equipment every year; and summer drought
d ra s tic a lly reduced the supply of water ju s t When demand was a t i t s peak.
To a llev ia te the th rea t of flood, a small raceway diverted
water from the r iv e r to the furnace area, providing some measure of
pro tection fo r the ironworks. The low summer water level was corrected
84
by the creation of a large reservoir and canal described thusly:
This Reservoir is a pond called Toxito [Tuxedo] pond, is about three miles long, and near one mile broad; i t formerly emptied i t s e l f into Ramopough [Ramapo] River, but by an immense dam of 860 fee t long, and from 12 to 22 fee t high, the natural out le t is stopped up, and the water raised to such a height, as to take i t s course with a head of ten fee t high, into a long canal, which conducts into the Ringwood R i v e r . 12
Houses, outbuildings, and stores were in ample supply on the
p lantation (Plate V II). Such buildings were usually constructed simply
and economically by the manor overseer. Native m aterials were always
used. Colliers were housed in small ten t-lik e structures of sticks and
clay or one-room log cabins (Fig. 22). The la t te r consisted of logs
notched and caulked with clay, earth and brush p iled around the outside
of the foundation, and an earthen floor inside. Roofing m aterials
often were tree bark or shingles s p l i t from oaks and p ines. Doors
were hung without hinges and windows were unglazed.
The miners, forge- and fumacemen, and other personnel lived
in more peimanent structu res. The e a r l ie s t dwellings were probably
of log; although cottages of stone, squared logs, and frame f i l le d
in with brick and clay la te r gave peimanence to the iron manor (Fig. 23).
A small garden of one to five acres adjoined each house.
The most imposing house was tha t of the ironmaster. S ituated
on a small r ise overlooking the p lan tation , and constructed of timber,
stone, and p la s te r , i t presented a unique sight to travelers in the area
(Fig. 24). The house was commodious, with large rooms, wide hallways,
and open firep laces. Furnishings contrasted shaiply with those in
neighboring dwellings, often having been imported from Europe. Well-
85
Plate v ii
P a ti r X
RIN G W O O D M A N O R
FURNACE AND MINE AREA
Swamp
IlSti: Meadow
■ y /. O rchard
X Mina
R acew ay
— R oad
■ Dwelling
a Building
• Forge
A Furnace
86
cared-for gardens surrounded the house and completed the scene. I t
was a f i t t in g se ttin g fo r the social l i f e of the manor.
Bams, s tab les , and a small blacksm ith's forge were provided
fo r the horses, cows, oxen, and other animals. Storehouses, a smoke
house, a g r is tm ill, and a sawmill furnished goods consumed by the
p lan tation personnel. A combination general store and inn, run by
the ironmaster, schoolhouse and/or church, and a n o t-to o -d is tan t tavern
were also p a rt of the iso la ted ccmmunity (Figs. 25 and 26).
The lands surrounding the manor were used by farmers and woodsmen
who were employed by the ironmaster or who rented th e ir lands from
him. Individual faims contained twenty-five to th ir ty acres. Grains,
prim arily buckwheat and com, were the major crops. Ancillary to the
farmlands and equally important was the acreage in meadows. Improved
pastures were derived from swamps and bogs cleared and drained a t no
small expense (Plate V II). However, the need fo r extensive charcoal-
producing woodlands confined cu ltiva ted and improved land to three or
four percent of the e s ta te 's 10,000 acres.
The lack of substan tia l European or Indian settlem ent on the
surrounding lands forced the American Company to re ly heavily on imported,
indentured labor. In order to operate the furnace, forges, mines, and
m ills as well as make charcoal and ca rt ore, Hasenclever a ttra c te d many
Germans, English, and S co tc h -Ir ish .^ A check o f surnames in 1780
revealed a s ix ty -fo rty balance in favor of workers from the B ritish
I s le s . Prim itive surroundings and the ra th e r harsh nature of the work
soon drove many to desert and almost every issue of the newspapers carried
87
notices asking fo r the return of runaway laborers and advertisements
fo r new workers, frequently with th is appended; "Those who are Germans,
or who can work in the German way, sh a ll be preferred. Although
schooled in basically the same methods of iron manufacture, German forge-
and fumacement. employed techniques . . d iffe ren t from th a t of
England, and [which seemed] to be attended with g reater dispatch and
saving of fewel [ s ic ] ." ^
H o s tilitie s of the Revolutionary War greatly diminished the
p o ten tia l labor supply. Negroes and captured Hessian soldiers were
employed to perform the most unpleasant and unskilled tasks.
Industria l ac tiv ity stimulated the building of roads. A few
poorly constructed roads had been used in conjunction with e a r l ie r
ironworks; however, such roads proved incapable of carrying the commerce
of the much larger Ringwood en terprise. Glacial debris and the rugged
topography made road building tiresome, laborious, and expensive.
Numerous wetlands and small creeks had to be bridged with timber.
After extensive rains or during spring floods, most roads were impassable.
Dust frequently made travel unpleasant in the summer months.
Within ten years of i t s founding, Ringwood was connected v ia
land carriage to American Company properties a t Charlotteburg and Long
Pond, as well as to ship landings a t Haverstraw, Aquackanonk, and
Hackensack. From the la t te r poin ts, goods were then sent by water to
New York, Newark, and Elizabeth. Over th is network moved the trade
fo r which Ringwood--indeed a l l iron manufactories--was the focus: beef,
pork, flou r, grain , and hay from neighboring faims; clothing, u ten s ils ,
liquor--especially rum and brandy--and sundry items from England and
88
the West Indies; and iron products from the manor. Within the
p lan tation i t s e l f , additional roads of three to eight miles in length
were necessary fo r transporting provisions, charcoal, iron ore, and
pig iron (Plate V II). The bulk o f the t r a f f i c consisted of oxcarts,
horse-drawn wagons and carriages, and riders on horseback.
Iron Making a t Ringwood
The manufacture of iron was the sole function of Ringwood
Manor from i t s establishment by Hasenclever in 1765, u n t i l the mid-
nineteenth century. Ringwood*s forges and furnace worked only as
charcoal manufactories.
All raw m aterials fo r making iron were available on the
p lan tation lands. Iron ore came from several mines, notably the Good
Hope, Peter, Hard, and Keeler (Caler) p i ts (Plate V II) . Loosened by
black powder and hand to o ls , the ore was loaded in to ca rts and wagons
fo r the short journey over cleared pathways to the furnace (Fig. 27).
Charcoal burning was performed a t several locations in the surrounding
woodlands. Limestone was supplied by numerous outcroppings or gathered
as boulders from the g la c ia l t i l l .
Once assembled a t the furnace, successive layers of fue l,
iron ore, and flux were taken across the chaining bridge of the furnace.
Based on an average production of twenty-five tons of pig metal per
week, each ton required approximately 250 bushels of charcoal, two to
three tons of ore, and 500 pounds of limestone. Total cost of the
m aterials p rio r to the Revolution was about L3. Labor, transporta tion ,
and incidental expenses accounted fo r another L3 or L4. Between 1774
89
and 1776, pig iron brought L8.7 per ton a t the market.-*^ Cast-iron
a r tic le s of almost every descrip tion were made available fo r sa le in20markets as d is tan t as South Carolina. ~
Pig iron not offered fo r sale was converted into bar iron by
Ringwood forges fo r shipment to England and the West Indies. The
refin ing process resu lted in a loss of th ir ty percent or more of pig
metal and increased charcoal requirements by f i f t y percent. Labor and
transport charges--from furnace to finery , finery to chafery, and
chafery to market--were also substan tia lly raised . Thus, Ringwood baron
iron sold fo r L28 to L30 per ton, a p rice which compared favorably (
with offerings elsewhere in the colonies. In 1776, the la s t fu l l year
of production before the Revolutionary War, almost 400 tons of bar iron
were sold in New York fo r Lll,206. From these sales the American
Company realized a p ro f it of L360,22 hardly worth a cap ita l expenditure
of almost 150,000 and the labor of 500 to 600 men.
The Demise of the P lantation
Following the end of h o s t i l i t ie s between England and America,
Ringwood and other colonial iron centers underwent a general decline.
Independence resu lted in the loss of America's major foreign iron
market. Forests became scarce and the p rice of charcoal rose to three
cents per pound. Labor became harder to find and higher priced. A
ton of ore, ra ised and carted to the furnace fo r about $1.50 in 1775,
now cost $2.00. Antiquated transporta tion networks increased charges
to $5.00 per ton on pig iron and more on bars. Finished bar iron cost
about $110 per ton (1810), versus a price of $80 per ton in 1790. More-
90
over, the new American nation neglected to impose adequate duties on
foreign iron, bringing a deluge of products from a resurgent English
iron industry to the eastern seaboard. ^
A fter several years of in te rm itten t and unprofitable operation,
Ringwood passed in to the hands of Martin Ryerson of Pomp ton. The
p la n ta tio n 's manufactories, mines, and fo rests were consolidated with
ironworks a t Wanaque, Pompton, and the newly erected charcoal furnace
a t nearby Long Pond (Fig. 28). Even though the arrangement brought
financial success, Ringwood Manor was never to sustain i t s e l f again.
The lands were f in a lly sold to Peter Cooper and Abram S. Hewitt of the
Trenton Iron Company which operated furnaces a t Phillipsburg and a
ro llin g m ill a t Trenton.
Approximately one hundred years of iron manufacture had greatly
a lte red the landscape of Ringwood and i t s environs. The focal point
of the manor--the furnace--was in ruins and had to be dismantled. Many
of the forges s t i l l operated, but charcoal technology was obsolete by
the 1850's. Iron mines, which had produced almost 500,000 tons of ore,
were converted from p its to sh a fts . Most mines were in good condition
and had large reserves of ore which could be exploited.
The old manor house had been tom down, as well as a g reat
many o f the workmen's cottages and log structu res around the old furnace
area. Many of the farms and pasture lands on the e s ta te had been
abandoned. Old f ie ld s of weeds, woody shrubs, and red cedar dotted
the land.
Human habitation , cu ltiv a tio n , and demands of the charcoal
iron industry resu lted in extensive removal of the Ringwood fo re s ts .
91
Streams ides and other lowlands were largely denuded, trees having been
replaced by grasses or crops. Repeated cutting over of the vegetation
stripped ridges of large-sized trees and induced locally heavy growths
of underbrush. Natural recovery had begun; however, by no means was
the extensive o rig in a l fo re s t cover to return .
The nineteenth century also brought a change in population
composition. As iron making f e l l upon hard times, many of the white
laborers sought other employment w ithin the Wanaque Valley or moved
to growing c i t ie s peripheral to the Highlands. Their places were taken
by Negroes or Jackson Whites. Descendants of the l a t t e r s t i l l inhabit
much of the land about the iron mines and nearby Hilbum, New York.
Iron Mining--The Final Stage
A large-scale rejuvenation of the Ringwood property was under
taken by the Trenton Iron Company. The old manor complex adjacent to
the ironworks on Ringwood Creek was abandoned and la te r dismantled.
Increased mining a c tiv ity accompanied the opening of several reconditioned
shafts . A company v illag e was erected in close proximity to the mines.
General sto res , church, tavern, and new clapboarded m ultistory or m ulti
family dwellings clustered about the area, evoking memories of the
defunct p lan tation era (Plate V III). Several new roads, and la te r a
ra ilro ad , were b u i l t to f a c i l i ta te the movement o f iron ore from the
Ringwood mines to market.
Development of the mining region was hampered by two chronic
problems--a lack of cheap transportation and foreign competition. Due
to the somewhat remote location in the northern Highlands, the Ringwood
properties had benefited l i t t l e from turnpikes or the Morris Canal.
\ 92
PLATE VIII
1000
F a it
RINGWOOD MANOR
(c. 1900)
■4- R ailroad
x Mine— R o ad
- - Unpaved Road
Dwelling
BuildingM eadow
Sw am p
93
Consequently, iron products and ore were s t i l l shipped to market in
horse- and ox-drawn wagons v ia eighteenth-century roads.
Upon taking over the Ringwood mines, Hewitt proposed th a t a
ra ilro ad be b u il t to Pompton from where iron ore could be freighted
on the Morris Canal to company furnaces a t Ph illipsburg . For an
unspecified reduction in canal to l ls (then seventy-five cents fre ig h t
and f i f ty cents to l l per ton fo r the journey), ore shipments of 25,000
tons annually were to be guaranteed by Hewitt. ^ The a lte rn a tiv e involved
erecting manufactories a t Ringwood and shipping finished iron products,
the cost of which would be p roh ib itive .
Unable to get a favorable ra te on the canal and not having
the cap ita l to construct a ra ilro ad , the Trenton Iron Company was
forced to c u r ta il mine operations. Subsequent e ffo rts to find an out
le t fo r transporting Ringwood ore ended in fa ilu re . Eventually a
ra ilroad was b u il t adjacent to the old roadway along the Wanaque River
and did carry iron ore to the canal. Nevertheless, in 1875, th is
development came too la te to keep most mines open. The Peter mine was
worked sporadically in to the twentieth century before i t ceased operations
completely (Fig. 29).
The only twentieth-century vestiges of Ringwood's foimer iron
en terprises are dilapidated company homes, some occupied by descendants
of miners (Fig. 30), mine shafts f i l l e d with water and overgrown with
brush, rusting mine machinery, cinder roads and the abandoned ra ilroad
over which ore was carted, and a rejuvenated fo rest cover largely
undisturbed fo r a century.
94
NOTES
1. Map showing property owners in the v ic in ity of Long Pond lying between the old Bergen and Orange Counties (now Sussex)~and southwest toward the Pahhahqual 1 ing (now Kittatinny) Mountain Range (n .p ., n. pub., n .d .).
2. Ringwood Ironworks Account Book, 1760-1764, MSS, New Jersey H istorical Society.
3. The New York Mercury, March 5, 1764, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXTV (1762-1765), 328-329.
4. Albert H. Heusser, The Forgotten General, Robert Erskine, F.R.S. (Paterson: Benjamin Franklin Press, 1928), p. 23.
5. Iron plantations xvere established a t Charlotteburg, about th irteen miles southwest of Ringwood on the Pequannock River, and a t Long Pond, about three miles west of Ringwood, on the Wanaque River. Although each was planned as part of a single economic u n it--th e American Company--they operated as self-contained manors. A p lantation was also established a t Cortland on the east side of the Hudson River, but was not successful because of poor quality iron ore. A pot- and pearl-ash manufactory on the Mohawk River completed the works erected and overseen by Hasenclever.
6. Peter Hasenclever, The Remarkable Peter Hasenclever,Merchant (London: n. pub., 1773), p. 9.
7. Roome, op. c i t . , p . 42.
8. Hasenclever in sis ted th a t he erected a new one, (Op. c i t ., pp. 7, 78) although Ogden advertised M. . . a new w ell-bu ilt furnace, . . . " in 1764. The New York Mercury, March 5, 1764, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXIV (1762-1765), 328. I t is d if f ic u lt to believe th is furnace could not have been salvaged one year la te r .
9. Mentioned in a survey of American Company properties taken fo r Governor Franklin, of New Jersey, in 1768. The New-York Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury, September 21, 1772, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXVIII (1772-1773), 247-253.
95
10. The less intense heat generated in charcoal furnaces was in su ffic ie n t to completely separate the molten iron from the slag.The m etaliferous cinders were subjected to pulverizing by heavy, water- powered iron hammers. The resu lting iron p a r tic le s were gathered and reintroduced in to the b la s t furnace.
11. The New-York Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury, September 21, 1772, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, W i l l (1772-1773), 249-250.
12. Ib id ., pp. 248-249.
13. Hasenclever claimed to have b u il t forty-nine houses of various types a t Ringwood between May, 1765, and November, 1766.L it t le evidence of the structu res remains today. Op. c i t . , pp. 6-7.
14. Hasenclever had brought over 535 persons, including women and children, from Germany alone to run American Company properties in 1765.
15. Documents Pertaining to Robert Erskine and the Ringwood Mines and Iron Works, MSS,' New Jersey H isto rical Society.
16. The New-York Gazette, July 12, 1773, quoted in William Nelson, e d ., New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXVIII (1772-1773), 560.
17. Robert Erskine in a l e t te r to Richard W illis , Esquire, of London, July 9, 1771, quoted in Heusser, op. c i t . , pp. 63-66.
18. An outgrowth of th is heterogeneous work force was a group of people known locally as the "Jackson Whites," Products of a Negro- English-Hessian-Indian admixture, the Jackson Whites became the dominant element in Ringwood*s nineteenth-century labor pool.
19. Robe r t Erskine Record Book, 1774-1778, MSS, New Jersey H isto rical Society.
20. An advertisement appeared in the New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, June 10, 1776:
Orders fo r Iron drawn to any Size, from three Quarters to three Inches square, and from one and an Half to five Inches f l a t , executed with Punctuality and Dispatch. Mill Irons, Rudder Irons, e tc . drawn to Patterns.Quoted in William S. Stryker, e d ., New Jersey Archives, Second Series, I (1776-1777), lT4.
21. Robert Erskine Record Book, 1774-1778, MSS, New Jersey H isto rical Society.
22. Ibid.
96
23. Technological changes, such as the introduction of bituminous coal, adaptation of the steam engine to increase b la s t furnace efficiency, and improvements in refin ing , made English products cheaper and superior. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Tenth Census of the United S tates: 1880,op. c i t . , p. 876.
24. L etter to Ephraim Marsh, President of the Morris Canal Company, July 19, 1853, quoted in Abram S. Hewitt Papers, MSS, New York H istorical Society.
CHAPTER VI
ANTHRACITE AND THE MORRIS CANAL
Except fo r a ra ther b r ie f revival a f te r the Revolutionary War,
the iron industry of the newly independent United States entered upon
hard times during the f i r s t years of the nineteenth century. The
regions of iron production underwent s ign ifican t changes. Abundant,
verdant fo rests which had sustained the old iron-making techniques had
been severely depleted and a lack of charcoal was instrumental in
closing many ironworks. Old techniques now proved costly and ineffective.
Roads and turnpikes were wholly inadequate and incapable of furnishing
cheap, e ff ic ie n t transport of raw m aterials and of marketing finished
a r tic le s . F inally , loss of the B ritish and other foreign markets was
keenly f e l t .
Few forges and furnaces escaped the hazards of the times (Plate IX).
Small enterprises possessing l i t t l e cap ita l were subjected to foreclosures,
continual changes in ownership, or were operated by several leaseholders.’''
Even the owners of large plantations found conditions too d if f ic u lt fo r
successful operation. The census returns fo r 1820 reported iron sales du ll,
prices reduced by twenty-five or th ir ty -fiv e percent, decaying ironworks,2and the in ab ility of b la s t furnace operators to pay ren ts.
97
PLATE IX98
New York-New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
- f U 'x / WowoyondoVv,.
[Homburg
[ ■ Pompton
Split Rock
.Boonton
Charcoal Iron Manufactories
(1825-1860)Oxford
• Bloqmery or Forge
■ Furnace
Compiled from numerous sources
99
Development of the Morris Canal
The decade of the 1820’s would have brought oblivion to the
Highlands iron industry, had not canal fever cone to the rescue. I t
was reasoned th a t a canal, crossing the Highlands through northern New
Jersey, would reestab lish cheap, d irec t transportation to major iron
markets, make available the Lehigh Valley coalfields and new iron
technology, and induce the foimation of new ironworks and new s e t t l e
ments w ithin the general area of the Highlands.
An act of the New Jersey Legislature authorized the Morris
Canal and Banking Company in 1824, and construction of the canal from
Phillipsburg to Newark was completed by 1831, with an extension to
Jersey City fin ished five years la te r (Plate X). As in i t i a l ly b u il t
the canal was twenty fe e t wide a t the bottom, th irty-tw o fe e t wide a t
the top, and had a water depth of four fe e t. Later enlargement to
twenty-five fe e t a t the bottom, fo rty fee t a t the top, and a five-foo t
depth resu lted from in su ffic ien t t r a f f i c estimates during the early
stages of planning.^
As had been anticipated, the canal accomplished a renaissance
of the iron industry and brought in d u stria liza tio n to outlying towns
and v illag e s .^ However, the enlarged population, burgeoning s e t t l e
ments (Plate X), improved agricu ltu re, and anthracite coal heralded the
end of charcoal iron.
Although several furnaces and a handful of forges continued to
operate during the mid-nineteenth century, the age of the charcoalC
manufactory had come to an end.
100
PLATE X
7 5 “ 3 0 7 4 “
NEW JERSEY S et t lem en ts
F ounded b efo re 1830MORRIS CANAL.« F ounded a f te r 183015’
LakeHopatcong
— 41'
Boontoi
DoverH ackettstow ni
4 5 '
N ew ark ■,Ph i 11 i pi burg
Miles
30 '
30 ' 7 4 “
101
Advent of Anthracite Technology
The tran sitio n from charcoal to anthracite coal gave fresh
impetus to a troubled industry. F a c ilitie s fo r manufacturing iron
increased; d is t r ic ts which had been handicapped by a lack of timber
were revived; and prices declined as a re su lt of increased production,
providing s t i f f competition fo r foreign ironmasters.
Experiments using coal in iron making were carried on almost
simultaneously in England and eastern Pennsylvania in the 1830's.
Operation of the f i r s t furnaces d iffered l i t t l e from the charcoal
counterparts, with the single exception of the h o t-a ir b la s t. Use of
the hot b la s t and anthracite enabled furnace production to increase
from twenty-five tons per week to th ir ty -s ix tons. ̂
Within five years a f te r the in i t i a l American successes, only
six fu rnaces--a ll in Pennsylvania--utilized anthracite to reduce iron
ore. A decade la te r , the l i s t contained forty-two furnaces in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and by 1856, 121 ironworks--including
several in the Highlands (Plate XI)--had adopted the new techniques/
The technological evolution was the harbinger of a changing role
fo r the ore resources of the Highlands. The Morris Canal had not only
opened Pennsylvania coalfields to Highlands manufactories, but also
provided new markets fo r iron ore from the la t te r region. In subsequent
years, the la rgest quantity of OTe went in to the b la s t furnaces of the
Delaware and Lehigh valleys, not to those o f the Highlands.
This development had actually been envisioned p rio r to the
opening of the canal. There were no forges or furnaces in New Jersey
equipped to use anthracite in 1830, and i t seemed fa r easie r to haul two
PLATE XI102
7 5 °
New York-New Jersey
HIGHLANDS
Miles
'Franklin
Anthracite Blast Furnaces
A Established be fo re 1650
▼ Established a f te r 1850Oxford
4 5 ’
Compiled from numerous sources
74®
I
103
tons of Highlands iron ore to the Delaware River than to transport
seven and a h a lf tons of coal to the Highlands (referring to the tonnage
necessaiy fo r one ton of pig iron ). The s itu a tio n delayed the advent
of anthracite furnaces in the region; nevertheless, improved transportation
and market conditions furnished the stim uli fo r erecting new manufactories.
Anthracite Manufactories
The f i r s t Highlands anthracite b la s t furnaces were constructed
a t Stanhope near the Morris Canal.® Selection of such a s i te fo r an
ironworks in 1841 was not accidental. Copious woodlands and several
neighboring iron mines, notably a t Irondale, had sustained iron manu
fac to ries fo r almost a century. Impurities in the ores and elim ination
of fo rests by charcoal manufacture had resu lted in an early cessation
of ac tiv ity .
Iron ore from nearby mines, limestone from the Geiman Valley,
coal from the Lehigh Valley, and a labor pool of men sk ille d in iron
manufacture combined a l l the necessary ingredients fo r a successful
venture. Three furnaces, with a to ta l capacity of 200 tons weekly,
were erected and operated by the Sussex Iron Company. The ironworks
measurably increased the importance of Stanhope and rev ita lized the
countryside, ag ricu ltu ra lly and in d u stria lly .
In a l l likelihood, no other secto r of the Highlands had as
many large, producing mines in such close proximity. P its were re
conditioned and expanded into shafts . New mines were opened and ores
were tested . By 1865, a dozen or so mines were shipping ore to Stanhope,
Wharton, and, v ia the canal, to manufacturing d is t r ic ts from Boonton,Q
New Jersey, to Allentown, Pennsylvania.
104
Miners and ironworkers were a ttrac ted by the new in d u stria l
complex. A few were immigrants--mostly Comishmen and a sprinkling
of I r is h . Many were workers who had remained in the area a f te r the
demise of the charcoal manufactories. The la t te r had eked out a bare
liv ing from agricu ltu re or tr ie d to relocate near any forge or furnace
in b la s t , usually without success. Relatively few, investigation shows,
had deserted the Highlands fo r the growing peripheral towns.
The increased population aided fanners liv ing in the neighboring
German Valley. Heretofore, the markets fo r a g r ic u ltu ra lis ts had been
lim ited to Dover, Hackettstown, and the settlements a t e ith e r end of
the Morris Canal.
Subsequent to i n i t i a l operations a t Stanhope, s im ila r an thracite
manufactories sprang up a t Boonton, Port Oram (Wharton), High Bridge,
Chester, and elsewhere in New Jersey, as well as a t Greenwood, New York--
also the s i te of an operational charcoal furnace (Plate XI). At Oxford,
conversion of the o rig inal charcoal furnace was completed by 1846.
Adoption of steam power, the hot b la s t , and a new fuel increased
production th reefo ld , frequently making more iron in a single day than
was made in a week during the colonial period.
The in d u s tria l f a c i l i t i e s were a f a r cry from the old iron
p lan tation . No great tra c ts of land were purchased, few new communities
were b u il t , raw m aterials were brought from d is tan t po in ts , fin ished
products were usually made in p lants many miles from the Highlands
furnace, and foreign markets were v ir tu a lly nonexistent. Furthermore,
most of the aforementioned furnaces operated only a short time and were
of scant import outside th e ir respective lo c a li t ie s .
105
E ffic ien t and accessible transporta tion was a chief locative
fac to r a t several s i te s . Without a doubt, the Morris Canal must be
given the g rea tes t c red it fo r any resurrection of the Highlands iron
industry. Proximity to the canal was responsible fo r the reb ir th of
iron making a t Boonton and the establishment of ironworks a t Port Oram
and Stanhope. The Trenton Iron Company used the canal fo r transporting
ore to th e ir manufactories a t Phillipsburg.
Railroads furnished mid-century competition fo r the canal.
Paralleling much of the la tte r* s route, the tra ilb laz in g Morris and
Essex Railroad pushed through the study area to Phillipsburg by 1861.
I t brought speed, efficiency , and year-round operation--not provided
by the canal as i t was closed in the w inter months by ic e -- to Highlands
transportation.,. Soon, much of the coal t r a f f ic from the Lehigh Valley
had been captured by the ra ilro ad s . Industria l development a t Chester,
High Bridge, and Greenwood can be traced d irec tly to other trans-High
lands ra ilroads. In addition, feeder lines such as the Mount Hope
Mineral Railroad, the Ogden Mine Railroad, and others stim ulated iron
mining in many long-dormant d is t r ic ts . Later, many of these same r a i l
roads, or la rg e r systems into which they were incorporated, would be
agents fo r the transporting of products from many Highlands settlem ents
and farms which owed th e ir presence, a t le a s t in p a r t, to the iron
industry.
Better transportation and technological advances combined to
lower substan tia lly the cost of iron making. During the 1850's the
actual cost of pig iron manufactured with charcoal was from $25 to $28
106
per ton, while the cost of making i t with anthracite was from $15 to
$17 per to n .1 ̂ At the market, an thracite iron sold fo r less than the
cost of charcoal iron and compared favorably with the p rice of iron
imported from England. This favorable price structu re brought growth
and prosperity to the Highlands iron industry (Table 6) , However, the
region was unable to regain i t s ranking as one of the three leading
areas, held during the charcoal era.
Events la te r in the nineteenth century culminated in the f in a l
decline of the iron manufactories. Invention of the Bessemer process
made previous iron-making techniques obsolete. Coupled with the use
of coke, a by-product of bituminous coal, the furnace reduced the cost
of making iron to $12 or $13 per ton--an impossible figure to a tta in
with the anthracite technology.^ Moreover, the discoveries of bituminous
coal in western Pennsylvania were followed by the m earthing of high
quality hematite ore in the ranges near Lake Superior. The center of
the American iron industry sh ifted westward. The decline of New Jersey,
V irg in ia, and other seaboard centers coincided with the r is e of Ohio,
I l l in o is , and Indiana. Pennsylvania and New York recorded sh if ts from
east to west and from Highlands to Adirondack Mountains, respectively .
In terms of distance, geographic relocation from the eastern seaboard
to the in te r io r was s lig h t; however, i t was large when viewed as heralding
the term ination of iron manufacture in the Highlands.
A New Role: Iron Mining
With the demise or in term itten t operation of the Highlands
an thracite furnaces, ex tractive explo ita tion became a dominant trend in
the study a rea 's geography.
TABLE 6
PRODUCTION OF NEW JERSEY'S ANTHRACITE BLAST FURNACES
Year Tons
1874 90,1501875 64,0691876 25,3491877 52,9091878 78,4551879 78,1431880 170,0491881 171,6721882 176,8051883 138,7731884 82,9351885 54,427
Source: "The Iron Industry," Bureau ofS ta tis t ic s of Labor and Industries of New Jersey, 1885.
108
The i n i t i a l d r i f t toward th is new position had become evident
soon a f te r the early years of Morris Canal operations. The importance
of iron ore and an th racite coal to the canal was demonstrated by1 9assigning the lowest to l l s to these commodities. Forge cinders and
bar and pig iron , among other items, also contributed heavily to canal
t r a f f ic . The r is in g demand fo r iron ore and coal, w ithin and without
the Highlands, was accompanied by a general increase in canal commerce
from 59,259 tons (1845) to 889,220 (1866).^ The la s t date became the
highwater mark, fo r th e re a fte r the newly extended railroads captured
much of the coal shipments. Highlands iron-ore production and manufactured
iron never a tta ined the former combined' coal-iron ore figure.
In 1880, Morris County's 568,420 tons made her the th ird ranking
iron-ore producer in the nation, with Orange, Sussex, and Warren
counties also producing over 50,000 tons each in th a t year.-^ A portion
of the ore was used locally by the few remaining furnaces. An overwhelming
p art was sent by canal, ra ilro ad , and riverboat to furnaces from
Poughkeepsie, New York, to eastern Pennsylvania. Iron mining had
become one of the a rea 's most important industries and employed the
services of several thousand Highlanders. Heavy demands over the next
few years made possible the establishment of new production records as
almost every workable ore deposit was made to y ie ld some iron (Table 7).
"Boom" conditions furnished the cap ita l fo r mine improvements, such as
b e tte r pumps, improved equipment, and a more general use of high
explosives.
109
TABLE 7
NEW JERSEY IRON MINING
Year Tons
1790 ....................................... 10,000*1830 ....................................... 20,000*1855 100,000*1860 164,9001864 226,0001867 275,0671870 . .................................. 362,6361871 450,0001872 600,0001873 665,0001874 525,0001875 390,0001876 285,0001877 315,0001878 409,6741879 488,0281880 745,0001881 737,0521882 932,7621883 521,4161884 393,7101885 330,000
*estimate
Source: George E. Jenkins, "The Mining Industry',"Annual Report of the S tate Geologist (1898).
110
A ll a c tiv ity came to naught with the events--economic and
geographic--of the la te nineteenth century. Most Highlands mines were
too lim ited in reserves and the ores too high in phosphorus to supply
the needs of a new era. Sane s i te s , capable of producing good quality
ore, were closed because of heavy expenditures fo r timbering and
drainage in the ever-deepening mines. An anonymous v is i to r described
circumstances a t Succasunna: ". . . a p ile of ore containing four
thousand five hundred tons, every pound of which had been brought from
the mouth of the shaft to the place where i t lay--w aiting a market--on
a ra ilro ad track which was la id with English iro n ."15 Few mines, i f
any, ever "bottomed out" and reserves are s t i l l considerable in quantity ,
i f not in quality . ^
The decline in Highlands ore production evident in Table 7
cannot be a ttrib u ted so le ly to a geographic expansion of the American
economy. A ris in g demand fo r Bessemer ore in the old eastern seaboard
manufactories induced the importation of foreign ores, prim arily from
Spain and French West A frica. ^ Destined fo r ironworks in eastern
Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, foreign ores succeeded in
driving Highlands ore even from i t s o ldest markets.
Vestiges of A nthracite, Iron, and Canal
The Highlands as a prominent fac to r in the American in d u stria l
p ic tu re had a l l but vanished by the la s t years of the nineteenth century.
The heady promise of a substan tia l iron resurgence, fueled by anthracite
coal and transported by the Morris Canal, had been g rea tly defla ted by
the discovery of new coal and iron deposits west of the Appalachians and
Ill
by the development of new and cheaper methods o f iron production using
bituminous coal. But the period of an thracite and the Morris Canal
did not close without leaving i t s imprint on the land.
Most v is ib le re lic s of the period are extant along the former
route of the canal and subsequent transportation a r te rie s (Figs. 31
and 32). When, by 1850, the area was in jected with a new technology
and new peoples, many Highlands c itie s on the verge of decay were
revived. Anthracite iron manufacture aided such o ld iron centers as
Morristown, Boonton, Dover, and Stanhope. Iron became the economic
basis fo r continued growth in the twentieth century. Port Oram, Port
Murray, Port Colden, and the like sprang from ore landings or ag ricu ltu ra l
produce stops to locally important iron manufacturing and market towns
(Figs. 22 and 34). Phillipsburg, nonexistent p r io r to the Morris Canal,
parlayed i t s position as the western terminus of the waterway in to the
la rg est iron manufacturing center associated with the Highlands.
The impact of an th racite coal and iron technology was readily
transferred to the surrounding land. Additional iron mines were
explored and, i f found promising, opened fo r exp lo ita tion . Population
increase was su b stan tia l, especially in the towns \diich possessed the
ingredients fo r iron m anufacture.^ Negroes and East European immigrants
replaced the o lder generation of English, Scotch-Irish , Welsh, and
German workers. The l a t t e r groups forsook the heavy labor of the mines
and furnaces fo r other ventures in the buigeoning commercial sections
of the Highlands towns. Company-owned res id en tia l areas appeared adjacent
to mine and furnace. Some consisted of multifamily un its of stone or
112
frame (Fig. 35). More often single- or double-family dwellings of
clapboards fronted by a small patch of lawn lined the single unpaved
s tre e t leading to am ine (Fig. 36).
The advantages offered by the canal and railroads stimulated
agriculture as w ell. With the closing of most iron manufactories by
1890, faiming became the main pursuit of Highlands inhabitants. The
trend was evident in the southern region la te in the eighteenth
century. One hundred years la te r , mixed fanning dominated the land
scape (Fig. 37). The la t te r h a lf of the nineteenth century brought
profound changes in the northern t i e r of counties. Nestled among the
lakes, valleys, and ridges presently undergoing tremendous recreational
development, small farms, which once supplied only the needs of local
fo lk , expanded th e ir shipments of flou r and grain to new markets tapped
by tra in s and canal. The d rastica lly reduced travel time to urban
centers led to the establishment of commercial dairying even on the most
in fe r t i le , bouldery so ils . Before the turn of the twentieth century,
dairying had become the primary industry of Sussex and Orange counties
(Fig. 38). Nevertheless, much land occupied during the iron era now
lay abandoned (Fig. 39).
The introduction of an thracite as a substitu te fo r charcoal
almost brought a complete h a lt to the devastation of the Highlands
fo re s ts . Certainly i t would appear th a t much of the present vegetational
cover dates from about 1850, when charcoal manufactories had a l l but
ceased operations. Reforestation by natural means was quite vigorous,
so much so tha t Veimuele's notation M. . . throughout [the] western
113
portion of the Highlands . . . very l i t t l e evidence of bad effects from
defo resta tion .. . . . might have been applied to the en tire northern
Highlands.
Iron mining continued as a Highlands occupation u n til ju s t a
few years ago. The remaining works--at Mount Hope, Wharton, and
Oxford--were widely scattered and no longer held a commanding position
in the regional economy (Fig. 40). The drab, look-alike company
dwellings, abandoned mine p its and shafts , and tha t v i ta l link--the
mine road--remain. However, the casual Highlands trave ler is scarcely
aware of th e ir existence.
114
NOTES
1. S p lit Rock Forge, in Morris County, operated continually from 1801-1829; nevertheless, i t was leased, wholly or in p a rt, to several persons in tha t span. Cobb Collection, Box 10, MSS, National Park Service, Morristown National H istorical Park.
2. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Fourth Census of the United S ta tes: 1820. Digest of Accounts of Manufacturing Establishments inthe United S tates, Vol. II (Washington, D.C.: Gales and Seaton, 1823),pp. 13-14.
3. C.C. Vermuele, J r . , Morris Canal and Banking Company:Final Report of Consulting and Directing Engineer (Trenton: Morris Canal and Banking Company ̂ 1929], p. 547
4. Many of the Highlands towns which had been losing population suddenly began to grow with the influx of new industry. Boonton was a typ ical case in point. The East Jersey Manufacturing Company chose i t as the s i te fo r a new b la s t furnace, forges, and a ro lling m ill and over two hundred people were brought in to operate the complex.
5. Cf. Bishop, op. c i t . , I I I , 563 fo r a l is tin g of thecharcoal furnaces operating in the Highlands in 1860.
6. French, op. c i t . , p. 59.
7. Swank, op. c i t . , p. 362.
8. Cf. K.R. Hanson, "New Jersey 's F irs t Anthracite BlastFurnace," Proceedings of the New Jersey H istorical Society, LXXIX (1961), 117W .
9. "New Jersey Iron Mines (1865)," Proceedings of the New Jersey H istorical Society, LXXIII (1955), 43-46.
10. French, op. c i t . , p. 150.
11. For a complete discussion of the economics of iron manufacturing, see: Peter Temin, Iron and Steel in Nineteenth-CenturyAmerica: An Economic Inquiry.
12. The to lls were se t a t 1.5 cents per ton mile in 1831 and reduced to one cent per ton mile a f te r 1835. Lane, op. c i t . , p. 234.
13. Ibid., p. 242.
115
14. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Tenth Census of the United States: 1880. Report on the Mining Industries of the United States(exclusive of the precious m etals), Vol. XV (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1886), p. 75.
15. MA rtist-L ife in the Highlands, The Iron Region of New Jersey," op. c i t . , p. 597.
16. Colony, op. c i t . , p. 74; Sims, op. c i t . , p. 289.
17. Temin, op. c i t . , p. 199. Highlands iron ore could not be used successfully in the Bessemer process fo r the ore was too rich in phosphorus and sulphur.
18. Port Oram (Wharton) grew from nearly four hundred persons in 1865 to s lig h tly less than one thousand in 1900. James Tregenza, personal communication.
19. C.C. Veimuele, "Report on Forests," Annual Report of the S tate Geologist fo r 1899 (Trenton: Geological Survey of New Jersey,1900), p. 57.
CHAPTER VII
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The study presented in the preceding chapters attempted to
demonstrate the extent of landscape change a ttribu tab le to two centuries
of iron manufacture in the Highlands of New York and New Jersey. In
order to pursue the thesis adequately, reconstruction of the o rig inal,
pre-European environment was necessary. The impact of technology and
economic factors on the iron industry and, in turn , on the Highlands
was a cen tral theme in the examination. Also presented was a sequential
development of the region 's iron industry, the actual environmental
changes associated with the industry, the reasons fo r the eventual
decline of iron, and a study of the cu ltural manifestations of the
industry extant on the present landscape.
The study covered a time span which blanketed much of American
in d u stria l growth--from early European occupance of the eastern seaboard
to the expansion west of the Appalachians during the la te nineteenth
century.
While a good deal of infoimation was available on the American
Indian and the usage of iron ores, no evidence has been found to show
th a t the Indian was fam iliar with working ores into finished products
p rio r to European contact. Thus, the iron industry which blossomed in
116
117
the American colonies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was
the product of European antecedents. Techniques of construction and
operation of forges, b la s t furnaces, t i l t hammers, and ro llin g and
s l i t t in g m ills were brought by English and German s e t t le r s .
Due to i t s proximity to the e a r l ie s t settlem ents, lim onite,
or bog ore, deposits f i r s t a ttra c ted the a tten tion of co lon ists.
V irginia soon became the undisputed leader in iron manufacture; never
th e less , the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey and the bay area of
Massachusetts a tta ined a measure of importance. One-half century a f te r
the i n i t i a l ironworks were established, magnetite deposits in New York,
New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania were discovered. Production from
manufactories in the Schuylkill Valley of Pennsylvania and the Highlands
of New York and New Jersey began to o u ts trip iron making on the coast.
By the outbreak of h o s t i l i t i e s with England, the American colonies had
become se lf -su ff ic ie n t in iron products despite numerous English attempts
a t regulation of the industry. Colonial iron was also exported to
England and the West Indies.
The study d e fin ite ly shows th a t the ro le of the pioneer High
lands s e t t le r and h is s k il ls was m isinterpreted by early au tho rities
such as Coxe and Gordon. The hypothesis which Coxe and Gordon supported--
the forge was uniformly the precursor of the farm which came into
existence only a f te r the land had been exhausted of timber and iron--
must be modified in the lig h t of present knowledge.
E ntries in Charles C lin ton 's early eighteenth-century journal
indicate th a t the emphasis on land evaluation was placed on po ten tia l
ag ricu ltu ra l ra th e r than-industria l usage. The notes of Clinton and
118
John Reading, as well as investigations by Muntz, Wacker, and the w rite r,
point to substan tia l ag ricu ltu ra l occupance in f e r t i l e v a lleys, not
only independent of past in d u stria l development, but also p r io r to
any in d u stria liza tio n . In fa c t , European settlem ent in the W allk ill,
Modna Creek, and Musconetcong valleys and along the more accessible
sections of the Highlands periphery antedated erection of the f i r s t
ironworks a t Whippany by several years. Moreover, abandonment of Ring-
wood, S terling , and other manufactories north of the Pleistocene
terminal moraine during the nineteenth century did not lead to sub
d iv ision and occupation of the land by ag r ic u ltu ra lis ts . Instead, the
rugged te rra in and th in , bouldery, in fe r t i le so ils discouraged a l l but
a few attempts a t cu ltiva tion . Cessation of iron making was usually
followed by a general abandonment of the land and the regeneration of
an extensive fo re s t cover. I f , indeed, a forge-farmer settlem ent
sequence d id ex is t in the Highlands, i t occurred only in scattered ,
nonglaciated portions of Hunterdon, Morris, and Warren counties.
As colonists descended upon the area in ever-increasing numbers,
among the f i r s t lands to be occupied, especially north of the moraine,
were those, containing the essen tia ls fo r iron manufacture--a nearby
deposit of ore, a large tr a c t of woodland fo r charcoal and timber, a
constant supply of water to operate the bellows and t i l t hammers, and
an avenue to market, v ia road or r iv e r . Afterward, natu ra l meadows and
h i l l lands were u til iz e d to provide hay fo r animals and cropland fo r
the workers.
Seldan could one iron mine furnish enough raw m aterial to sustain
a b la s t furnace in fu l l production. The situ a tio n necessita ted the
119
development of several mines, often working the same ore body, fo r each
established manufactory. However, due to the lim ited capab ilitie s of
open-pit mines, ironmasters were usually forced to purchase and transport
ore from mines several miles away.
The charcoal demanded by iron production was manufactured a t
many woodland s ite s in close proximity to the consuming foige or furnace.
The English method of production--utilizing a great p ile of wood,
covered with tu r f , which was allowed to smolder fo r eight to ten days--
was almost universal within the Highlands. All manner of hard- and
softwoods were burned, although sprout hardwoods were preferred fo r
making quality charcoal.
The flux used in smelting iron ore was provided by limestone.
Procured from numerous outcroppings, especially in the Musconetcong-
Wallkill" and the High Bridge-Greenwood Lake valleys, or gathered as
boulders from the abundant g lac ia l t i l l , the m aterial was readily
available to any ironworks.
With sim ilar environmental requirements, several forges often
occupied lands within a short distance of a b la s t furnace. Due to the
lim ited demand fo r pig iron a t the marketplace, f in e ries and chaferies
could re ly on su ffic ien t pig metal supplies to make refined bar iron
and various and sundry tools and u ten sils . However, forging operations
could no t keep pace with furnace production and four to six forge f ire s
were needed to accommodate each b la s t furnace.
Most manufactories were located on or near a waterway which,
in conjunction with several waterwheels, supplied the a ir b la s t used
120
by furnace and forge and operated the t i l t hammer. Reducing and
refin ing iron ore with eighteenth-century technology were continuous
processes. Thus, the ideal s i te was on a stream whose regime under
went l i t t l e fluc tua tion during the b la s t period. Location of fin e ries
and chaferies near water provided cheap transporta tion which helped
to o ffse t the high production costs of a th ir ty percent metal loss in
refin ing pig iron and large charcoal requirements. Nevertheless, the
often severe Highlands w inter caused most streams to freeze over and
ironworks usually had to be shut down fo r several months each year.
Many of the valleys w ithin the study region provided the
advantages fo r making iron and became c lu tte red with manufactories.
A ttaining g rea tes t importance in the eighteenth century were the Ramapo,
Wanaque, Pequannock, Rockaway, W allk ill, and Musconetcong r iv e r valleys.
All of these concentrations were hard by the most productive mining
d is t r ic ts near Andover, Dover, Franklin, Oxford, and Ringwood, New
Jersey^ and a t S terling Lake, New York.
Promotion of the Highlands' na tu ra l resources was responsible
fo r much of the early growth experienced w ithin the region. Ironworks
offered employment to large numbers of unsk illed and sk ille d workers.
Woodcutters, c o l l ie rs , miners, and ore and charcoal haulers were in
demand a t a l l times. Furnace- and fopgemen were in short supply. The
bulk of the labor force consisted of indentured servants from Germany and
the B ritish Is le s . Poorly paid and subjected to d if f ic u l t liv ing
conditions, workers frequently deserted the manufactories in search of
other employment. Repeated newspaper advertisements exemplified the
perpetual shortage of labor encountered by most ironworks.
121
Private entrepreneurs not only encouraged iron manufacture, but
once forges and furnaces were founded, they advertised to entice
s e t t le r s to lands in the neighborhood of these works. Often fanners,
lumbermen, and tradesmen took up residence and towns were established.
However, the ra th e r s te r i le so ils of the g laciated Highlands proved
incapable of sustaining settlem ent and were abandoned a f te r the manu
fac to rie s ceased production.
In contrast to the developments north of the terminal moraine,
the southern Highlands had become predominantly ag ricu ltu ra l before
the nineteenth century. Only ironworks associated with Oxford Furnace
continued to function. The widespread eradication of fo re s t lands
perm itted t i l la g e of the so ils and the growing of wheat, com , and a
varie ty of other crops. Riverine locations once appropriate fo r an
ironworks, instead were u ti l iz e d as g r is tm ill s i te s . Flour became an
important trade item, supplanting iron a t the markets o f New York,
Philadelphia, and elsewhere.
M anifestations of economic endeavor developing in various
sectors of the Highlands became quite obvious on maps of the eighteenth
century. Lack of considerable settlem ents in g lacia ted portions was
indicative of a population which was small, widely sca tte red , and
c lustered near the iron manufactories. The paucity of major roads
heightened the iso la tio n associated with each.ironworks. Trade was
carried on only among the local fo lk , the furnace and forge, and the
manufactory and a nearby market or landing. Regions south of the
teiminal moraine exhibited a more open appearance. A ra th er large
122
population was supported by the iron industry, extensive ag ricu ltu ra l
development, roads, townscapes, and the lik e .
The afteimath of the Revolutionary War wrought d is tin c t
changes to the iron industry of the Highlands. Although a few new
manufactories had been estab lished , the early decades o f the n ine
teenth century found the en tire industry under severe economic duress.
The aforementioned war and technological advances in Great B ritain
combined to deprive the American iron industry of i t s major foreign
market. Moreover, English products began to flood the eastern sea
board. As iron p rices declined in the face of foreign competition,
domestic manufacturing costs increased. Charcoal became scarce in some
areas; labor was harder to find and higher priced; and the old means
of transporta tion were wholly inadequate.
Few Highlands manufactories were able to weather the economic
chaos, and more often than not, smaller ironworks were forced to close.
Settlements founded and nurtured by the iron industry d irected th e ir
a tten tions to other a c tiv i t ie s . The next several years saw l i t t l e or
no influx of people in to the study area. However, few ironworkers
deserted to the peripheral c i t ie s during the lean years. Most sought
other ventures, notably agricu ltu re and lumbering, u n ti l the forges
and furnaces were res ta rted . Only the large, self-contained works,
known as iron p lan tations, maintained a degree of order and s ta b il i ty .
During the la s t decades of the eighteenth century as many as
ten plantations were in operation throughout the Highlands. Unimportant
and iso la ted as these s i te s are today, the iron canmunities formed
regional centers of population and of economic and social l i f e during
123
much of the period under study. L it t le difference seems to have
existed between the iron manor and the Southern p lan tation , except
tha t whereas the p lan ter regarded agriculture as supreme, the iron
master subordinated agriculture to manufacturing.
The iron p lantation consisted of in d u stria l, ag ricu ltu ra l, and
financial un its dispersed over lands encompassing up to 10,000 acres.
Several forges, m ills , and iron mines were clustered about the b la s t
furnace or furnaces which formed the nucleus of the manor. Good stands
of timber were protected for use in making charcoal and as a source of
building m aterials. Valleys were cleared and cultivated by farmers
and th e ir grain was ground a t the community g ris tm ill. Natural meadows
and wetlands were exploited fo r th e ir hay and pasturage. Roads were
b u ilt over d if f ic u lt te rra in a t great expenditure of cap ita l and labor.
A manor house, workmen’s cottages, bam s, sawmill, s to res , and storage
f a c i l i t ie s generally completed the community. Men of many s k il ls were
encouraged to s e tt le nearby because the iron p lantation was judged to
be a very good market fo r a l l kinds of products.
The unsound economic conditions and inadequate transportation
networks would have led to the complete collapse of the Highlands iron
industry had not steps been taken to remedy the situ a tio n . Advent of
the hot b la s t and the introduction of anthracite coal as a smelting
agent p rio r to 1840 brought about a substan tia l realignment of the
locative factors governing iron manufacture. No longer was i t necessary
to iso la te ironworks by several thousand acres of charcoal-producing
woodlands. Furnaces were now placed on riverine s ite s convenient to
124
transportation and a p len tifu l supply of coal--usually furnished by
Morris Canal "flickers" or by the subsequent railroads.
The union of Pennsylvania coal, Highlands iron ore, and a new,
e ff ic ie n t technology brought about the revival of many d is tr ic ts
which had been p a r tia lly closed because of a scarcity of charcoal.
Additional in d u stria l, shipping, and market towns sprang up along the
canal route. Prices were lowered to stimulate consumption and combat
foreign competition. However, the canal and anthracite also supplied
the coup de grace to the remaining charcoal manufactories.
The preeminence of the Morris Canal as an artery of trade was
suddenly usurped during the mid-nineteenth century with the introduction
of the ra ilroad . The Morris and Essex Railroad penetrated the Highlands
and extended to Phillipsburg on the Delaware River. Placed in d irec t
competition with the canal, the former had the advantages of rapid
transport and continuous operation. With the loss of i t s coal t r a f f ic ,
canal tonnage dwindled, supported as i t was only by the products of
Highlands mines, manufactories, and faxms.
The ra ilroad completed a transportation evolution which began
with horses carrying leather bags of ore and bars of iron hung over
the saddles, progressed to use of wagons on roads and turnpikes, and
followed with the canal.
Few of the newly established anthracite iron manufactories
enjoyed a prolonged period of prosperity . Nevertheless, the operations
were instrumental in rev ita liz ing the Highlands countryside. A new
generation of miners--mostly Comishmen, I r ish , East Europeans, and
125
Negroes--replaced the older English, Scotch-Irish, and German s e t t le r s .
Farms were expanded to meet the demands of an enlarged local population
and to supply the markets opened by canal and ra ilroad . Company towns
were b u ilt and existing communities grew. But technological evolution
which had doomed charcoal iron led to the fin a l demise of the iron
industry in the Highlands.
The use of coke had become increasingly popular as a smelter
of iron ore during the la te nineteenth century, luring industry to
locations near the source of the raw m aterial west of the Appalachians.
New discoveries of iron ore in the Adirondack Mountains and in the Lake
Superior ranges increasingly replaced Highlands ore which was unsuited
to the Bessemer technique of iron manufacture. The decline was fu rther
accelerated by the importation of iron ore, forcing Highlands ore even
from trad itio n a l markets.
While iron mining continued, and flourished b rie f ly , throughout
the fin a l years of the la s t century, the Highlands manufactories a l l
but vanished. Those which remained made l i t t l e , i f any, contribution
to the economic sta tu re of the region.
Although a l l operations of the industry have now been extinguished,
the legacy of iron remains evident on the Highlands landscape. In tro
duction of anthracite coal was instrumental in the return of the forests
w ithin the study area. The sharply reduced need for charcoal allowed
an almost complete restoration of woodlands on the ridges of the northern
Highlands. Only in some valleys has man perpetuated pastures and meager
farms. Nevertheless, changes occurred in fo rest composition as a re su lt
126
of numerous cu ttings, f i r e s , and other a lte ra tio n s. Few large trees or
re lic s of precolonial fo rests remain. The scope of human ac tiv ity on
the f e r t i le lands of the southern portion achieved such in ten sity tha t
woodlands have never recovered th e ir former extent. The valleys have
been devoted almost en tire ly to agriculture and commerce; only the high
mountain elevations and steeper slopes remain forested today.
Many present Highlands settlem ents, especially those associated
with past transportation pattern s, owed th e ir founding and/or growth
to the iron industry. Ore landings, shipping points for iron products,
and market towns a ttained a regional importance which carried over to
the twentieth century. However, not a l l iron communities survived.
Numerous small, scattered empty areas stand as mute evidence of iron
s ite s not convertible to other economic functions.
U ntil the suburban sprawl of recent years encroached upon the
Highlands, much of the population was rooted to the age of iron. L it t le
or no evidence was found of substan tia l out-migration of ironworkers or
th e ir progeny. In several places descendants of miners and ironworkers
s t i l l occupy the lands of former manufactories. Others may be found
engaged in a l l foims of economic ac tiv ity in the towns and v illages or
inhabit much of the farmland.
Several furnaces s t i l l stand and forges have been unearthed by
amateur archeologists. Old dwellings b u il t by iron companies are used
as homes. Cinder roads, abandoned ra ilroads, and an almost whollyti
obscured Morris Canal furnish clues of former transportation routes.
F inally , place names often remain as the only testimony of the great
ro le which the iron industry played in populating and se ttlin g the
127
Highlands. Ind u stria liza tio n contributed much, rewarded few, and
greatly affected the landscape. However, much has been lo s t with the
passage of time, which moves to o b lite ra te the cu ltu ra l scars.
128
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Published and Printed M aterials
A crelius, Is rae l. H istory of New Sweden: or The Settlements on theRiver Delaware. Trans, by W.M. Reynolds. Memoirs of the H isto rica l Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. XI. Philadelphia, 1874.
Agricola, Georgius. De Re M etallica. Trans, by Herbert Clark Hooverand Lou Henry Hoover. New York: Dover Publications, In c ., 1950.
"Among the Nail-Makers," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, XXI (1860),145-164.
Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American H istory. 4 vols.New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934.
"A rtist-L ife in the Highlands, The Iron Region of New Jersey ,"Harper's New Monthly Magazine, XX (1860), 577-598.
Bateman, Alan M. Economic Mineral Deposits. Second Edition.New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1950.
Bay ley, William S. Iron Mines and Mining in New Jersey . Vol. VII,Final Report of the S tate Geologist. Trenton: MacCrellishand Quigley, 1910.
________, Kummel, H.B. and Salisbury, R.D. Raritan F o lio . Folio 191,Geologic Atlas of the United S ta te s . F ield Edition.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1914.
Benedict, William H. "New Jersey as i t Appeared to Early Observers and T ravellers," Proceedings of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, New S eries, V (1920), 150-168.
Bining, Arthur C. "The Iron Plantations of Early Pennsylvania," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 57 (1933),117-137.
. B ritish Regulation of the Colonial Iron Industry. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933.
129
________. Pennsylvania Iraq Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century.Publications of the Pennsylvania H isto rical Commission, Vol. IV. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania H istorical Commission, 1938.
Bishop, John L. A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860.3 vo ls. Philadelphia: Edward Young and Co., 1868.
Boyer, Charles S. Early Forges and Furnaces in New Jersey . Philadelphia: University o f Pennsylvania Press, 1931.
Braun, E. Lucy. Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. Philadelphia: Blakiston, 1950.
Brooks, T.B. Map of the Ringwood Iron Mines, Passaic County. Trenton: Geological Survey of New Jersey, 1864.
Bruce, Kathleen. V irginia Iron Manufacture in the Slave Era. New York: Century Company, 1930.
Brush, John E. The Population of New Jersey . Second Edition. New Brunswick! Rutgers University Press, 1958.
Burnaby, Andrew. Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America, 1759-60. London: T. Payne, 1775.
Calendar of H isto rical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution.2 vols. New York: S tate of New York, 1868.
Cantlon, J.E . 'Vegetation and Microclimates on the North and SouthSlopes of Cushetunk Mountain, New Jersey ,” Ecological Monographs, 23 (1953), 241-270.
Cappon, Lester J . "Trend of the Southern Iron Industry under thePlantation System," Journal of Economic and Business H istory,II (1930), 353-381.
Cazenove, Theophile. Cazenove Journal 1794: A Record of the Journey ofTheophile Cazenove' through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Trans, and edited by Rayner W. Kelsey. Haverford College Studies, No. 13. Haverford: Pennsylvania History Press, 1922.
Chambers, T.F. The Early Geimans in New Jersey, th e ir H istory, Churchesand Genealogies. Dover, N .J .: n. pub., 1895.
Chastellux, Francois Jean De. Travels in North America in the Years1780-81-82. Trans, by Howard C. Rice, J r . 2 vols. Chapel H ill: University o f North Carolina Press, 1962.
Clark, V ictor S. History of Manufactures in the United S tates 1606-1850.Washing ton, D.C.: Carnegie In s titu tio n , 1916.
130
Clayton, W. Woodford, and Nelson, William. History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey. Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882.
Cline, Marlin G. "Soils and Soil Associations of New York," Cornell Extension Service, B ulletin 930 (1955).
Colony, R.J. "The Magnetite Iron Deposits of Southeastern New York,"New York State Museum, B ulletin 249-50 (1921), 5-161.
Cook, George H. Geology of New Jersey . Newark: Board of Managers, 1868.
"Copy of Journal of . . . Reading While Surveying Lands in the Northern Part of New Jersey, A pril 17th to June 10th, 1715," Proceedings of the New Jersey H istorical Society, Third Series, X (1915),35-46; 90-110; 128-134.
Cornell, Samuel C. Map of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Camden:Lloyd Van Derveer and' S.C." Cornell, 1852.
Coxe, Macgrane. The Sterling Furnace and the West Point Chain. New York: Privately prin ted , 1906.
Coxe, Tench. Observations on the Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce of the United S tates. New York: Francis Childs and John Swaine,1789.
Cranmer, H. Jerome. "Improvements Without Public Funds: The New JerseyCanals.” Canals and .American Economic Development. Carter Goodrich , editor^ New York: Columbia University Press, 1961.
Crevecour, Hector St. Jean. Eighteenth-Century Travels in Pennsylvania and New York. Trans, and edited by Percy G. Adams. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1961.
. Journey Into_Northem Pennsylvania and the S tate of New York. Trans, by C larissa Spencer Bostelmanru Ann Arbor: The Universityo f Michigan Press, 1964.
Cross, Dorothy. Archeology of New Jersey. 2 vols. Trenton: ArchaeologicalSociety of New Jersey and New Jersey State M useum , 1941 and 1956.
Cummins, George W. History of Warren County, New Jersey. New York:Lewis H istorical Publishing Co., 1911.
Davis, William Morris. Geographical Essays. New York: Dover Publications,In c ., 1954.
DeVorsey, Louis, J r . The Growth and D istribution o f Iron Manufacturing in New Jersey. Unpublished M aster's th es is , Department of Geography, Indiana University, 1953.
131
Dew, Charles B. Irom aker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. .Anderson andthe Tredegar Iron Works. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966.
Dorf, Erling (ed.). Guidebook fo r F ield Trips, A tlantic City Meeting.New York: The Geological Society of America, 1957.
Duer, W.A. Lffe of William Alexander, Earl of S terling; Major General in the aimy of the United States during the Revolution.Collections of the New Jersey H istorical Society,'Vol. I I . New York: n. pub., 1847.
Eager, Samuel W. An Outline History of Orange County. Newburgh, N.Y.:S.T. Callahan, 1846-1847.
Erskine, Robert S. A map of p a rt of the sta tes of New York and New Jersey. N .p., n. pub., 1779.
_______ . L itchfield , Connecticut to the Highlands of Neversink.N .p., n, pub., n .d .
Erskine-DeWitt Maps. American Revolution 1777-1782. N .p., n. pub., n.d.
Fackenthal, B.F., J r . "Improving Navigation on the Delaware River with Some Account of I ts F erries, Bridges, Canals and Floods," Collection of Papers, Bu c k s County H istorical Society, VI (1932), 103-230.
Faden, William. The Province of New Jersey, Divided in to East and West. Commonly called the Jerseys! Charing Cross: Wm. Faden, 1777.
Fenneman, Nevin M. Physiography of Eastern United S ta tes . New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1938.
Finch, John. Travels in the United States of America and Canada.London! Longman, Ress, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1833.
French, B.F. History of the Rise and Progress of the Iron Trade of the United States From 1621-1857. New York: Wiley7-and Halstead,
Gipson, Lawrence H. The B ritish Empire Before the American Revolution.12 vols. Revised edition.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960-1965.
. Lewis Evans. Philadelphia: H istorical Society of Pennsylvania,193^
Gordon, Thomas F. Map of the s ta te of New Jersey with parts of theadjoining s ta te s . Trenton: H.S. Tanner, 1828.
_______ . A Gazetteer of the S tate of New Jersey. Trenton: DanielFenton, 1834.
132
________. A History of New Jersey . Trenton: Daniel Fenton, 1834.
Greene, Evarts B. and Harrington, V irginia D. American Population Before the Federal Census o f 1790. New York! Columbia University Press, 1932.
Halsey, E.D. (ed .). History of Morris County, New Jersey . New York:W.W. Munsell and Company, 1882.
Hanson, K.R. MNew Jersey 's F ir s t Anthracite Blast Furnace," Proceedings of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, LXXIX (1961), 111-117.
Harlow, Alvin F. Old Towpaths: The Story of the American Canal Era.New York: A. Appleton and Company, 1926.
Harper, Roland M. "A Sketch of the Forest Geography o f New Jersey ,"B ulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia, XVI (1918), 107-125.
Hartley, E.M. Ironworks on the Saugus. Norman: U niversity ofOklahoma Press, 1957.
Hasenclever, Peter. The Remarkable Case o f Peter Hasenclever, Merchant. London: n. pub., 1773.
Hasse, Adelaide R. New Jersey . Vol. 13t Index of Economic M aterial in Documents of the S tates of the United S ta te s . Washington, D.C.: Carnegie In s titu tio n , 1922.
Hatch, Charles E. and Gregory, Thurlow G. "The F irs t American Blast Furnace, 1619-1622: the B irth of a Mighty Industry on FallingCreek in V irg in ia ," V irginia Magazine of History and Biography,LXX (1962), 259-296.
Heusser, A lbert H. The Forgotten General, Robert Erskine, F.R.S.Paterson, N.J71 Benjamin Franklin Press, 1928.
A History of Morris County. 2 vols. New York: Lewis H isto ricalPublishing Co., 1914.
Homes, Henry A. "Notice of Peter Hasenclever, an Early Iron-Manufacturer," Transactions of the Albany In s t i tu te , VIII (1876), 199-206.
Honeyman, A. Van Doren (ed .). New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XXXI (1775).
(ed .). Northwestern New Jersey: A H istory of Somerset, Morris ,Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex Counties. 5 vols. New York:Lewis H isto rica l Publishing Co., 1927. - ~
Hopkins, G.M. Map of Sussex County, New Jersey from Actual Surveys and Records. Philadelphia: Carlos Allen, M.D., 1860.
133
. Map of the Counties of Bergen and Passaic, New Jersey from actual surveys. Philadelphia: G.H. Cory, 1861.
. Map of a group of iron mines in Morris Country. New York:John Bien, 1867.
________. Azoric and Paleozoic formations; including the iron-ore andlimestone d is t r ic ts . Trenton: Geological Survey of New Jersey, 1868.
Hotz, Preston E. "Magnetite Deposits of the S terling Lake, N.Y.--Ring- wood, N.J. Area," United States Geological Survey, B ulletin 982 (1952-1953), 153-244.
"The Iron Industry," Eighth Annual Report (1885). Trenton: Bureau ofS ta tis t ic s of Labor and Industries of New Jersey, 1886. Pp. 287- 324.
James, Preston E. and Jones, Clarence F. (ed.) . American Geography:Inventory and Prospect. Syracuse: Syracuse U niversity Press,tsm :
Jenkins, George E. "The Mining Industry," Annual Report of the S tate Geologist fo r the Year 1898. Trenton: Geological Survey ofNew Jersey, 1899. Pp. 232-240.
Jemegan, Marcus W. Laboring and Dependent Classes in Colonial America, 1607-1783. Chicago: U niversity of Chicago Press, 1931.
Johnson, B.L.C. "The Charcoal Iron Industry in the Early Eighteenth Century," Geographical Journal, CXVII (1951), 167-177.
Johnson, Keach. "The Baltimore Company Seeks English Markets: a Studyof the Anglo-American Iron Trade, 1731-1755," William and Mary Q uarterly, 3rd Series, XVI (1959), 37-60.
Jones, Carmita DeS, "Batsto and the Bloomeries," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 47 (1923)', 185-195.
Kalm, Pehr. The America of 1750; Peter Kalmfs Travels in North America. Revised and edited by Adolph B. Benson. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937.
K itchell, William. "Report of the Superintendent and S tate Geologist," Third Annual Report (1856). Trenton: Geological Survey ofNew Jersey, 1857. Pp. 17-30.
Kit chin, Thomas. The Southern P art of the Province of New York; with P art of the adjoining Colonies. London: R. Baldwin, T778.
134
Klimm, Lester E. "The Empty Areas of the Northeastern United S tates," 1 Geographical Review, 44 (1954), 325-345.
Kroeber, A.L. Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America.Berkeley; University of California Press, 1963.
Kull, Irving S. (ed.) . New Jersey; A History. 6 vols. New York:American H istorical Society, 1930.
Kummel, Henry B. "The Geology of New Jersey," New Jersey Department ofConservation and Development, Bulletin 50 (1940).
Lambert, John. Travels Through Canada and the United States of North America. 2 vols. Third edition . London: Baldwin, Cradock,and Jay, 1816.
Lane, Wheaton J. From Indian T rail to Iron Horse--Travel and Transportation in New Jersey 1620-1860. Princeton: Princeton University Press,T53S:
Lee, Francis Bazley (ed.) . New Jersey Archives, Second Series, II (1778).
Lesley, J ,P . The Iron Manufacturers * Guide to the Furnaces, Forges, and Rolling M ills of the United StateiT New York: John Wiley, 1859.
Lewis, Samue 1. The State of New Jersey Compiled from the Most Authentic Information. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1795.
Lobeck, Armin K. Physiographic Diagram of North America. Maplewood,N .J.: The Geographical Press, 1950.
Malone, Frank D. "Latter Days of Pre-Revolutionary Chariotteburg,"Proceedings of the New Jersey H istorical Society, LXXX (1962), 181-194".
Map Showing property owners in the v ic in ity of Long Pond lying between the old Bergen and Orange Counties (now Sussex) and southwest toward the Pahhahaualling (now Kittatinny) Mountain Rangel N .p., n. pub., n .d.
Melick, A.D., J r . The Story of an Old Farm; or Life in New Jersey in the Eighteenth Century. Somerville, N. J . : The Unionist- Gazette, 1889.
M illiadge, T. A Sketch of the Northern Parts of New Jersey. Copied from the orig inal by Lt. J . H ills . N .p ., n. pub., 1781.
M itchell, Samuel L. "A Sketch of the Mineralogical Histoxy of the State of New York," Medical Repository, I (1797), 279-303, 431-439;I I I (1800), 325-335.
. "The physical geography of the f i r s t range of mountains "extending across New Jersey from the Hudson to the Delaware," American Mineralogy Journal, 1 (1814), 70-79.
135
Morse, Jedidiah. The American Universal Geography. 2 vols. Boston:J.T Buckingham, 1805.
Muntz, A. Philip . The Changing Geography of the New Jersey Woodlands 1600-1900. Unpublished Ph.D. d isse rta tio n , Department of Geography, U niversity of Wisconsin, 1959.
________. '’Forests and Iron: The Charcoal Iron Industry of the NewJersey Highlands," .Geografiska Annaler, XLII (I960), 315-323.
Myers, Albert Cook. Narrative of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630-1707. "New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,1912.
Nelson, William (ed .) . New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, XI (1704- 1739), XII (1740-1750), XIX (1751-1755), XX (1756-1761), XXIV (1762-1765), XXVI (1768-1769), XXVII (1770-1771), XXVIII (1772- 1773), XXIX (1773-1774); Second Series, I I I (1779), IV (1779- 1780).
Neu, Irene D. "The Iron P lantations of Colonial New York," New York History, 33 (1952), 3-24.
A New and Accurate Map of New Jersey from the Best A uthorities. N .p., n. pub., 1770. "
"New Jersey Iron Mines (1865)," Proceedings of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, LXXIII (1955), 42-46; LXXIV (1956), 50-51.
Niemcewicz, Ju lian U. Under th e ir Vine and Fig Tree. Trans, and edited by Metchie J.E . Budka. Collections of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, Vol. XIV. Elizabeth: Grassmann Publishing Co., 1965.
O'Callaghan, E.B. (ed .). Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the S tate of New York. 15 vols. Albany: Weed, Parsons andCompany, 1853-1887.
Office of the Chief of Engineers. Line of the Morris Canal, New Jersey . New York: n. pub., 1827.
Pearce, John B. A Concise History- of the Iron Manufacture of theAmerican Colonies up to the Revolution and o f Pennsylvania up to the Present Time. Philadelphia: Allan, Lane, and Scott,1876.
Pearson, P.R. "Upland Forests on the K ittatinny Limestone and theFranklin Marble of Northern New Jersey ," B ulletin of the New Hampshire Academy o f Science, 5 (1960), 3-HT
Pensylvania, Nova Jersey e t Nova York cum regionibus ad Fluvium Delaware in America sitisT Vienna: Conrad L o tter, 1748.
136
Pierce, Arthur D. Iron in the P ines. New Brunswick: Rutgers UniversityPress, 1957.
. Quakenbush, Granville A. "Our New Jersey Land," New Jersey A gricultural Experiment S tation , B ulletin 775 (1955).
Ransom, James M. Vanishing Ironworks of the Ramapos. New Brunswick:Rutgers U niversity Press, 1966.
Raum, John 0. The History of New Jersey, from i t s e a r l ie s t settlem ent to the present time. 2 vols. Philadelphia: John E. P o tterand Co., 1877.
Raup, Hugh M. "Botanical Studies in the Black Rock F orest," The Black Rock Forest, B ulletin 7 (1938). I
Ricknagel, A.B. The Forests of New York S ta te . New York: Macmillan, 1923.
Ricord, Frederick W. and Nelson, William (ed .). New Jersey Archives,F irs t Series, IX (1757-1767), X (1767-177^
R itchie, William A. The Archaeology of New York S ta te . Garden City,N.Y.: The Natural History Press, 1965.
Robbins, Roland W. and Jones, Evan. Two Blast Furnaces a t S terling Lake, Their 18th Century History and Their Archeological Excavation. Unpublished report fo r the S terling Forest Corporation, Tuxedo,New York, n .d .
Roome, William. The Early Days and Early Surveys of East New Jersey . Morristown: The Journeyman Press, 1883.
"Round Table on Problems in Cultural Geography," Aimals of theAssociation of American Geographers, XXVII (1937), 155-175.
Salisbury, Rollin D. Physical Geography. Vol. IV, Final Report of the S tate Geologist. Trenton: John L. Murphy Publishing Co., 1898.
________. G lacial Geology. Vol. V, F inal Report of the S tate G eologist.Trenton: MacCrellish and Quigley, 1902.
Sauer, Carl 0. "Foreword to H isto rica l Geography," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XXXI (1941), 1-24.
Schoepf, John David. Travels in the Confederation (1785-4). Trans, and edited by Alfred J . Morrison. 2 vols. Philadelphia:Wm. J. Campbell, 1911.
Scott, Austin (ed .). New Jersey Archives, Second Series, V (1780-1782).
137
Sim, Robert J . and Weiss, Harry B. Charcoal-Burning in New Jersey From Early Times to the P resent. Trenton: New Jersey A griculturalSociety, 1955.
Sims, Paul K. "Geology of the Dover Magnetite D is tr ic t , Morris County, N .J .," United States Geological Survey, B ulletin 982 (1952- 1953), 245-304.
________and Leonard, B.F. "Geology of the Andover Mining D is tr ic t ,Sussex County, New Jersey ," New Jersey Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Geologic B ulletin 62 (1952).
Singer, Charles, Holrayard, E. J . , H all, A.R., and Williams, Travor I .A History of Technology. 5 vols. New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1954-1958.
Smith, Samuel. The History of the Colony of Nova Caesaria or New Jersey. Second ed ition . Trenton: Wm. S. Sharp, 1877.
Snell, James P. (ed .) . History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties,New Jersey . Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1881.
________! (ed.) . History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey .Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1881.
Sotzmann, D.F. Map of New Jersey. Hamburg, Germany: Carl Ernst Bohn, 1797.
________. Map of New York. Hamburg, Germany: Carl Ernst Bohn, 1799.
Stryker, William S. (ed .). New Jersey Archives, Second Series, I (1776-1777).
Swank, James M. History of the Manufacture of Iron in A ll Ages.Philadelphia: American Iron and S teel Association, 1892.
Tarr, R.S. The Physical Geography of New York S ta te . New York: Macmillan, 1902.
Temin, Peter. Iron and Steel in Nineteenth-Century America: AnEconomic Inquiry^ Cambridge: The M.I.T. Press, 1964.
Thompson, John H. (ed .). Geography of New York S ta te . Syracuse:Syracuse University Press, 1966.
U.S. Bureau o f the Census. Third Census of the United S tates: 1810.Book, I I , A Statement of the Arts and Manufactures of the United S tates of America, fo r the year 1810. Philadelphia:A. Comm an, J r . , 1814.
138
________. Fourth Census of the United S tates: 1820. Vol. I I , Digestof Accounts of Manufacturing Establishments in the United"^S ta tes . Washington, D.C.: Gales and Seaton, 1823.
________. Tenth Census of the United S tates: 1880. Vol. I I , Reporton the Manufactures of the United S ta tes! Washington, D. C.: Government P rinting O ffice, 1883.
________. Tenth Census of the United S tates: 1880. Vol. XV, Reporton the Mining Industries' of "the United States (exclusive of the precious m etals). Washington, D.C.: Government P rin ting Office, 1886.
________. Eleventh Census of the United S tates: 1890. P art I ,Population. Washington, D.C.: Government P rinting O ffice, 1895.
________. H isto rical S ta tis t ic s of the United S tates, Colonial Timesto 1957. Washing ton, D. C.: Government Printing O ffice, 1960.
U.S. Department of A griculture. The Yearbook of A griculture, 1941. Washington, D.C,: Government P rinting O ffice, 1941.
Vemuele, Cornelius C. "Report on Forests," Annual Report of the S tate Geologist fo r 1899. Trenton: Geological Survey of New Jersey,1900. Pp. 13-101.
Veimuele, Cornelius C., J r . Morris Canal and Banking Company: FinalReport of Consulting and Directing Engineer. Trenton: MorrisCanal and Banking Company, 1929.
Wacker, Peter 0. "The Log House in New Jersey ." Paper prepared for the General Session in Cultural Geography, Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Toronto, Canada, August, 1966.
________. The Musconetcong Valley of New Jersey: A H isto rical Geography.New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1968.
Walker, Joseph E. Hopewell V illage: Some Aspects of the Social andEconomic History of an Iron-Making Community with Special Emphasis Upon the Period 180Q-185~0! Unpublished Ed.D. d isse rta tio n , Department of History, Temple U niversity, 1964.
Wertenbaker, Thomas J . The Founding of American C iv ilization : TheMiddle Colonies. New York: S cribner's , 1938.
Whitehead, William (ed .). New Jersey Archives, F irs t Series, IV (1709- 1720), VI (1738-1747), VII (1746-1751), VIII (1751-1757).
________(ed .). The Papers of Lewis Morris, Governor of the Province ofNew Jersey, from 1738 to 1746. Collections of the New Jersey H isto rical Society, Vol. IV. New York: George P. Putnam, 1852.
139
Widmer, Kemble. The Geology and Geography of New Jersey . The NewJersey H isto rical Series, Vol. 19. Princeton: Van Nostrand.,1964.
Woodward, C.R. The Development of Agriculture in New Jersey 1640-1880. New Brunswick: A gricultural Experiment S tation, RutgersU niversity, 1927.
Manuscripts
Abram S. Hewitt Papers. MSS. New York H isto rical Society. New York, New York.
Act to exempt a number of Men employed a t Mount Hope Furnace and Hibernia Furnace from m ilita ry duty- -177 7. MSS I National Park Service, Morristown National H isto rical Park. M orristown, New Jersey.
The Alexander Papers. MSS. New York H isto rical Society. New York,New York.
B.V. Townsend C ollection. MSS. New York H isto rical Society. New York, New York.
Clinton, Charles. Cheescock's Patent ("The Marble Book"). MSS.County C lerk 's Office, Goshen. New York.
Cobb Collection. MSS. National Park Service, Morristown National H istorical Park. Morristown, New Jersey.
Diary of Mahlon Dickerson--July 1, 1809 to December 31, 1819. MSS. Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Documents Pertaining to Robert Erskine and the Ringwood Mines and IronWorks. MSST New Jersey H istorical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
Durham Iron Works Papers. MSS. Bucks County H isto rical Society.Doyles town, Pennsylvania.
Ford Collection. MSS. National Park Service, Morristown National H isto rical Park, Morristown, New Jersey.
James and William Alexander, Records, ca. 1711-1771. 15 vols. MSS.New Jersey H isto rical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
John P. Carey and Harry F. Swayzey Collection. MSS. Rutgers U niversity. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Lawrence, John. Surveyor's journal, September 24--October 31, 1743,while running the division line o f the Province of New Jersey.MSS. Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
140
L ette r Book o f Joseph and Charles Hoff--March 10, 1775 to July 10,1778. MSS. National Park Service, Morristown National H isto rical Park. Morristown, New Jersey.
L etter from Jacob Ford to Garret Rapage, June 11, 1770. MS. National Park Service, Morristown National H isto rical Park. Morristown, New Jersey.
Lloyd W. Smith Papers. MSS. National Park Service, Morristown National H isto rical Park. Morristown, New Jersey.
The Papers and Scrap Books of Joseph F. T u ttle . MSS. S tate Library. Trenton, New Jersey.
"Papers Relating to Iron, P e ltr ie s , Trade, e tc . , 1712-1817," Penn Manuscripts. MSS. H isto rical Society of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Receipt of deed from Samuel Cobb to Mathias Denman. MS. NationalPark Service, Morristown National H istorical Park. Morristown, New Jersey.
Ringwood Ironworks Account Book, 1760-1764. MSS. New Jersey H isto rical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
Robert Erskine Record Book, 1774-1778. MSS. New Jersey H isto rical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
Robert R. Livingston Papers. MSS. New York H istorical Society.New York, New York.
Ryerson Family Papers, 1733-1862. MSS. Rutgers U niversity. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Suckasunny Mine Record Book, 1828-1842. MSS. New Jersey H istorical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
Voorhees, Oscar M. Chronicles Ancient and Modem Respecting the People, Lands and Industries of the High Bridge Section. MSS. Rutgers U niversity. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
William Nelson Papers, ca. 1872-1914. 15 vols. MSS. New JerseyH istorical Society. Newark, New Jersey.
141
Interviews and Communications
Norman, James. Personal Interview. July, 1963.
Ransom, James M. Personal Communication. February, 1964.
Thompson, Edwin. Personal Interview. August, 1963.
Tregenza, James. Personal Communication and Interview. June, 1966.
Trengove, Martin L. Personal Interview. August, 1963.
Weymer, Jack. Personal Interview. October, 1965.
APPENDIX
Fig. 1. Western Highlands and Pequest Valley. Cleared and cu ltivated , the valley and lower slopes are contrasted with the forested upper slopes and summits.
144
Fig. 2. Eastern Highlands near S terling , New York. Covered by a second-growth fo re s t, few habitations are v is ib le on the land.
145
APR
Fig, 3. The wide, f l a t valley of the Musconetcong River has been occupied by whites fo r over two hundred years.
Fig. 4. Abandoned open-pit mine and spoilbank.
147
Fig. 5. Large mining p i t and ad it. Once operations ceased, the p i t soon1 f i l le d with water.
Fig. 6. Drawing of a forge and t i l t liammer.
■»
149
Fig. 7. Forge and bellows. Saugus Ironworks Restoration, Saugus, Massachusetts.
Fig. 8. T ilt hammer a t Saugus Ironworks Restoration, Saugus, Massachusetts. Cam machinery attached to waterwheel can be seen in the background.
151
TDttTlKD v: MOtrWr /Wv«. J
Fig. 9. Fragments o£ pig (bottom) and bar (top) iron.
I
152
Fig. 10. Drawing of a Stuckofen.
Fig. 11. Drawing of a blast furnace.
APR * 6 8
Fig. 12. Charcoal furnace a t Wawayanda,New Jersey. So oriented th a t i t might be charged from the ridge, the casting arch was in the center and the waterwheel on the r ig h t.
Fig. 13. Tuyere opening of furnace. Hopewell V illage National H isto ric S ite , Pennsylvania.
156
Fig. 14. Casting arch, floo r, and tools. Saugus Ironworks Restoration, Saugus, Massachusetts. Sand bed moulded the iron in to the fam iliar "sow and p ig le t" foim.
AP R • 6 0
Fig. 15. Leather bellows and a ir b la s t. Saugus Ironworks Restoration, Saugus, Massachusetts. This device in jected cold a ir d irec tly into the furnace.
158
IIIU 1 M M I1IIIll ll !■ ■ ■ ■ ! UIII
I *i *
10IIII
egfflKB□ □ Q
on
§ii30®a,~Fig. 16. Drawing p£ a tub bellows.
159
Fig. 17. Tub bellows and waterwheel. Hopewell Village National H istoric S ite , Pennsylvania.
160
161
Fig. 19. Old wagon road used to transport ore from the mines and goods to market.
Fig. 20. The Rockaway Valley served as a source of food and as an avenue of transport fo r the reg ion 's eighteenth-century ironworks.
AP R ■ 6 8
Fig. 21. Recently excavated foige p i t a t Ringwood Manor S tate Park, New Jersey. I t is believed to be p a rt of the Hasenclever complex.
MIP • 6 7
Fig. 22. C o llie r 's hut. Hopewell Village National H istoric S ite , Pennsylvania.
Fig. 23. Dwellings such as these workmen' s cottages were common on a l l iron plantations. Hopewell V illage National H istoric S ite , Pennsylvania.
166
Fig. 24. Manor house a t Ringwood Manor S tate Park, New Jersey. Building dates from the mid- nineteenth century.
167
Fig. 25. General store and inn on Long Pond furnace s i te . Hewitt, New Jersey.
168
'A P R • " 6 9
Fig. 26. Oldest remaining building a t Ringwood Manor. I t may have served as the schoolhouse.
Fig. 27. Type of wagon used to haul charcoal and ca rt ore. Hopewell Village National H istoric S ite , Pennsylvania.
170
Fig. 28. Remains of the charcoal furnaces and waterwheels a t Long Pond. Hewitt, New Jersey.
t
APR • 60
Fig. 29. Abandoned Peter Mine, Ringwood, New Jersey. With no hope fo r an early resumption of iron mining, the property was recently sold fo r res id en tia l development.
APR • 6 8 ■ •
Fig. 30. Early nineteenth-century, comp any - b u il t home fo r ironworkers. Ringwood, New Jersey. Now occupied by the descendants of the fom er workers.
. AUO • ' 6 ?
Fig. 31. Morris Canal and towpath near Wharton, New Jersey. This is one of the few remaining sections of the old canal.
174
APR • 68
ft**'
Fig. 32. O rientation of houses to Morris Canal; Wharton, New Jersey.
175
Fig. 33. Business section and s i te of Port Oram ore landing. Diner occupies former landing s i te . Long building to le f t remains from orig inal settlem ent. Wharton, New Jersey.
176
.Fig. 34. Abandoned canal bed and general sto re. Port Murray, New Jersey.
Fig. 35. Former dormitories fo r iron workers. Wharton, New Jersey. Structures once housed the laborers fo r the Port Oram anthracite furnace.
era.F ig . 36. Clapboarded b u ild in g
Wharton, New Jersey.
of mining
APR ' ■ 6 3
Fig. 37. Farmstead in the southern Highlands. Cereals, vegetables, and other crops occupy the f l a t plains south of the terminal moraine.
Fig. 38. Farmstead in the northern High- lands. The rocky so ils of the g lacia ted areas are usefu l only fo r dairying.
Fig. 39. Abandoned faimlands north of the teim inal moraine. Near Newfoundland, New Jersey.
APR " 6 8
Fig. 40. Ore concentrator a t the Scrub Oak Mine. Wharton, New Jersey. All work ceased in October, 1964.
VITA
NAME: Theodore William Kuiy
PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH: Irvington, New Jersey;January 13, 1937.
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Eleanore Wagner fo r six years;two children.
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION: St. M ichael's School,Union, New Jersey; Union High School, Union, New Jersey.
HIGHER EDUCATION: Montclair State College (1955-1959), B.A.;Louisiana State U niversity (1959-1961), M.A.
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES: Association ofAmerican Geographers; American Geographical Society.
PROFESSIONAL OFFICES HELD: Chairman of Local Arrangements,Buffalo Meeting, New York-New Jersey Division, A.A.G. (1966); Secretary-Treasurer, New York- New Jersey Division, A.A.G. (1966-1967); Vice- Chairman, New York-New Jersey Division, A.A.G. (1967-1968).
PUBLICATIONS: "Effects of the Charcoal Iron Industry onthe New Jersey Highlands Landscape." Paper prepared fo r the 10th Annual Symposium,New Jersey Council fo r Geographic Education, Upper M ontclair, New Jersey, May, 1967.
DOCTORAL MAJOR: Geography
DOCTORAL MINOR: Anthropology
EXAMINATION AND THESIS REPORT
Candidate: T heodore W illia m Kury
Major Field: G eography
Title of Thesis: H i s t o r i c a l G eography o f th e Ir o n I n d u s tr y in th eNew York-New J e r s e y H ig h la n d s : 1 7 0 0 -1 9 0 0
A p p r o v e d :
M a jo r P r o fe sso r and/Tharfrm an
N.
D e a n o f th e G ra d u a te School
EXAMINING COMMITTEE:
Date of Examination:
March 4 , 1968