Mine Hills Preserve

Last updated

Roxbury Iron Mine and Furnace Complex
RoxburyCT IronFurnace 2.jpg
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationMine Hill Rd., Roxbury, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°33′39″N73°20′7″W / 41.56083°N 73.33528°W / 41.56083; -73.33528
Area365 acres (148 ha)
Built1750 (1750)
Built byBartram, Newton
NRHP reference No. 79002621 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 24, 1979

Mine Hills Preserve is a natural and historical conservation area on Mine Hills Road in northwestern Roxbury, Connecticut. Owned by the Roxbury Land Trust, it protects the site of a well-preserved 19th-century iron mine and furnace works. Several miles of trails provide access to abandoned quarry areas and the preserved remains of the iron works, whose uses are explained by informational panels. The preserve is open from dawn to dusk. The 360-acre (150 ha) preserve was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. [1]

Contents

Description and history

When Roxbury was first settled in the 18th century, the land form now known as Mine Hill was called Spruce Hill and was common land. Its stone outcrops were eventually recognized for their minerals, and a few attempts were made in the mid-18th century to extract gold, silver, and lead from the mountain. None of these efforts lasted more than a few years, but shafts dug into the hill survive from this period. In the early 19th century a geological analysis found the presence of carbonated iron ore, a rare and highly desirable form of ore that was probably unknown to the early miners. Disputes over land ownership delayed exploitation of the resource until 1865, when the Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company purchased the hill and began to develop it. It set up a mining operation, with a railroad carrying ore to furnaces near the base of the hill, and built a small town for the workers. Mineral Spring Brook was dammed to create a reservoir that would provide a reliable water supply. Later in the 19th century, a granite quarry was also opened near the base of hill, its products were transported by rail to market in New York City. The iron furnace and mining operation was closed in 1905, and the stone quarry closed in 1935. [2]

The preserve occupies 360 acres (150 ha) north of Mine Hills Road in northwestern Roxbury. It occupies the eastern face of the eponymous hill, whose summit and western portions are in neighboring New Milford. A parking area on Mine Hills Road provides access to the trails. There is a short (0.2 mile) loop leading to the area where the blast furnaces are located, and a longer 3.5-mile trail that loops through the areas where the 18th and 19th-century mining activities took place. A short 0.3-mmile trail provides access to the reservoir site. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxbury, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Roxbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 census. The town is located 65 miles (105 km) northeast of New York City, and is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Highlands State Park</span> Protected area in mountains along Hudson River north of New York City

Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaenavon Industrial Landscape</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Wales

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, in and around Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. The Blaenavon Ironworks, now a museum, was a major centre of iron production using locally mined or quarried iron ore, coal and limestone. Raw materials and products were transported via horse-drawn tramroads, canals and steam railways. The Landscape includes protected or listed monuments of the industrial processes, transport infrastructure, workers' housing and other aspects of early industrialisation in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finedon</span> Human settlement in England

Finedon is a town and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, with a population at the 2021 census of 4,552. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed, Finedon was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwood Furnace State Park</span> State park in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Greenwood Furnace State Park is a 423-acre (171 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Jackson Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is near the historic iron making center of Greenwood Furnace. The park includes the ghost town of Greenwood that grew up around the ironworks, old roads and charcoal hearths. Greenwood Furnace State Park is adjacent to Rothrock State Forest and on the western edge of an area of Central Pennsylvania known as the Seven Mountains. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 305, 20 miles (32 km) south of State College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve</span> Nature preserve in Alabama, US

Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve is a 1,038 acres (4.20 km2) nature preserve located in the eastern portion of Jefferson County, Alabama, in the City of Birmingham's historic South East Lake neighborhood. The preserve includes a visitor center containing native Alabama animals including raptors, snakes, turtles, and owls. The Ruffner Mountain area was home to iron ore mines and stone quarries, supplying the area's steel mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tannehill Ironworks</span> United States state park and historic place

The Tannehill Ironworks is the central feature of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near the unincorporated town of McCalla in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tannehill Furnace, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance. Remains of the old furnaces are located 12 miles (19 km) south of Bessemer off Interstate 59/Interstate 20 near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The 2,063-acre (835 ha) park includes: the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill; the May Plantation Cotton Gin House; and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendarvis (Mineral Point, Wisconsin)</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

Pendarvis is a historic site located in Mineral Point, Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is made up of several 19th century stone and timber cabins built by Cornish immigrants who came to Mineral Point to mine lead and zinc. Today the site is owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society and serves as a museum of Wisconsin's early lead mining history. Programs at the site also interpret the groundbreaking preservation work by Robert Neal and Edgar Hellum, begun during the Great Depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Grove Furnace State Park</span> State park in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller Lakes in Cooke Township of Cumberland County. The Park accommodates various outdoor recreation activities, protects the remains of the Pine Grove Iron Works (1764), and was the site of Laurel Forge (1830), Pine Grove Park (1880s), and a brick plant (1892). The Park is 8 miles (13 km) from exit 37 of Interstate 81 on Pennsylvania Route 233.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morwellham Quay</span> Historic river port in Devon, England

Morwellham Quay is an historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum. It is the terminus of the Tavistock Canal, and has its own copper mine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gogebic Range</span> Iron ore region in Michigan and Wisconsin

The Gogebic Range is an elongated area of iron ore deposits located within a range of hills in northern Michigan and Wisconsin just south of Lake Superior. It extends from Lake Namakagon in Wisconsin eastward to Lake Gogebic in Michigan, or almost 80 miles. Though long, it is only about a half mile wide and forms a crescent concave to the southeast. The Gogebic Range includes the communities of Ironwood in Michigan, plus Mellen and Hurley in Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Hill Mining Museum</span> United States historic place

The Sterling Hill Mine, now known as the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, is a former zinc mine in Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. It was the last working underground mine in New Jersey. It closed in 1986, and became a museum in 1989. Along with the nearby Franklin Mine, it is known for its variety of minerals, especially the fluorescent varieties. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Mine</span> United States historic place

The Jackson Mine is an open pit iron mine in Negaunee, Michigan, extracting resources from the Marquette Iron Range. The first iron mine in the Lake Superior region, Jackson Mine was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1956 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The Lake Superior Mining Institute said, the mine "is attractive in the iron ore region of Michigan and the entire Lake Superior region, because of the fact it was here that the first discovery of iron ore was made, here the first mining was done, and from its ore the first iron was manufactured." Multiple other mines soon followed the Jackson's lead, establishing the foundation of the economy of the entire region. The mine is located northwest of intersection of Business M-28 and Cornish Town Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schoolcraft Furnace site</span> Archaeological site in Michigan, United States

The Schoolcraft Furnace site is an abandoned iron furnace site located just east of Munising, Michigan, within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near the Munising Falls Visitor Center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is also known as the Munising Furnace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Grove Iron Works</span> United States historic place

The Pine Grove Iron Works was a smelting facility in southcentral Pennsylvania during the Industrial Revolution. The works is notable for remaining structures that are historical visitor attractions of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, including the furnace stack of the Pine Grove Furnace. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1977 for its significance in architecture and industry. It includes seven contributing buildings, two structures, fourteen sites, and two objects.

Iron Hill is a prominent geographical feature in the vicinity of Newark, Delaware, in the United States. With a topographic prominence of 200 feet (61 m), it is the most prominent hill in Delaware. However, its peak elevation of 328 feet (100 m) means that it is not the state's highest point, which is located in the Piedmont plateau region near Centreville where a peak elevation of 448 feet (137 m) is attained at Ebright Azimuth. The hill is named for its iron deposits, which were mined over a 200-year period during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is part of a New Castle County park known as Iron Hill Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southfield Furnace Ruin</span> United States historic place

The Southfield Furnace Ruin in Southfields, New York, was a longtime smelting site for iron ore mined from nearby veins in what is now Sterling Forest State Park. It is located on the north side of Orange County Route 19, 0.7 miles northwest of the junction with New York State Route 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecton Mines</span> Copper mines in Staffordshire, England

A group of mines on Ecton Hill, Staffordshire, are unusual for the Peak District in producing predominantly copper rather than lead and zinc. The most important, Deep Ecton mine, has been mined since the Bronze Age, and in the 18th century was a major producer of copper, and the deepest mine in Britain. Mining below river level ceased in the 1850s, and all production stopped in the 1890s. The mine is now a significant educational resource, managed by the Ecton Mine Educational Trust, and with teaching provided by the Ecton Hill Field Studies Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining on the Brendon Hills</span>

The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in western Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. Iron ore and other minerals have been extracted for industrial purposes, primarily by the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company in the later half of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadia Mine railway line</span>

The Cadia Mine railway line is a closed and dismantled railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The 18.5 km long branch line started where it branched from the Main Western Railway line at Spring Hill and ended at Cadia. Its main role was to carry iron ore from the quarry at Cadia and for much of its life was privately operated.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "History of Mine Hill Preserve" (PDF). Roxbury Land Trust. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  3. "Preserves". Roxbury Land Trust. Retrieved March 5, 2017.