Franklin Mining District, Sussex Co., New Jersey, USA

Note: ANY RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THIS FILE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO CHET LEMANSKI VIA THE MESSAGE BOARD.

The Franklin Mining District is located in rural Sussex County, New Jersey, some 45 miles NW of New York City. This file contains the complete official list of species which occur within the District's boundaries. The proponent for the official list is the Curator, Franklin Mineral Museum, Franklin, NJ 07416. The boundaries of the Franklin District are strictly defined (Eastern boundary: bases of Sparta Mt & Hamburg Mt; Western boundary: eastern edge of the Wildcat Band of marble northward until it plunges beneath the unconformity, then, northerly along the Wallkill River; the southern boundary: Brooks Flat Road, an East-West road at the southern margin of Ogdensburg borough; and, the northern boundary: an East-West line from the intersection of state route 23 and county route 517 (Quarry Road) in Hamburg Borough at the Franklin borough-Hamburg borough line (an area formerly called Hardistonville) westward to the Wallkill River) (Dunn, P.J. [1995], Pt 1:71). The master list ("The List") is also maintained under a strict protocol to insure its integrity and credibility. At present, there are over 350 CONFIRMED species on this list, presented in this file. These species occur in the two zinc orebodies (Franklin orebody and Sterling Hill orebody), in the several iron orebodies in Franklin (Furnace Magnetite Bed, the magnetite orebodies on Ball's Hill and the other magnetite beds in Franklin), and in the various quarries in the Precambrian Franklin marble (quarries which "fed" the old iron furnace [Franklin was known as Franklin Furnace until incorporation in 1913]), and the quarries worked for agricultural lime, marble chips and aggregate used in landscaping, and the quarries excavated by the New Jersey Zinc Co., contiguous with the orebodies, used for backfill in the mined out areas. Certain mine workings had unique occurrences of mineral species, hence, they are listed separately under their own, unique files, but all species from the district are listed in this file. The list of specific localities with their separate lists of mineral occurrences within the district are listed beneath the master species list. Those who share an interest in the unique mineralogy of the Franklin, NJ, area owe a special debt of thanks to the late Professor Charles Palache, Harvard University; Dr. Pete J. Dunn, Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and John L. Baum, Curator Emeritus, Franklin Mineral Museum, and former Head Geologist, New Jersey, Zinc Co., Franklin, NJ, for their significant contributions to the body of knowledge of the history, geology and mineralogy of this district.

References:
Key bibliographical publications for the Franklin District include, but are not limited to:

- Bayley, W.S. (1910): Iron mines and mining in New Jersey, Geological Survey of New Jersey, Volume VII of the Final Report Series of the State Geologist, Trenton, NJ 512pp. and 2 maps (out of print) [cited as: Bayley, W.S.(1910): XX]
- Dunn, P.J. (1995): Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey: the world's most magnificent mineral deposits, 5 parts + 2 supplements, 978 pp. (in print) [cited as: Dunn, P.J.:Pt X:XX]
- Palache, C. (1935): The Minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, Sussex County, New Jersey, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 180, 135pp., with map (reprinted in 1937, 1961 and 1974) (out of print) [cited as: Palache, C. (1935): XX]
- Proceedings Volume: Lehigh University Department of Geological Scienes and the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society Symposium on Character and Origin of the Franklin-Sterling Hill orebodies (1990), Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 118pp. (out of print)
- The Picking Table, Journal of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (F.O.M.S.), volumes 1 through 42 (in print)

NOTE: A comprehensive bibliography of the publications relevent to the Franklin District is found in Dunn, P.J. (1995): Pt1.