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Roxbury Iron Mine (Shepaug Iron Company Mine; Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company Mine), Mine Hill (Ore Hill), Roxbury, Litchfield Co., Connecticut, USA
Latitude: 41°34'6"N
Longitude: 73°20'24"W
Longitude: 73°20'24"W
The first confirmed mining at this site was in 1750, about that time, Moses Hurlbut and Abel Hawley are said to have worked Mine Hill for silver and lead. About 1760 a company headed by two brothers named Brownson worked the mine energetically under the supervision of a German goldsmith named Feuchter; two shafts were sunk, one going down 175 feet from the top of the hill, into the vein of ore. This search for silver in the relatively sparse galena continued for several years until the available funds were exhausted.
A new company was organized; the vein traced down the surface of the hill toward the river and horizontal drifts were made. Several other companies followed, working the mine for silver and lead, but there was not enough galena and these late 18th century operations were short lived. The last operation recognized the iron potential of the ore, but did not pursue it.
By about 1816 Prof. Benjamin Silliman of Yale identified iron in the form of siderite as a valuable ore, this was followed by inspections in 1830 by Prof. Charles Shepard. At last the vein’s value as an iron-ore was appreciated, and by 1830 David Stiles began operating to extract it. His operations became tied up by lawsuits from previous operators or leaseholders.
Finally, in 1865, the Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company was formed after exploring the prospect, running some of the ore through other furnaces, and seeking the best advice available from an economic geologist, mining engineers and metallurgists, plus four Yale professors: Brush, Porter, Dana and Silliman (senior, now 85 years old). Professor George Brush wrote on May 30, 1864: “The ore...is spathic, or sparry iron ore....something over 40% metallic iron, most highly prized of iron ores, comparatively rare...It produces a white pig iron…well adapted for conversion to steel.” In 1867, the company name changed to The American Silver Steel Company. It greatly expanded the mining and built the railbed, furnaces and facilities whose ruins are now preserved at the site. After some problems with the blast furnace in 1868, the mine and smelting ran well until 1872, when a change over to a hot blast ruined the furnace and all activity ended.
Sometime in the early 1900s the Columbia School of Mines arranged to use the mine for field study by students of mining engineering. They reinforced the middle drift adit with concrete. The mine is now part of the Roxbury Land Trust’s Mine Hill Preserve. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The adits and shafts have been gated off to prevent human entrance but allow access by the bats that now make it their home.
Mineral List
22 entries listed. 20 valid minerals.
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References
Shepard, Charles U. (1831), Notice of the Mine of Spathic Iron (Steel ore) of New Milford, and of the Iron Works of Salisbury, in the State of Connecticut. American Journal of Science, 1st series, 19: 311-326.
Shepard, Charles U. (1837), A Report on the Geological Survey of Connecticut. Hamlen, New Haven.
Pynchon, W. H. C. (1899), Iron Mining in Connecticut. The Connecticut Magazine, 5: 20-26.
Schrader, Frank C., Stone, Ralph W., and Sanford, Samuel. (1917), Useful Minerals of the United States. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 624: 97-101.
Schairer, J. F. (1931), The Minerals of Connecticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Hartford Connecticut Bulletin 51.
Keith, Herbert C. (1935), The Early Iron Industry of Connecticut. Part I. History and Relics. Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Inc.
Harte, Charles Rufus. (1935), The Early Iron Industry of Connecticut. Part II. The Connecticut Blast Furnaces and Furnace Practice. Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Inc.
Elwell, Wilbur J. (1936), Mineral Collecting by Hydroplane. Rocks and Minerals, 11(6): 92-3.
Harte, Charles Rufus. (1944), Connecticut's Iron and Coppper. 60th Annual Report of The Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Incorporated.
Perry, Clay (1946), New England's Buried Treasure (NY: Stephen Daye Press)
Januzzi, Ronald E. (1959), The Minerals of Western Connecticut and Southeastern New York State. The Mineralogical Press, Danbury, Connecticut.
Schooner, Richard. (1961), The Mineralogy of Connecticut. Fluorescent House, Branford, Connecticut.
Hull, Daniel R. (1966), Bewitched Mine Hill, The Silver-Lead-Iron Mine of Roxbury, Connecticut. The Old Woodbury Historical Society, Woodbury, Connecticut.
Ryerson, Kathleen. (1972), Rock Hound's Guide to Connecticut. Pequot Press.
Januzzi, Ronald E. (1976), Mineral Localities of Connecticut and Southeastern New York State. The Mineralogical Press, Danbury, Connecticut.
Webster, Bud. (1978), Mineral Collector’s Field Guide Connecticut. Privately published.
Bell and Mayerfeld (1982): Time and Land: The Story of Mine Hill (Roxbury Land Trust and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies).
Weber, Marcelle H. and Earle C. Sullivan. (1995), Connecticut Mineral Locality Index. Rocks & Minerals (Connecticut Issue), 70(6): 399.
Pawloski, John A. (2006), Connecticut Mining (Mt. Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing) pp. 50-51; 61.
Shepard, Charles U. (1837), A Report on the Geological Survey of Connecticut. Hamlen, New Haven.
Pynchon, W. H. C. (1899), Iron Mining in Connecticut. The Connecticut Magazine, 5: 20-26.
Schrader, Frank C., Stone, Ralph W., and Sanford, Samuel. (1917), Useful Minerals of the United States. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 624: 97-101.
Schairer, J. F. (1931), The Minerals of Connecticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Hartford Connecticut Bulletin 51.
Keith, Herbert C. (1935), The Early Iron Industry of Connecticut. Part I. History and Relics. Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Inc.
Harte, Charles Rufus. (1935), The Early Iron Industry of Connecticut. Part II. The Connecticut Blast Furnaces and Furnace Practice. Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Inc.
Elwell, Wilbur J. (1936), Mineral Collecting by Hydroplane. Rocks and Minerals, 11(6): 92-3.
Harte, Charles Rufus. (1944), Connecticut's Iron and Coppper. 60th Annual Report of The Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Incorporated.
Perry, Clay (1946), New England's Buried Treasure (NY: Stephen Daye Press)
Januzzi, Ronald E. (1959), The Minerals of Western Connecticut and Southeastern New York State. The Mineralogical Press, Danbury, Connecticut.
Schooner, Richard. (1961), The Mineralogy of Connecticut. Fluorescent House, Branford, Connecticut.
Hull, Daniel R. (1966), Bewitched Mine Hill, The Silver-Lead-Iron Mine of Roxbury, Connecticut. The Old Woodbury Historical Society, Woodbury, Connecticut.
Ryerson, Kathleen. (1972), Rock Hound's Guide to Connecticut. Pequot Press.
Januzzi, Ronald E. (1976), Mineral Localities of Connecticut and Southeastern New York State. The Mineralogical Press, Danbury, Connecticut.
Webster, Bud. (1978), Mineral Collector’s Field Guide Connecticut. Privately published.
Bell and Mayerfeld (1982): Time and Land: The Story of Mine Hill (Roxbury Land Trust and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies).
Weber, Marcelle H. and Earle C. Sullivan. (1995), Connecticut Mineral Locality Index. Rocks & Minerals (Connecticut Issue), 70(6): 399.
Pawloski, John A. (2006), Connecticut Mining (Mt. Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing) pp. 50-51; 61.
External Links
Bell and Mayerfeld (1982) can be found here - http://www.roxburylandtrust.org/minehill.html
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Locality Updated: Cinque quarry, East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut, USAFrom Harold Moritz, 22nd May 2013 23:02:12