Visiting New Jersey's Largest Historic Iron Mine(Read Description For History With Mining Disaster)
Фильм және анимация
The Hibernia mines are a series of iron mines in Rockaway Township, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, that were worked from pre-Revolutionary times until 1916. The mines worked a vein extending for more than two miles (3.2 km). An adit or main haulage tunnel was constructed into the Hibernia hill to move ore to the railhead of the Hibernia Railroad. Ore in excess of 90,000 short tons (82,000 t) was shipped in 1879.
An exploratory shaft was drilled in the 1950s but was not worked, and the shafts and adit were partly or totally sealed in 1972 and 1989.
After its closure, the mine became the largest bat hibernaculum in New Jersey, with as many 30,000 bats each winter. In 2010, less than 10% that number was found in the mine following an outbreak of white nose syndrome.
Hibernia is rich in its iron mining history because it had the longest outcrop of magnetite deposits in the state of New Jersey.
Mining in this area began in 1722. In the early 1760s, Adventure Furnace was constructed near the mine, which smelted the ore that was mined. When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, the furnace played a vital role in producing shots and ordnance for the Continental Army. Adventure Furnace later became known as Hibernia Furnace. Reports indicate that Hibernia Furnace started to deteriorate in 1850.
In the late 1800s, several independent mining operations had claims along, what is primarily called, the Hibernia mines. Various owners of the Hibernia mines started to merge operations and work together around 1863 to create the Hibernia Mine Railroad. Its purpose was to transport the mined ore from the Hibernia mines to the Morris Canal. The railroad was later expanded to connect other railroads for further transport of the ore beyond the Morris Canal.
In 1873, the Glendon Tunnel was drilled. Built by the Glendon Iron Co., one of the companies involved with the Hibernia mine operations, the tunnel’s purpose was to connect all the mining operations to transport the mined ore underground. Three years later, in 1876, the tracks in the tunnel were laid. They spanned about 1.5 miles at its longest length, and with that, the Hibernia Underground Railroad was born.
In the early 1900s, the ore started to dwindle. Joseph Wharton purchased the remaining mining companies, and a few years later, the Hibernia mines shut down while Wharton finished his own railroad. The Hibernia mine was ultimately abandoned in 1916. The total yield that was mined over the years was about 5.2 million tons, and the deepest shaft is approximately 2,800 feet (just over 0.5 miles).
Throughout the mining history of Hibernia mines, there were several tragedies, and many of which involved fatalities. St. Patrick’s Cemetery was established in 1869, and it’s not far from the Hibernia mines. There was a wooden church on-site that was built before the cemetery, in 1865, but it burned down in 1910 and was never rebuilt. Many of the miners and their families are buried in the cemetery.
Mine Disaster
On October 19,1911 the New Langdon shaft was being sunk and had reached a depth of about 1,500 feet following the ore vein. At the same time a drift, several levels above the shaft bottom was being driven to tap some old workings thought to be about 250 feet from the shaft but blasting of a round in the face broke through as it was much closer, allowing water to enter and flood the drift and the shaft below its level. Miners working in the drift and adjacent levels escaped, but 12 men in and near the bottom of the shaft 300ft below the surface were drowned as they all tried to swim back to the escape exit.In less than one minute the water was over the miners heads.
The victims had no chance of escape. With a tremendous roar, the water broke through the wall of the pit in which they were working and in a few minutes the mine was flooded.
The dead:
Foreman, David Slaight
Joseph Swenty
George Pollich
Andrew Miskoshek
John Manister
Paul Ketra
Joseph Swingler
Michael Nejoc
Michael Compus
Stephen Mida
George Kermus
Joseph Ploskunka
The shaft in which the accident occurred is on the side of a mountain literally honeycombed with abandoned workings in which millions of tons of water have collected. Only a thin wall stood between the men and death and an ill-timed blast of dynamite shattered the barrier and released the flood.
As soon as the news of the accident was known, every man and woman in this little town rushed to the scene. In the chill early morning with the rain falling in torrents they clustered helpless about the mouth of the shaft, the weeping, hysterical women, relatives of the victims imploring the men to do something, but there was no hope from the first.
The pumps were rigged as soon as possible and willing hands have kept them going without a moment's pause, but it will be a day or even longer before the mine can be emptied sufficiently to permit the recovery of the bodies.
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With more research I believe the gated entrance was the Glendon Underground Railroad.It was connected to ALL the mines in this area and a means to haul out all the ore from deep inside the mountain.I am ashamed and disgusted with the way this site has been mauled over the years by irresponsible people making bad decisions that caused the destruction of one of the most beautiful pieces of history in our country.Now we cant even get a peek inside the entrance because its blocked by senseless plywood most likely to hide the damage that has been caused.Just another disgusted historian here.This doesn't surprise me especially with the way politics are going now days 😤
Dude I wanted to jump through the screen and crawl into every one of those holes... you're killing me man lol
Sooo much history sitting there bro. I absolutely love those old photos man . Thanks for giving us the go along. 🤙
Wow the weather is nice there. As always, thanks for sharing.
Bad ass man! I was in there about 1994 or so. That concrete wall with the hole in the top was all that was there at that time. A bunch of us got in there 2 or 3 separate times. The deeper we got inside, the louder the bat noises got and the more bats we saw. As you said, we had mag lights that we used. For a long time we all held our flashlights down by our side until I decided to put the light up to my eye level vantage point. As soon as I did that it became alarmingly clear that the bats were flying RIGHT at our faces and veering away at the last second as they flew past us from front and behind as they entered and exited the cave. Only when the flashlights were raised did we realize that the bats were flying inches from our faces...hundreds of them!! By the time we got far enough back to reach the collapse, the walls and ceiling were heavily blanketed with bats. We couldn’t go any farther but the bats were. I remember the ground inside the cave was wet slippery suction mud an inch or two thick. Then I realized it was all batshit built up over time through the whole cave. They spread all their joy all over their sleeping quarters 😂. I also remember being in there in the winter time and the ice show in there was fuckin incredible. That’s all the good news! The bad news is that NJ is a piece of garbage state that cares almost nothing about it’s history, among many other things. It’s no surprise that they even have a visual barrier up in the cave to prevent people from catching an innocent glimpse. That’s NJ for you!! They definitely put the F U in fun. I Hate NJ lol
@AnthraciteHorrorStories
Жыл бұрын
Hardcore man. Bats underground flying at you is the most terrifying shit ever. I got bit in the neck (outside) by one and had to get the rabies shots. That sucked. Hated it.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
Dude what??? Thats crazy man!!! There are barely any bats left from white nose.I saw maybe 5 since I started doing this a few years ago. BTW-That comment is the best Bryan i really appreciate you guys chiming in that where involved with this mine.One of the best only accessible mines around and they screwed it up for us Historians SMH.
@bryanjones9751
Жыл бұрын
@@AnthraciteHorrorStories I also got bit by a bat lol. Probably a year or two after I was in that mine. It was a bright sunny gorgeous Summer day and a bat flew in my window as I was doing 30 miles an hour down the road. I reached behind me to see what the hell was going on and the thing bit me in the pinky. I had to do rabies shots as well lmao!
@AnthraciteHorrorStories
Жыл бұрын
@@bryanjones9751 lmfao! That's terrifying. People don't believe me that I got bit in my neck by one. Yours is such a scary story, hahaha. Rabies shots suck.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
@@bryanjones9751 Thats just nuts man haha!!!
The state and the safety police fucked Hibernia up bad!!! What you see today is a horrible injustice compaired to what it was years ago. Around 1990 Hibernia was blocked off by a steel wall with a door in it. The door was open and you could walk into the tunnel. There were rails on the floor from when it was operating. Above the opening was a deeply mined out ravine, and on the top of the hill were several shafts with stone foundations around them. The foundations were covered with thick steel plates. If you dropped a rock between the foundation and the plates there was about 30 seconds till you heard the splash. Around that time the safety police showed up, dug up the top of the shafts, capped them with thick concrete and buried them. If you didn't know they were up there you'd have no idea where they were today. They also blasted the tunnel shut and back filled the entrance. A very short time later thay opened it back up and blocked it with a concrete wall with a small opening for the bats. Then more blasting was done and gates were added. The loose, fractured hanging rock you see today was not loke that before, it was solid. Also the tunnel floor was much lower than what you were walking on by the gate. Back before they fucked it all up it looked like you could have driven a semi in that tunnel. I never went in more than 50 feet or so because I didn't have a light but friends went way back to a collapse. That tunnel was once the Hibernia underground railroad. If you google that you'll find more details.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
Yeah when they blasted it shut and backfill the entrance they probably killed thousands of bats.They need to leave shit alone especially the wild life inside.Thanks for the comment man really appreciate that info.
@AnthraciteHorrorStories
Жыл бұрын
They do this in Pennsylvania every week with our coal mines sadly.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
@@AnthraciteHorrorStories SMH man
@AnthraciteHorrorStories
Жыл бұрын
@@577buttfan what's that mean? I'm not hip these days, lol.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
@@AnthraciteHorrorStories Shaking My Head in disgust.Took me a while to figure out IKR lol :)
I grew up in the township and went to school in the 1960s with kids whose ancestors worked the mines. Back in the day, there were no gates sealing off the entrance to the now hiberniculum. I've been back there and there are small gauge railroad tracks all the way in. I was told that a small steam engine is somewhere in there and u nder water.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
Yup,The Glendon Underground Railroad.Awesome history buried and forgotten.Cant even look in there past the plywood smh.
In the late 1950s and early 60s I was a student at the Hibernia School right across from the mine entrance. There was a terrific general miner's store there where we bought penny candy. And, as someone else mentioned, the Glendale Adit was still open and I would explore it. Interestingly, during WW2 that adit was to be used for shelter in the case of air attack.
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
Love this comment!
@pampurr1
8 ай бұрын
Yes I bought penny candy there too. I boarded my horses on Meriden Road in the 60’s. I use to ride on those trails. I use to go swimming in the Rockaway River that was near by.
Very interesting, and a great history lesson 577 .. I read the description you added . Those boulders are HUGE too . Nice patch of woods to take a hike in
I worked in Mt hope iron mine in 1977 78 when it was opened by the hale Brothers. have lots of underground pictures of it
@577buttfan
Ай бұрын
Oh man brother, that's so cool! That was a pretty good size. Deep mine. I would love to see some of those pictures man. Shoot me an email.
What a beautiful day you picked to head to the woods.
What a Nice Sunny Day to check out the woods and Camping Grounds from Awhile Back, Real Cool Content 👍🏼🙂👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🦅 fr:Nova Scotia Reservation Nova Scotia Canada 🤘💯
On a hot summer day the moist air coming out of the hiberniculum is at 60 degrees or so.
Really awesome stuff. Sucks how our history is just left to collapse and diminish into craters above ground. Thanks for sharing.
it wasn't crawling through a monkey vein or anything like that but it was still a really nice trip through the woods!
Dang, i was hoping you were going in. Here in the west, those bars get unlocked, get a key at a hardware store, LOL. i seen mine in Death Valley, gated by park service with a game camera on a tripod about 75 feet in. I laughed. I agree with the blood sweat and tears, the reason i hate seeing anyone spray paint over miners graffiti and there is some feud over here with a mine explorer group pissed at another explorer. What this one group does is vandalize mines and allegedly pin on the innocent party. But i thought about what you said at the end of your video. We should respect how hard men, Americans worked to feed their families.
Some good news...the bats who survived the fungus infections are beginning to thrive again
my uncle Jack worked in the richards mine and also the Tebow mine
WOO HOO !!!! Cool mine entrance,,, def need ropes for that one ! Stay safe, my friend !
Many of these are mine holes.Can recall going into the iron door shaft and being in the bottom of a large mine hole.
@577buttfan
8 ай бұрын
So you where down in the last one i showed that was gated? Its not a shaft its a drift,slope or tunnel and you where probably in the stope workings.How far back did you go and was it down on an incline or pretty level in there?
@lawerencestimpson2280
8 ай бұрын
Level to the cave in.Then before the cave in was a rough opening.Had to crawl on your belly to the bottom of the mine hole.Looking up was like the view from a smoke stack.This was in 1963. @@577buttfan
You going too fall in a hole .. Then you forgot to go go Gadgick hooks
A worthy walk in the woods. Fearless men doing frightening work to build this country. Found a Red Oak tree up here that borders State Game Management Land. It has witnessed the European settlement of the area. With my size 16 boot, I paced off just shy of 5 boot lengths across. It has been hacked up, branches fallen and cut off, topped again and again by centuries of relentless storms. Stoically, it's trunk is standing the test of time. Love natures history and the stories it silently reveals. 👊👊 😑🦗
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
I Love mighty oaks! Size 16? Glad your on my side 😆
@stonefacedgrasshopper2200
Жыл бұрын
@@577buttfan Now you understand why I love your mine adventures, but physically shy away from tight places. You cannot put 10 gallons of water in a 3 gallon hat. 🙄
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
@@stonefacedgrasshopper2200 some of the mines I go in have 12ft roof will get you in one day:-)
@stonefacedgrasshopper2200
Жыл бұрын
@@577buttfan 👍
There's someone mining in there there letting you know lol
Thinking......a drone?
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
Yes.A nice FPV drone would work!
@outrigger_van-life
Жыл бұрын
That is a kick ass idea. 💯
Another cool video..That's around 10 mins from my house
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
I actually was thinking about you and the radio when I was entering the town :)
@Phantom7334
Жыл бұрын
@@577buttfan I've been making some awesome contacts on that radio lately. I've reached South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas
Love these woods Tommy. So nice man. NJ is a lovely state minus the politics.
Is this on the Hibernia Brook trail?
@577buttfan
Жыл бұрын
I just googled bat cave in hibernia.Walk down the old rail bed stay left at Y then make next right into the main haulage cut.