History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 4

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 4

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ORES, MINERALS, AND GEOLOGY.

notwithstanding frequent reports of rich deposits being discovered.

Dr. Charles M. Wetherill found traces of gold on the property of Mr. Yoder, in Franconia township, Montgomery Co. The gold was found in quartz- rock and in iron pyrites. In the sand and gravel thrown out while digging a well he found brilliant scales of gold. From an analysis he found that every hundred pounds of gravel contained a quantity of gold worth twenty-six and one-half cents.

A workman who had washed the sands of the Rhine in his native country for gold found in the gravel of the Delaware River at Bridesburg native gold in scales. The gold was extracted from the sands by mercury and purified. It was estimated that one man conld wash from the Delaware sands from twenty-five to sixty cents' worth of gold per day.

From a paper on the "Natural Dissemination of Gold," by Messrs. Dubois and Eckfeldt, the following is taken : "There is a deposit of clay underneath the city of Philadelphia ten miles square, with an average depth of fifteen feet. The inquiry was started whether gold was diffused in this earthy bed. From the cellar of a new market-house in Market Street, near Eleventlı Street, we dug out some clay at the depth of four- teen feet, where it could not have been an artificial deposit. The weight of one hundred and thirty grammes was dried and duly treated, and yielded one- eighth of a milligramme of gold, a very decided quan- tity on a fine assay balance. It was afterwards as- certained that the clay in its natural moisture loses about fifteen per cent. by drying, so that as it lies in the ground the clay contains one part in one million two hundred and twenty-four thousand. This ex- periment was repeated upon clay taken from a brick- yard in the suburbs of the city with nearly the same result. In order to calculate with some accuracy the value of this body of wealth we cut out blocks of the clay, and found that on an average a cubic foot as it lies in the ground weighs one hundred and twenty pounds, as near as may be, making the specific grav- ity I.92. The assay gives seven-tenths of a grain- say three cents' worth-of gold to the cubic foot. As- suming the data already given, we get four thousand one hundred and eighty millions of cubic feet of clay under our streets and houses, in which securely lies one hundred and twenty-six millions of dollars. And if, as is pretty certain, the corporate limits of the city would afford eight times this bulk of clay, we have more gold than has yet (1861) been brought, according to the statistics, from California and Aus- tralia. The gravel which underlies this auriferous clay is always richer than the clay above it in gold, hence if the gravel were assayed instead of the clay it would yield still more gold, but be of no practical value."

Silver .- Silver generally occurs associated with lead ores. The rich Leadville deposits of Colorado are found in carbonate of lead, and in most of the

richest mining districts of the West the silver is con- tained in either sulphide of lead or carbonate of lead. In Montgomery Connty only traces of silver have been found, associated with a sulphide of lead which is known as argentiferous galenite. This lead ore liolding silver was found at the Ecton mine, Shan- nonville, Montgomery Co., about four miles from Norristown. This mine has not been worked since the war.

Several beautiful lead minerals, now quite rare, were found at this mine.

Professor Genth has assayed nearly all the lead ores holding silver in Pennsylvania. According to his assays, the lead ores from the Pequea mines in Lan- caster County contain more silver than any in the State. The Lancaster County ores will yield from two hundred and fifty to three hundred ounces of the metal silver per ton of ore.

The Wheatley lead-mines of Chester County have these silver-bearing lead ores, which when assayed yield from ten to forty ounces of silver per ton. At the Wheatley mines silver has been found in its native state,-that is, as the pure metal. It has not been found native in Montgomery County. The Ecton mine, Montgomery County, yields silver in such exceedingly small quantities that it would not pay to extract the metal ; when assayed, the ores yield only from five to ten ounces of silver per ton.

Copper .- Copper occurs native and in a variety of ores. The only place in the United States where it has been found native in great quantities is in North- ern Michigan, near Lake Superior. The Michigan mines are vertical veins, mostly in trap-rock which intersect the red sandstone. The Cliff mine in that locality has yielded great quantities of native copper. One large mass was quarried out forty feet long, six feet deep, and averaged six inches in thickness. This copper contains mixed with it about three-tenths per cent. of silver. Copper occurs in crystalline azoic rocks, such as gneiss, mica-schist, and in chloritic formations. It is also found in the new red sand- stone. In the oldest rocks, such as the schists and gneisses, it does not occur in veins, but in beds which are parallel to the strata in which it is found. It might be regarded as an accessory constituent in those rocks. You may find chalcopyrite and magnetic iron ore disseminated throughout the rock, but always conformable. Such deposits are called lenticular de- posits, and are found in Tennessee and North Caro- lina. These deposits are very deceptive ; in one bed you may find a good deposit of copper ore, and in the next bed you may find only a few crystals. Surface indications in these deposits are not reliable ; the best way is to sink a shaft and run adits in the direction of the ore. Deposits like these are supposed to have formed at the same time the gneiss-rock which holds them formed.

The two carbonates of copper known under the names of azurite and malachite are surface ores, and

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

are generally found near the top. These ores are probably altered from other ores of copper by the action of the carbonic acid in the air. Copper ores are often found as true veins in quartz. Such are the extensive deposits found in Montgomery County, which occur in quartz veins which have been depos- ited in fissures in the shale by means of infiltrating thermal waters. These ores occur in the new red sandstone and shale.

Montgomery County Deposits of Copper .- In the vi- cinity of Shannonville, Montgomery Co., indications of copper ore were discovered many years ago. As early as the year 1800 it was known that copper ore occurred in this locality. It is not known with cer- tainty who first discovered the ore, or who it was that sunk the first shaft or dug the ore from tuis neighborhood. On the property known as the Weth- erill estate ore was first discovered by some teamsters; it was turned up with the mud by the wheels of the wagons. Stephen Girard became interested in these surface indications, and he had a shaft sunk, with the hope of obtaining rich ore in abundance. His efforts proved fruitless. Some ore was taken out as- sociated with lead ores, but copper was not found in paying quantities. Samuel Wetherill sunk shafts along the Perkiomen Creek near Wetherill's mill, but ore was not yet found in paying quantities. From time to time copper ore had been found in considerable quantities at Shannonville, along the creek which empties into the Perkiomen. Several parties became interested at different times in these deposits. At last the ore was found in such abundance, and the indications were so promising, that the attention of practical miners was directed to this locality. About the year 1829, John and Robert Rowe, who were English miners from the Cornwall mines, became interested in these mines and sunk shafts. They ob- tained copper ore of a good quality. The mines changed hands several times during the next twenty years. The Ecton mine was managed by the Ecton Consolidated Mining Company, who sunk a shaft two hundred and forty feet deep, and drove a few levels. The Perkiomen mine was managed by the Perkiomen Mining Association, who sunk a shaft over three hundred feet deep, and mined much more success- fully and extensively than the Ecton Company. They erected Cornish pumping-engines of great value, and were provided with all the necessary run- ning machinery. These two companies were finally bought ont by a new company, known as the Perki- omen Consolidated Mining Company. They pur- chased the real estate, mines, machinery, and other property of the Perkiomen Mining Association for the sum of one hundred and nine thousand dollars; and they purchased the property of the Ecton Asso- ciation for one hundred and eleven thousand dollars. This new company carried on mining operations very extensively.

It was a stock company. George Cadwalader, of

Philadelphia, was president, and Samuel Wilcox, secretary. The directors were George Cadwalader, Charles Macalester, David Longenecker, of Lancaster, and Samuel F. Tracy and Horatio Allen, of New York. This company was organized in 1852, and they issued fifty thousand shares of stock ; the par value of each share was six dollars. At the Perkiomen shaft there was some valuable machinery,-a fifty-inch cylinder Cornish pumping-engine of one hundred horse-power; at the Ecton shaft, a one hundred horse-power high- pressure pumping-engine, twenty and a half inch cylinder. Besides these pumping-engines there was a whim-engine at both of the mines. Powerful crushers were on the mine, and other machinery at the surface, such as tram-roads and wagons, capstans and shears, whims and whim-chains, pulley-stands, etc. The value of the machinery at the surface was thirty thou- sand two hundred and twelve dollars. The value of the underground machinery-plungers and drawing lifts, main-rods, bobs, ladders, bucket-rods, etc .- was about nine thousand eight hundred and forty-two dollars. The Perkiomen mine was situated on low ground near the creek, while the Ecton mine was situated on high ground about eighteen hundred feet distant. The method of mining was to sink shafts, and then to drive levels in the direction of the ore. When a bed of ore was reached it would be taken ont, and this would leave an open chamber of rock known as a stope, which is shown on the map. Levels were generally driven out from the main shaft at distances of ten, twenty, thirty, forty, and fifty fathoms from the sur- face of the mine, so that there would be no danger of caving in. This would leave a distance of sixty feet between each level.

After the maiu shaft of the Perkiomen mine had been sunk two hundred and forty feet, and the main shaft of the Ecton mine had reached a depth of three hundred and thirty feet, it was determined to connect these two shafts by a level or tunnel which would be eighteen hundred feet in length. This level was af- terwards completed and the mines were connected under ground. The extent of these levels and shafts and the position of the stopes are shown on the map. The various depths of the levels from the surface and the depths of the shafts are marked in fathoms. In the Perkiomen mine, at the ten-fathom level the lode varies from one to fifteen feet in width, and is com- posed of gossan, quartz, malachite, and heavy spar; at the twenty-fathom level the lode varies from two to fifteen feet in width, and is composed of gossan, quartz, malachite, and heavy spar; at the twenty- fathom level the lode varies from two to fifteen feet in width, aud is composed of gossan, quartz, malachite, chalcopyrite, and heavy spar; at the forty-fathom level the lode varies from four to twelve feet in width, and is composed of quartz, chalcopyrite, and heavy spar ; at the fifty-fathom level the lode varies from four I to nine feet in width, and is composed of quartz, gos- , san, heavy spar, malachite, and chalcopyrite. But

ORES, MINERALS, AND GEOLOGY.

few lodes or mineral veins were found at the Ecton mine. The miners were Englishmen who had been brought over from the Cornwall mines in England. In 1852 about two hundred men were employed at the mines. The miners were not under a regular salary by the week or month, but a number of them would club together and agree to extend a level or a stope so many feet for a certain sum. This method of work- ing sometimes proved profitable to the men, but occa- sionally they would be losers by the contract. The men went to work in the mines with candles in their hats, which is a rather primitive mode of illumination.

One great difficulty they had to contend with was the water which accumulated in the shafts and inter- fered with their mining. The pumping-engines at both shafts were kept at work draining the mines. The farmers in the vicinity, also, were sorely tried, as their wells were drained dry, and no water could be procured unless it was pumped from the mines. Charles M. Wheatley, who was manager in 1851, says "that all persons acquainted with mining opcra- ions that have examined the workings at Perkiomen have expressed astonishment at the regularity, size, strength, and prodnetiveness of the veins, and the high percentage of the copper ore obtained from them. The Perkiomen is the first regnlar copper lode opened in this country, and bears a true resemblance to the Cornish system." Professor H. D. Rogers, former State Geologist, in speaking of the mines, says, "I hesitate not to declare that I entertain a very firm belief that your region is destined to become an im- portant mining district, and that the ores of lead and copper will return remunerative profits upon the ex- ercise of skill and prudence. The remarkable regu- larity and parallelism of the lodes is an excellent indication of their consistency. Another fact is the exceedingly well-defined character of these mineral lodes, which do not spread and lose themselves or their ores in the adjoining strata, but insulate them- selves from the rocks of the country by plainly-marked parallel walls, between which all the metallic ores of the region and associated gangue-stones are found. The veins are true and regular metalliferons lodes. A very important feature is the gradation in passing downwards from the outcrops of these veins. First we have only the vein-stones, the metals being weath- ered out or dissolved; then at a few fathoms below the surface we find mingled with these vein-stones those metallic ores of lead, copper, and zinc which are readily vaporized by heat; and deeper still the same vein-stones contain the sulphurets and other permanent ores of copper." There were no smelting- furnaces at the mines, and none of the copper ores were smelted in the neighborhood, but were sent to New York and Baltimore for reduction. The ore was first sent to Umpstead's Landing, at Green Tree, and then to Philadelphia by canal-boats, and from there to New York.

The following table, taken from the annual report

of the directors, shows the amount, percentage, and value of the ores mined :

ORE SOLD BY PERKIOMEN CONSOLIDATED MINES FROM AUGUST, 1851, TO APRIL, 1852.

DATE.

To WHOM SOLD.

Tons.

Percentage

Copper.

Rate per

Toll.

Value.

1851.

Ang. 5 .... Samuel F. Tracy.

55.1849

16,10. $49.10

$2.767.86

25.1109

25.39

85.10

2,190.39

Sept. 24 .. Baltimore Copper Smelting Company.

75.898

21 67.20

5,063 11

Baltimore Copper Smelting; Company ..

18.1411

7 17.50

325 08

Oct. 28 ... Samuel F. Tracy

75.1886

21100

64.25

4,870.24

Dec. 16 .. Baltimore Copper Smelting

59.1929

68,68

4,103.86

Baltimore Copper Smelting Company.

40,31

22.94

917.92

1852.

April 17. Samuel F. Tracy

97.200

84 00

8,156.21

58.1098

10100

30.00

1,754.02

Tons

524.4559

$30,573.80

During the year 1853 one hundred and forty-three tons were raised and sold for nine thousand nine hun- dred and eighty-nine dollars and thirty-nine cents.

The principal copper ores and minerals which have been mined at this locality are chalcopyrite, covellite, cuprite, melaconite, chrysocolla, libethenite, mala- chite, and azurite. The most abundant ores were chalcopyrite and malachite ; of these two ores of copper the snlphide was the more abundant. These ores of copper were mixed with an ore of zinc known as zincblende, or sulphide of zinc, which made the metallurgy of the ores more difficult and expensive. The ores were crushed and freed from zincblende by mechanical means as much as possible before ship- ment.

The mines were worked until the year 1858, when they were closed,-not enough ore was taken out to meet the running expenses. The shafts had been sunk much deeper, that of the Perkiomen mine being over four hundred and eighty feet in depth, while that of the Ecton was over six hundred feet deep. The mines from the time they were opened nntil they were closed never paid the amount of money invested in them. Many interested in the mines were heavy losers. It is said that George Cadwalader, of Phila- delphia, who was president of the company in 1851, invested one hundred thousand dollars, and many others invested large sums in the enterprise. It seems to be the general opinion that the mines were managed extravagantly and withont prudence, and that there were too many needless officers drawing high salaries. In 1865 a quantity of refuse ore was worked at a profit by C. M. Wheatley, of Phoenix- ville, and Capt. Cocking, of Cornwall, England. The property is now owned by Richard Ricard, of New York, who purchased it for forty thousand dollars. The shafts are now full of water, and the machinery and buildings are in a state of decay.

18.628

23.25

425.11

Company.

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Copper ore has been found and mined in Upper Salford township. This vein of copper ore is found on Abraham Kober's farm, situated on the Ridge road, about four and a half miles west of Tylersport, and in the vicinity of Sumneytown. The ore was first discovered on the surface in a small outcrop, and these surface indications led to further developments. Excavations were immediately begun, and at a depth of fifteen feet a vein eight inches in thickness was discovered. The farm was afterwards leased by Mr. Samuel Milligan, of Phoenixville, who set a force of men digging deeper, and finally a rich vein of ore was reached, which at the beginning was only an inch in thickness, but which increased in width until a thickness of three feet was reached, when the rock was cleared away for several feet. About four tons of copper ore were taken out. The ore is found asso- ciated with quartz, which is characteristic of some copper deposits. It occurs in the new red sandstone belt. The ore appears to be chalcopyrite, or copper pyrites, which is a sulphide of copper and iron, Cn2S + FezS3, containing when pure 34.6 copper, 30.5 iron, and sulphur 34.9; color, brass-yellow, often iridescent. The other ore is bornite, which varies in color from brown to copper-red, but is mostly tarnished to purplish color. This ore is purer than chalcopyrite, but is also a sulphide of copper and iron, 3Cm2S + FezS3. It contains when pure copper 55.58, iron 16.37, and sulphur 28.05. This is a valuable copper ore. Mr. William F. Dannehower informs me that native copper was also taken from this mine. The mine was finally abandoned, as the process of mining was expensive, and ore in paying quantities was not found after a depth of thirty feet was reached. Mining operations were first begun in Upper Salford in 1878, and the mine was abandoned in 1880. The ore taken from this mine was of a very good quality, but it does not exist in paying quanti- ties.

The next locality in the county where copper was found is about one and a half miles below Norris- town, along the line of the new Pennsylvania Schuyl- kill Valley Railroad. This very small deposit was found in the limestone belt, and was thrown out by a dynamite blast. It is unusual to find copper in limestone deposits. From an examination of the specimens I found them to be chalcopyrite, with very thin coatings of malachite. There is, however, no regular vein in this locality, but the mineral is dis- seminated through a vein of quartz which runs through bastard marble in the limestone. So far it has been found only in very small quantities.

Tin .- Tin is generally found in rocks of the oldest formations, and very often in the same rocks and gravels in which gold is found. The Cornwall mines in England are the richest and most valuable in the world. But little tin has been found as yet in the United States.

It is interesting to observe that this exceedingly

rare metal is found in its native state of purity in the gravel of Franconia township, Montgomery Co. It occurs in the same gravel in which scales of native gold were found. The largest pieces of tin were found adhering to the gravel and forming a rounded mass of a white malleable metal, which was analyzed and found to be pure tin. By panning more spangles of native tin were obtained. Tin was first noticed in the county by Dr. C. M. Wetherill.

These slight traces are the only instances on record of the occurrence of tin in Pennsylvania.

Iron Ores .- The principal ores of iron are mag- netic oxide, known as magnetite; red hematite, also called specular ore ; brown hematite, known under the name of limonite ; spathic iron ore, known as sider- ite; titanic iron ore, which contains titanium ; and chromic iron ore, which contains chromium. Among the ores of iron might be included iron pyrites, a compound of iron and sulphur, which is quite worth- less for the manufacture of iron on account of the sulphur it contains.

MAGNETIC IRON ORE, FE3O4 .- The purest and most important ore of iron is magnetite. Pure niag- netite is a combination of ferric and ferrous oxides, and is represented by the formula FeyO4. It contains when pure 72.4 per cent. of iron and 27.6 per cent. of oxygen. It is seldom found free from impurities, some of which influence its value as a source of iron. The minerals generally found with magnetite are feldspar, hornblende, quartz, sahlite, and apatite. This ore is strongly magnetic, attracting soft iron and the magnetic needle, and many masses of this ore are true native magnets, and from this interesting fact the ore derives its name. It occurs in crystals, the usual form being the octahedron; it also occurs in dodecahedral crystals. The hardness is 5.5, and the specific gravity about 5. The color is iron-black, and the lustre metallic.

The magnetic ores are found in the oldest rocks in the Huronian and Laurentian formations. The ore occurs in beds, which are often parallel, and they generally coincide with the inclination and direction of the crystalline strata between which they lie. They are generally found in beds of gneiss, schist, or in other granitic rocks that have been metamorphosed by heat. These ores are supposed to have reached their positions betweeu layers of granitic rocks while they were in a melted state, their intrusion being due to a force which ruptured the earth's crust in the di- rection of the strata and pressed the liquid ore and other fused mineral matters into the open fissures. The way these ores are mined when the dip is not steep is to leave numerous solid pillars of ore stand- ing to prop up the rock and act as a support, and then remove by blasting the ore which intervenes. Another supposition in regard to these ores is that they were once hematite ores, and have taken up an extra supply of oxygen and been altered by heat into magnetite. Beds of magnetic ore are searched for

ORES, MINERALS, AND GEOLOGY.

by means of the magnetic compass. Whenever the compass is in the vicinity of a bed of magnetite the needle exhibits a strong disturbance. This, together with a geological clue and an inspection of the dip and direction of the adjoining gneiss, are necessary data for finding the outcrop of the ore.

This ore is largely developed through Canada westward to Lake Huron. Extensive beds occur in New York, and a locality at Lake Champlain fur- nishes many puddling-furnaces in this State with large blocks of crystallized magnetite. It is found in some of the New England States, and in the mountainous districts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The world-renowned Swedish ore, which is so pure, is massive magnetite. No very important deposits of magnetic ore are found in Montgomery County. Fine octahedral crystals are found at the soapstone-quarries near Lafayette, and on the oppo- site side of the river, near the abandoned soapstone- quarry, I have noticed quite perfect crystals of the same form. In many of the creeks and brooks of the county, and in the Schuylkill River sometimes, is found a black sand which is composed mainly of fine particles of magnetite. Crystals are found at Chest- nut Hill. Although no large beds are found in the county, yet at Boyertown, which is but a few miles from the county line, several mines of magnetic ore are worked. These mines have been worked for many years, both by shaft and slope ; some of the veins are over twenty feet in thickness. The ore contains a high percentage of sulphur, and is roasted before using; many blast-furnaces in the county use the Boyertown ore. There are mines of magnetic ore at Lebanon, Reading, and on an island in the river near Reading. These mines contain impor- tant and valuable deposits of magnetite.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 4

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534