Regiunea Highlands din New Jersey a fost candva acasa pentru multe fierarie si forje. Forjele de la Long Pond, Ringwood, Midvale, Pompton, Bloomingdale si Charlottenburg au produs produse din fier pentru economia tanara si in crestere rapida a SUA si chiar au furnizat materiale pentru trupele din timpul razboiului revolutionar, al razboiului din 1812 si al razboiului civil. Toate aceste forje, cu exceptia Pondului lung, nu mai sunt in picioare. Astazi, cuibarit in parcul de stat Long Pond Ironworks, ramasitele unui cuptor colonial si doua cuptoare din epoca Razboiului Civil amintesc excursionistilor, naturalistilor si vizitatorilor minereurilor bogate odata extinse si topite in aceasta regiune din nordul New Jersey, nu departe de Noua Granita cu York. Ramasitele orasului lasate in urma de progres si timp indica operatiunile imense care au prosperat si au furnizat locuri de munca de-a lungul istoriei lor. Timpul a permis ca o mare parte din acest peisaj industrial sa fie recuperat de padure, dar progresele facute de om sunt evidente si prin rezervoarele expansive care acum furnizeaza apa potabila pentru mii din New Jersey. Feroneria linistita si dezolanta din Long Pond permite vizitatorilor sa se intoarca in timp pentru a-si imagina industria intr-un cadru rural, spre deosebire de zonele urbane precum Paterson si Newark.

Cuptor din anii 1860 la feroneria Long Pond.

Mineritul a inceput in ceea ce este astazi nordul judetului Passaic inca din anii 1740, cand Consiliul Cornelius si-a deschis forjele la Ringwood si Sterling in anii 1740. Cu toate acestea, primele fieruri infiintate in Highlands a fost o forja infiintata in Whippany in jurul anului 1710. Intre 1760 si 1800, optzeci si unu de forje si douazeci si trei de cuptoare au fost cunoscute ca functionau in Highlands.

Un cuptor de fier este o structura de piatra, de obicei la 15 la 30 de metri patrati la baza si se ridica oriunde de la douazeci si cinci pana la saizeci de metri inaltime. Minereul de fier a fost incarcat in partea de sus, impreuna cu carbune sau carbune si var. In mod normal, cuptoarele au fost construite pe un deal, astfel incat acestea sa poata fi incarcate cu usurinta de sus printr-un pod de incarcare, care ar conecta coasta de deal la cuptor. In partea de jos a cuptorului erau cel putin doua deschideri, numite arcade. Un arc a fost numit arc de suflare, in care aerul a fost fortat in cuptor printr-un burduf, alimentat de o roata de apa, pentru a ridica temperatura suficient de ridicata pentru a topi minereul. Celalalt arc a fost numit arc de turnare, unde fierul topit putea fi golit pe patul de turnare. Construit din nisip, patul de turnare a permis fierului topit sa curga in jgheaburi superficiale taiate in podea.

Array

De obicei, cuptoarele produceau bare de fier brute numite porci. Fierul de porc a fost fie expediat intr-o alta portiune a complexului fabricii pentru a fi transformat in produse finite sau expediate in afara amplasamentului.

In 1766, maestrul de fier german Peter Hasenclever a fondat feroneria Long Pond si in cele din urma a deschis cincizeci si trei de mine in zona inconjuratoare. Cu sprijin financiar de la investitorii britanici, Hasenclever a achizitionat fierul de ferastrau Ringwood existent, precum si suprafete mari de teren, inclusiv proprietatea Long Pond de 55.000 de acri. Hasenclever a importat peste cinci sute de lucratori europeni si familiile lor pentru a construi plantatii de fier la Ringwood, Long Pond si Charlottenburg in New Jersey si la Cortland, in New York. Acesti lucratori importati au sculptat drumuri; forje, cuptoare si case construite; si a creat ferme de sprijin din zona. La Long Pond, au barajat raul pentru a oferi apa apei pentru a opera explozia de aer pentru un cuptor si o forja mare.

Maestrul de fier german Peter Hasenclever, 1716-1793.

Dupa cativa ani, investitorii lui Hasenclever au vazut planurile sale ca fiind prea grandioase si scumpe. In 1769, a fost inlocuit ca maestru de fier de catre Jeston Humfray, iar in 1771 de savantul si inventatorul scotian Robert Erskine. Erskine a ocupat functia de inspector general al generalului George Washington in timpul Razboiului Revolutionar. El a tinut siderurgia in functiune si au devenit furnizori importanti de armament si bunuri pentru armata continentala. Pana la suta pana la sute douazeci si cinci erau angajati de forja. Multe dintre fortele de munca au inclus indienii locali Ramapough. Generatiile ulterioare ale tribului au lucrat la forja prin anii 1880 si au continuat sa traiasca in sat si in imprejurimi pana in secolul XX.

Erskine a murit in 1780 la Ringwood din apropiere, iar fieraria a schimbat mainile de mai multe ori. In 1807, proprietatea a fost achizitionata de Martin J.

Ryerson, proprietarii feroneriei Pompton. Familia Ryerson a exploatat forja pana in 1853, cand, industriasii americani Peter Cooper si Abram S. Hewitt au achizitionat Long Pond si au operat-o ca parte a vastului lor imperiu de fier bazat pe Trenton pentru urmatorii treizeci de ani. In aceasta perioada s-a dezvoltat fieraria, odata cu adaugarea a doua cuptoare noi, rotile de apa si o casa de turnare. Satul a cunoscut, de asemenea, o crestere, cu locuinte ale lucratorilor noi, casa managerului si magazin de firme renovate. In acest moment, sase sute erau angajati la Long Pond. In zece ani, campurile de carbune din Pennsylvania si minele de fier din regiunea Marilor Lacuri au devenit o sursa de combustibil si minereu mai rentabila. Hewitt a planificat sa actualizeze fieraria cu imbunatatiri de costuri, precum o roata de apa de cincizeci de metri, dar numai groapa mare a fost construita. La fel ca multi altii, afacerea lui Hewitt a fost afectata de Panicul din 1873, iar groapa mare a rotilor nu a fost niciodata finalizata. In cele din urma, la 30 aprilie 1882, incendiile au fost stinse, punand capat mai mult de 120 de ani de fierarie la Long Pond.

O vedere a cuptoarelor de la Long Pond, in jurul anului 1900.

Curtoazie: Friends of Long Pond Ironworks, Inc.

Dupa inchiderea cuptorului, exploatarea miniera a continuat sa fie o industrie si un angajator major in regiune. Alte industrii includ o gater, taiere de gheata si recreere. Dar pana in anii ’50, aceste industrii erau in declin si multi locuitori ai Satului si din imprejurimi se deplasau in zone mai populate, unde erau amplasate fabrici si industrii moderne. In 1957, compania Ringwood a donat proprietatea Long Pond de 175 de acri statului New Jersey. Districtul istoric Long Pond a fost listat pe registrele din New Jersey si National Registres of Historical Places in 1974 si a fost desemnat reper istoric national in 1978. Long Pond Ironworks a fost dedicat ca parc de stat din New Jersey in 1987.

Astazi, ramane doar o mica parte din operatiunea maret de la Long Pond. Ceea ce a fost candva un sat care adapostea sute de muncitori este doar o simpla mana de cladiri si ruine. Aceste structuri se afla in diferite stari de conservare si degradare din cauza constrangerilor bugetare. Singura cladire complet restaurata la Long Pond Ironworks este centrul de vizitare si muzeul. Aceasta cladire a fost construita initial o treime din dimensiunea sa actuala ca cabana a unui muncitor din doua familii. Se considera ca aceasta casa cu doua etaje, cu doua etaje, a fost construita in perioada anilor 1860, desi data initiala de constructie este neclara. Ar fi fost o imagine in oglinda a ei insisi pe fiecare parte a peretelui central, unde o scara ar duce la doua camere la etaj. Etajul 1 ar fi cuprins o bucatarie si camere cu mai multe utilizari.

Portiunea centrala si partea dreapta au fost adaugate la sfarsitul anilor 1920, cand vechiul Magazin Company s-a mutat din centrul satului in Greenwood Lake Turnpike. Acest lucru le-a permis sa vanda gaz, harti si alte livrari generale ale magazinelor calatorilor. A fost redenumit ca Ye Olde Country Store si a functionat prin anii ’50. In anii 1960, cladirea era ocupata de un restaurant.

Casa dubla din piatra la fieraretul cu lunca lunga, circa 1760

The village contains a number of homes. Just a short walk from the visitor center is Stites and Laird-West homes. These buildings date to the 1860s, but portions of the Laird-West House may be older. After a short walk from these homes, a green appears with three homes. However, only one of the homes is in its original location. The Harty-Milligan House in the center is a two-story, two bay, and worker’s cottage that dates to 1861. It is similar in design to the left side of the visitor center, capable of housing two families. The other two homes in this area were relocated to Long Pond in 1985. The Monsville Reservoir was flooded shortly thereafter. The Patterson House, circa 1780, and the Whritenour House, circa 1810, were privately-owned satellite farms that provided goods and services to those living in Long Pond. The Patterson House served as a restaurant in the twentieth century under names such as the Wanaque Valley Inn, the Copper Kitchen, the Paul Bunyan Inn, and the Holy Mackerel Seafood Restaurant.

As you continue down Furnace Road, deeper into the Village, there is a stone house, which is possibly the oldest home in the Village. It is believed to have been built in the 1760s. Its style mimics the Harty-Milligan House and the left side of the visitor center, although it dates roughly one hundred years earlier. Its exterior is composed of large, rough-cut stones. Unlike the other two, two-family worker’s cottages, this one was not covered in stucco. The home suffered a fire in 1983, destroying the roof and second floor. A grant in 1995, rebuilt the roof and repaired the stonework.

At the crossroads in the center of the Village are the ruins of the Company Store. The building, shortly after the 1760s, was constructed of fieldstone and later covered in stucco. It was two-and-a-half stories in height, three bays wide with an entry door in the center flanked by two windows. The front half of the building included a cellar, accessible from the left side of the building. Rather than issuing scrip, the workers purchased goods under a credit system, whereby their purchases were deducted from their pay. The store would have offered basic necessities such as salt pork, liquor, tobacco, and linens. The ironworks also had offices on the second floor of the store. Historians believe that the building was rebuilt in the 1860s. The store operated until 1925 when it moved to a new building on Greenwood Lake Turnpike. To the right of it are the ruins of an ice house. Built into the hillside and about two feet into the ground, the ice house provided a location to store ice harvested from nearby ponds. The roof of the icehouse was most likely covered with thatch. Behind the road in front of the company store is a manager’s house and a worker’s house, both of frame construction. These homes date to the 1860s and sit abandoned, in varying states of deterioration.

Ramasitele rotii de apa de la sfarsitul anilor 1870 / inceputul anilor 1880 la fierbatorile Long Pond. Ars in 1957.

No more than a quarter mile from the company store lies the heart of the ironworks, the blast furnaces. Three iron furnaces remain, dating between 1766 and 1865. The original furnace, constructed about 1766, is an archaeological remain, rising only a few feet high and is now covered with a tarp to prevent further deterioration. When in operation, it rose about twenty-five feet tall and produced 25 tons of iron weekly. The other two furnaces were built during the Civil War. One of the furnaces produced high-quality iron for gun barrels used by the Union Army during the Civil War. Compared to the colonial furnace, these could produce as much as 150 tons of iron weekly. Toward the end of the Civil War, the second furnace was constructed and the two were connected by a large three-story casting house, of which only the foundation remains today. This second furnace was nicknamed „Lucy” by the workers and converted in the 1870s to burn anthracite coal. Shut down in 1882, „Lucy” was the last furnace at Long Pond to operate. Associated with the furnaces are two waterwheels, built in the late 1870s or 1880s. Fires in the 1957 heavily damaged them. One was rebuilt in 1996 on its original axle through a Green Acres grant, while the other has been stabilized in its current condition. These waterwheels, twenty-five feet in diameter, harnessed power from the Wanaque River via a stone raceway and iron pipes to power the furnaces.

These remnants of the industrial past at Long Pond signal the once-great strength that northern New Jersey and the Highlands played in the economic development and Industrial Revolution of the United States. Plentiful ore still remains buried under the soil in this region, which has now become a haven for passive recreation and an important source of drinking water for millions of residents. The continued preservation of not just the historical resources, but also the ecological resources will play a vital role at Long Pond well into the twenty-first century and beyond.