Note: All of us have driven down Garnet Mine Rd. at one time. Garnet Mines were a big industry in Delco. Below some early history on the mines.
August 9, 1895
BETHEL GARNET MINE
The History of an Important Mineral Industry
THE DISCOVERY OF THE MINE
Sixteen Years Ago the Ground Now Including the Mine, Was
Farm Land, and No Suspicion of the Rich Mineral Deposit Existed.
Early
this week a gang of men at the Bethel garnet mine were set to the task of
pumping from the big excavation the thousands of gallons of water that had
accumulated during and since the last winter.
There was nothing unusual in the pump or in the manner of the pumping.
It was not this that the visitors came to see.
The fact is that the water had entirely hidden from view the scene of
operations at the bottom of the hole, from where, for many years past,
thousands of tons of the “bloody stone” have been dislodged, taken to the
surface and converted to the uses of man. Work, however, has not been abandoned
at the mine. The men have been cutting
great quantities of garnet from the side of the deposit. Progress has been made so far at this
particular point, that it was unhandy, and even dangerous to follow the vein
from the top without removing the water from the mine proper.
The
Bethel garnet mine is located in Bethel Township, a quarter mile west from the
village of Chelsea. It may be reached by a direct road leading to it from
Boothwyn station, on the B. & O. Railroad, after a two and a half mile walk
or drive. Its location is obscure, being
surrounded by hills and valleys, and very few houses are in its immediate
vicinity
DISCOVERY OF THE MINE.
Sixteen
years ago the excavation, now nearly 150 feet deep from the highest point, and
about a quarter of a mile in circumference, was farm land, as hilly as that
peculiar to Delaware County. It was then
considered of no more value commercially, than that in proximity to it.
It was
not until 1879 that the faintest suspicion that a large deposit of garnet lay
hidden beneath the surface, and the idea was not verified until John Smedley,
the well known geologist of this county was called upon to decide the matter.
He took a walk one day over the farm and picked up specimens similar to that
which has since been mined. Further investigation and continued efforts at
digging soon revealed the fact that first impressions were correct.
At once,
there was a rush of projectors eager to purchase the property. The farm was then owned by Beaumont Brothers,
of Wayne, who in view of the fact that crops on the farm were not paying
largely, finally submitted to a proposition from Herman Baer & Co., of
Brooklyn, N.Y. who leased the land, covering a tract of about 74 acres, for one
year, with the privilege of buying it. The company soon erected a plant and began
to mine the material for the manufacture of emery wheels and emery paper.
The first
year the output was meagre, less than 75 tons being the result of the entire
season’s work. The place was eventually
purchased by the above firm and for sixteen years the demand has grown annually
until 100 tons per month is now the rate.
HOW IT IS PREPARED
During the past year, the latest
improved machinery has been introduced and with the changes a new building has
been erected. The method of preparing
the garnet for shipment to New York is very interesting. At this time of the year, people from various
points who are summering in the vicinity, and particularly those geologically
inclined pay daily visits to the mine, examine the various strata and take away
specimens of the stone.
The crude material, which is very nearly pure, is taken from
the mine and put through the crusher which reduces it to a uniform size. It is then lifted from the floor to a hopper
through which it finds its way into a cylinder which revolves inside a larger
cylinder. Here it is crushed still finer
and partly washed. It then passes
through a trough of water in which there is a revolving screw which deposits it
on the ground from one end. Here it is
gathered and put into a monster sheet iron tank where all the exhaust steam and
heat from the boiler concentrate and dries it more thoroughly that the old
wearisome way of spreading it on boards exposed to the sun.
THE PROCESS
CONTINUED
The process of sieving is then gone
through with. The matter prepared as
above is delivered from the dryer, and the whole is passed over a series of
sieves each finer than the other. These are kept in motion so that the various
sizes drop through the respective sieves into a bin below from which it is
bagged and shipped.
The lifting of the garnet from
various parts of the mine is done automatically by means of cups, attached to
gum belts, which, revolving over pulleys, pick up the ground material from one
side and empty it on the other.
The machinery was all designed by
the superintendent, Geo. W. Sharp, who directed a Times man through the works.
Mr. Sharp is a mineralogist, having made the properties and characteristics of
metals a study for years. At his home
near Boothwyn station, he has a cabinet embracing specimens from all parts of
the world.
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I kind of remember the mine being where Garnet meets the Conchester Highway, as a kid the Campbell Farm was between Garnet Mine Rd and where the Golf course is! Ms Campbell was my fourth Grade teacher at Rockdale School! She brought her class to the farm..had a great time! A spring fed stream ran along Garnet Mine Road where we swam. Very rural at the time ..well before the Conchester was built! Old Rte 322 was the access at the time.
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