250 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1899. 



Finding that the chrome ore was always confined to serpentine, Mr. Tyson began 

 a systematic examination of the serpentine areas of Maryland, which could be easily 

 traced by the barren character of the soil which they produce. A narrow belt of 

 serpentine extends across Montgomery County, and while chrome ore is occasionally 

 found in it (as, for instance, at Etchison post-office) , nothing of economic importance 

 has ever been discovered in Maryland south of the areas known as "Soldiers Delight" 

 and "Bare Hills." Northeastward, however, the deposits become much richer. 

 The region near Jarrettsville was productive, and thence the serpentine was traced 

 to the State line in Cecil County. Near Rock Springs the serpentine turns and 

 follows the State line eastward for 15 miles. On the Wood farm, half a mile north 

 of the State line and 5 miles north of Rising Sun, in Cecil County, Mr. Tyson dis- 

 covered in 1833 a chromite deposit, which proved to be the richest ever found in 

 America. This property was at once purchased by Mr. Tyson and the mine opened. 

 At the surface it was 30 feet long and 6 feet wide, and the ore so pure that each 10 

 cubic feet produced a ton of chrome ore averaging 54 per cent of chrome oxide. The 

 ore was hauled 12 miles by wagon to Port Deposit, and shipped thence by water to 

 Baltimore and Liverpool. At a depth of 20 feet the vein narrowed somewhat, but 

 immediately broadened out again to a length of 120 feet and a width of from 10 to 30 

 feet. The Wood mine was worked almost continuously from 1828 to 1881, except 

 between the years 1868 and 1873. During that time it produced over 100,000 tons of 

 ore and reached a depth of 600 feet. It is not yet exhausted, but the policy of its 

 owners is to reserve their ores while they can be elsewhere purchased at a cheap 

 rate. Another well-known chrome mine in this region is exactly on the State 

 boundary at Rock Springs, and is called the Line pit. So much of this deposit as 

 lay within the limits of Maryland was owned by Mr. Tyson, while he worked the 

 Pennsylvania portion on a royalty. 



Other chrome openings near the Line pit were known as the "Jen- 

 kins mine," "Low mine," "Wet pit," and "Brown mine." This 

 region has proved one of the best in the country for fine specimens of 

 rare minerals. As a mineral locality it is usually given as "Texas, 

 Pennsylvania," * 



During his exploration of the serpentine belt Mr. Tyson also noticed 

 deposits of chromite sand, and to control the entire supply of this ore 

 he either bought or leased these also, and worked them to some extent 

 with his mines. 



Between 1828 and 1850 Baltimore supplied most of the chrome ore consumed by 

 the world; the remainder came from the serpentine deposits and platinum washings 

 of the Uraig. The ore was at first shipped to England, the principal consumers 

 being J. and J. White, of Glasgow, whose descendents are still the chief manufac- 

 turers of chromic acid salts. In 1844 Mr. Tyson established the Baltimore Chrome 

 Works, which are still successfully operated by his sons. 



After 1850 the foreign demand for Baltimore ore declined gradually till 1860, since 

 which time almost none has been shipped abroad. The reason for this was the 

 discovery in 1848 of great deposits of chromite near Brusa, 57 miles southwest of 

 Constantinople, by Prof. J. Lawrence Smith, who was employed by the Turkish 

 Government to examine the mineral resources of that country. Other deposits were 

 also discovered by him 15 miles farther south, and near Antioch. These regions 

 now supply the world's demand. 



After the discovery of the magnitude of Wood pit, and of the bountiful supply of 



1 P. Frazer, Se^ :> ad Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, CCC, Lancaster County 1880 

 pp. 176 ; 192. 



