﻿THE 
  MINEVILLE-PORT 
  HENRY 
  MINE 
  GROUP 
  

  

  JAMES 
  F. 
  KEMP 
  

  

  Location 
  and 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  ore 
  bodies. 
  The 
  largest 
  and 
  

   most 
  productive 
  mines 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  at 
  present 
  are 
  situated 
  at 
  

   Mineville, 
  6 
  miles 
  northwest 
  of 
  Port 
  Henry 
  on 
  Lake 
  Champlain. 
  

   Port 
  Henry, 
  the 
  shipping 
  point 
  and 
  the 
  location 
  of 
  a 
  blast 
  furnace, 
  

   is 
  the 
  town 
  most 
  widely 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  industry 
  in 
  the 
  minds 
  

   of 
  people 
  in 
  general, 
  but 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  ore 
  bodies 
  really 
  are 
  

   at 
  the 
  above 
  mentioned 
  distance 
  from 
  it. 
  In 
  former 
  years 
  a 
  very 
  

   productive 
  deposit 
  was 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  extensive 
  operations 
  at 
  the 
  

   Cheever 
  mine, 
  2 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  Port 
  Henry 
  and 
  near 
  the 
  shore 
  of 
  

   the 
  lake. 
  It 
  is 
  now 
  being 
  reopened 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  magnetic 
  con- 
  

   centration, 
  but 
  none 
  the 
  less 
  the 
  great 
  center 
  of 
  ore 
  production 
  is 
  

   at 
  Mineville. 
  There 
  are 
  two 
  companies 
  actively 
  engaged 
  at 
  the 
  

   latter 
  place, 
  Witherbee, 
  Sherman 
  & 
  Co. 
  Incorporated; 
  and 
  the 
  

   Port 
  Henry 
  Iron 
  Ore 
  Co. 
  The 
  total 
  output 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  is 
  esti- 
  

   mated 
  at 
  15,000,000 
  tons, 
  and, 
  if 
  to 
  this 
  is 
  added 
  the 
  total 
  ship- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  the 
  latter, 
  the 
  entire 
  yield 
  of 
  the 
  ore 
  bodies 
  up 
  to 
  date 
  can 
  

   not 
  be 
  less 
  than 
  25,000,000 
  tons. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  sign 
  of 
  exhaustion, 
  

   and 
  thus 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  iron 
  originally 
  present 
  in 
  these 
  deposits 
  

   makes 
  them 
  rank 
  well 
  up 
  among 
  the 
  great 
  ore 
  bodies 
  of 
  the 
  

   world. 
  

  

  Besides 
  the 
  Chee\^er 
  and 
  the 
  Mineville 
  mines, 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  

   other 
  smaller 
  openings 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  general 
  area. 
  Almost 
  within 
  

   the 
  limits 
  of 
  Port 
  Henry 
  itself 
  is 
  the 
  Lee 
  mine, 
  a 
  bed 
  of 
  somewhat 
  

   sulfurous 
  ore, 
  now 
  long 
  idle. 
  On 
  the 
  west 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  ridge 
  sepa- 
  

   rating 
  Mineville 
  from 
  Lake 
  Champlain 
  and 
  just 
  at 
  its 
  foot 
  is 
  a 
  series 
  

   of 
  openings 
  locally 
  called 
  the 
  Pilfershire 
  pits, 
  also 
  long 
  idle. 
  Again 
  

   just 
  north 
  of 
  Port 
  Henry, 
  along 
  the 
  lake 
  shore, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  

   report 
  of 
  E. 
  Emmons 
  on 
  the 
  Second 
  District 
  [p. 
  236, 
  1842] 
  there 
  is 
  

   a 
  body 
  of 
  ore 
  opened 
  in 
  his 
  time 
  as 
  the 
  Crag 
  Harbor 
  bed. 
  Three 
  or 
  

   four 
  miles 
  southwest 
  from 
  Port 
  Henry 
  is 
  another 
  pit, 
  now 
  aban- 
  

   doned 
  but 
  opened 
  up 
  first 
  by 
  Butler 
  and 
  Gillette 
  and 
  continued 
  

   under 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  Essex 
  Mining 
  Co. 
  

  

  All 
  these 
  localities 
  are 
  marked 
  upon 
  the 
  accompanying 
  map 
  

   [pi. 
  2], 
  which 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  Port 
  Henry 
  and 
  Elizabethtown 
  

   topographic 
  sheets, 
  issued 
  by 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Geological 
  Survey, 
  

   the 
  scale 
  being 
  1 
  mile 
  to 
  the 
  inch. 
  Under 
  the 
  general 
  name 
  of 
  

   the 
  Mineville 
  group 
  are 
  included 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  openings 
  which 
  

  

  57 
  

  

  