IRON ORES OF NEW-YORK. 327 



equal that from Salisbury. Much of the ore in these 

 counties lies in a tertiary formation, under a depos- 

 ite of pebbles, gravel, and loam, and frequently, as 

 at Amenia, at the junction of talcose slate and lime- 

 stone. 



In Orange county there is an abundance of iron, 

 forming beds in primitive rocks, particularly gneiss, 

 from one to twenty feet in thickness. The most 

 important of these are the Stirling, Long, Patter- 

 son, Mountain, Clove, Forshee, and O'Neil mines, 

 though there are many others of great extent and 

 value. The Stirling mine was discovered in 1750, 

 and named after Lord Stirling, then proprietor of 

 the soil. A furnace was erected in 1751, from 

 which time from 500 to 2000 tons of ore, annually, 

 have been consumed, making nearly 150,000 tons 

 up to this time. The ore is from 10 to 20 feet thick, 

 and makes sound and strong iron, suitable for cast- 

 ing cannon, for which it has been much employed. 

 The first steel made in the State of New- York 

 was in 1776, from the Stirling ore ; and in 1810 

 blister steel was made from it, which was used for 

 edge tools, and found to be equal to the best Swe- 

 dish iron. The first ore ever made in the State of 

 New- York was at Stirling Forge, in 1773. The 

 great chain which was extended across the Hudson 

 at that point during the revolution, was made at 

 Stirling, in March and April, 1788, by the late Peter 

 Townsend, Esq. It was contracted for, and its 

 making superintended, by Timothy Pickering, Esq. 

 The iron of this chain was made from equal parts 

 of Stirling and Long Mine ores ; the weight of each 

 link was about 150 lbs., and the whole chain weigh- 

 ed 186 tons, and was made and delivered in six 

 weeks. The first cannon made in the State of 

 New- York were manufactured from the iron of 

 Long Mine in 1816, and were 6, 12, 18, 24, and 32 

 pounders. They were all made for the government 

 of the United States, and not one failed in the proof 



