IRON ORES OF NEW-YORK. 827 
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 tliat 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 33 
pounders. They were all made for the government 
of the United States, and not one failed in the proof 
