Morris County Seeking Photos, Facts & Stories of Morris County’s Miners

Morristown Minute

Morris County wants your help uncovering the names, faces, and stories of Morris County’s mining history.

“Historians Seeking to Uncover Old Photos, Facts & Stories” – MorrisCountyNJ.gov

The earliest miners in New Jersey were Dutch and English, migrating to the new world in the 1700s. Riches were sent back to Europe and helped establish New Jersey’s reputation of vast resources, and our state's importance in the mining industry.

Eventually, the Irish came to dominate Morris County’s mining labor force. History records the names of mining barons, but the miners have largely been lost in time.

Now Morris County is seeking the public’s help to uncover the history of Morris County miners. The Office of Planning & Preservation is in the process of building an online historical database on everything from Morris County’s “Railroaders,” “Street Histories,” “Miners,” and more.

“Also included are those who made their living in service to miners: shopkeepers, physicians and contractors,” – Jan Williams, a Cultural and Historic Resources Specialist for the County of Morris Office of Planning & Preservation, which is building the online project.

View the Online History of “Morris County’s Miners,” A Work in Progress

“Our invitations to the public to assist us in compiling historical information for other projects has worked well, and we would love more information on the miners. The prize for us would be photographs,” – Jan Williams.

One of the first iron mines in the United States, around 1710, was located in the Mount Hope section of Rockaway Township. Morris County was part of a northern New Jersey region whose economy was fueled by local mining for well over two centuries.

Last year, the town of Boonton received a Morris County Historic Preservation grant to further preserve and study the former Boonton Ironworks site.

If you have information you would like to share, including photos, corrections to the online history page, or additions to it, please contact Jan Williams at:

jwilliams@co.morris.nj.us.

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