Mount Hope, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Mount Hope is a section of Rockaway Township, New Jersey
.
It was formerly an unincorporated iron mining village associated with the American Revolutionary War
. Mining operations were said to have begun around 1710 and operated continuously through the 1970s. John Jacob Faesch
was the first to develop Mount Hope into an iron plantation with the erection of a stone furnace in 1772 and operated the facility until his death in 1799. Various owners and leesee ran the furnace until 1831 when The Mount Hope Mining Company was incorporated in response to the opening of the Morris Canal
and its transportation opportunities. Operations ceased from 1893 to 1899 due to financial panics, the opening of the Mesabi Range
and cheaper imported iron ore from South America. Empire Steel & Iron Company bought the mine and reopened it in 1900. Additional companies and partnerships continued until its final closure in 1979.
Rockaway Township, New Jersey
Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 24,156....
.
It was formerly an unincorporated iron mining village associated with the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Mining operations were said to have begun around 1710 and operated continuously through the 1970s. John Jacob Faesch
John Jacob Faesch
John Jacob Faesch was a Swiss ironmaster who established the Mount Hope Iron Furnace in the Mount Hope village section of Rockaway Township, New Jersey in 1772 which played an important role in providing munitions and tools during the Revolutionary War.Faesch established himself as an early...
was the first to develop Mount Hope into an iron plantation with the erection of a stone furnace in 1772 and operated the facility until his death in 1799. Various owners and leesee ran the furnace until 1831 when The Mount Hope Mining Company was incorporated in response to the opening of the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
and its transportation opportunities. Operations ceased from 1893 to 1899 due to financial panics, the opening of the Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
and cheaper imported iron ore from South America. Empire Steel & Iron Company bought the mine and reopened it in 1900. Additional companies and partnerships continued until its final closure in 1979.
Sources
- The Highlander Magazine "John Jacob Faesch, Ironmaster" by Ernst Kraus, 1974
- The Historical Society of Rockaway Township