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(erielack) Iron mining in Rockland and Orange County, NY
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS03/602
280358/1019/NEWS03
Today's Journal News has an article that discusses the iron mines at
Sterling, a topic brought up here in the past few weeks. List relevant
material:
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Iron from Sterling, as well as other sources, was used in the lucrative
Ramapo nail manufacturing business of the Pierson family, who were early
settlers of the area and became industrial leaders.
In 1865, the Sterling Mountain Railway Company built a six-mile spur from
Sterling Lake to the Erie Railroad in order to transport its product more
efficiently, said Ramapo historian Craig Long.
This area was initially called Sterling Junction, or Pierson's Depot —
members of the wealthy Pierson family resided in the community — but when
the post office opened in 1882, the name Sterlington was taken on.
By the early 1920s, the Sterling Mines, which had excavated more than 2
million tons of iron ore, stopped operations. Most local mines similarly
closed by the 1950s, due to exhausted resources and other, more accessible
locations.
Though the railroad no longer exists in Sterling, "Sterling Mine Road today
follows fairly closely the track of the Sterling Mountain Railway Company,"
Long said.
"The railroad was sold for scrap metal," Long said. "But, you can still see
the original trackbed — the vestige of Sterlington's past."
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