The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-16
Our LOST INDUSTRIES.
Deserted Charcoal Pit and Bog
Iron Furnaces in South
Jersey.


Mr.. Francis B. Lee. of Trenton, writes
from Cape May to the .SEate Gazette"
about a deserted industry of New Jersey
in this entertaining Manner
"On the banks of the great Egg Harbor
river, black as the waters of the CLASSIC
Le5ne, with the humid acid from the
naaar sw ann and ana ~vershhadow by
stands a wharf. neglected and deserted.
Here. a half century since. was a scene
OF activity. Here were loaded c~oasting
vessels, the place. alive with carts, with
horses and with brawny men. fitting rep
resentat1yes OF what was once South Jer-
seys greatest industry-the making of
THAT terra ~incognita, The Pines
which includes much Of Monmouth, nearly
an OF ocean, also eastern and southern
burlington. eastern Camden. Gloucester.
Salem, Cumberland and a greater portion
OF Atlantic and the northern section of
APE May counties. with its wealth of
pine. not to mention oak and other trees,
once gave employment to thousands of
men and sustained three great Eindustr.es.
&There was in the first place the bog iron
INDUSTRY, which originated in Monmouth
county about 200 years ago, and which sus-
tanned from 50 to q Isolated FORCES at
various periods. The bog ore was taken
from deposits throughout this section, the
wood for fuel. This industry was killed
BY the discovery of the magnetic ores of
North Jersey. and improved methods of
" Y NILE Ii fE
There was also the glass industry in
stitused in. Salem County at the close Of
the French and indian wars, which en-
terprise also depended. on pine wood for
fuel. To this day Jersey glass enjoys pre-
eminence; but it was before the general
use Of anthracite and bituminous coal
that the Pines furnished a great source
Of wealth to the State, for it was largely
from the pine wood that charcoal for the
Jersey, New York and Philadelphia mar
kets was made. And of all the towns
largely dependent on this trade mono yya q
more noteworthy than Mays Landing
Whach, by the way, was not named for
Cape May, but for a Presbyterian emil
grant, John May, who, with Tiff. was a
large property owner in this section.
The modus operandi Of charcoal burn
generation knows but little of the pro-
cess. Just as their city cousins have no
IDEA Of the proverbial spinning wheel. A
site having been selected on account Of
its accessibility and the chances of its
being a good firing, ground a pit is
commenced. Now. a pit is not a hole in
is the structural part of the cetacean
monster. Pit is merely a trade term and
is in fact a high cone Of pine sticks and
foot Lengthy and is piled around a fer
| gen. which is a long perpendicular pole,
not unlike a miniature, flagstaff. A crib
gularly around the. 'fergen, max,
chimney. The sfour-foot lengths are
piled against this chimney at an angle OF
as deg. Usually ten cords of wood are
placed in the mass. Pieces of turf, called
floats, cover the affair, and lastly a tor
dressing OF SAND is given. Now, as il
charcoal burning, a pit is a pit" II
follows that instead of setting fire there
to at the base, the fire is started at tht
top, The fire eats its way through thu
sticks of wood, too rapid combustion be
ing prevented by the sand. Ere long the
sides cav in, the cone becomes a shape
less mass and the collier draws out The
charcoal with a rake. AS a rule. charcoal
is sold by the bushel, three cords Of
wood producing one hundred bushels O.
coal.
THE two methods of shipment in the
early days were either across country
by means of a modified type of Conesto
ga wagon or by the c~oasting sloop ant
schooner. Wagon trains usually were
sent to Camden-or as known until aftel
the Revolution, by the name OF Cooper,
Point. The vessels employed in the trad,
were frequently owned by the larg.
landed proprietors OF the State. WI,
would often operate both the iron FORCES
and charcoal pits upon their tracts
which sometimes included one hundred
thousand acres. The vessels were fitte;
out and manned by the employees Of tn,
progenitors of some Of the prominen
South jersey families, whose fortune,
were not only laid. but largely increased
by the iron and charcoal operations ii
The Pines.r y