Hiking Hammondville

[Hammondville]

I will be hiking Hammondville, a deserted mining town just north of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness and just east of the Hammond Pond Wilderness. I have found the access roads and will be going inside in a couple of weeks. Will take massive pictures. There are a couple persons in this forum who have relatives that worked in this town and have helped me find the exact whereabouts of Hammondville. See http://docs.unh.edu/NY/prdx97nw.jpg

Here is the story of Hammondville for anyone who is interested:

-----------------FROM ADIRONDACK LIFE MAGAZINE---------------------

Ore Over
Nature reclaims a onetime boom town
by: Paul Goldsmith
December 2002

Along Route 74, between Paradox and Eagle Lakes, it's easy to imagine a virgin wilderness. White pine and birch tower over narrow curving asphalt dotted only by the occasional house, giving the impression the woods roll away for miles in every direction. It seems primeval, hardly changed in centuries—the same in 2002 as it might have been in 1802.

But little more than a hundred years ago, this stretch of road wound through a starkly different world, a desert of stumps and scattered timber—a moonscape of mud and rock. This was mining country, where the air was choked with smoke from the charcoal kilns. Today's tranquil silence was instead the rhythmic clap of hammer on rock, punctuated by the occasional explosive blast echoing off Knob Mountain. There, in the midst of this waste, on a pitted, treeless hillside, you would have found the settlement of Hammondville.

Hammondville was once home to as many as seven hundred souls. But don't bother to look for it on a map now. You won't find it. From the discovery of its first ore to the death of its last resident, Hammondville's life arc spanned less than a century. This town, which helped launch an industrial revolution, has faded off maps and disappeared under nature's green tide.

Imagining the Adirondack region as a center of industry is an odd concept for most of us. Today the north woods can feel empty, even untouched. But there was a time when the population of Essex County swelled, and the western shore of Lake Champlain swam in the dense smoke of bloomery forges and blast furnaces. Towns like Hammondville fed those furnaces, hauling out tons of ore that would head south on Champlain and the Hudson River, destined to become steel in Troy.

Hammondville's ore beds were not the first to be mined in the region. Iron was discovered along the banks of Lake Champlain as early as 1749, but it wasn't until 1821 that the mineral was found near Paradox. A man in search of honeybees came across a pocket of ore on a hillside west of Crown Point. Five years later, the son of a local farmer found another vein while hunting partridge less than a mile from the first. He accidentally uprooted a small tree while hauling himself over a ledge. In the void left by the tree was a black streak of ore. It proved to be magnetite iron of the finest pedigree, with no sulfur and just a trace of phosphorus. The property was sold to Allan Penfield in 1827. In the following years the land was cleared, and shafts broken with drills and sledgehammers. When the first loads of ore came up from the earth, word spread of jobs, and soon neat clapboard houses and tenements were built for the laborers and their families, some arriving from the Erie Canal, others from Ireland and Sweden or down from Quebec.

By the 1870s the Crown Point Iron Company, under the direction of General John Hammond, a local Civil War hero, had built a reputation for a high-quality product. Its iron, some of the earliest converted to steel, plated the hull of the Civil War battleship Monitor and supported the Brooklyn Bridge.

The mine had spawned a town, and the town took the general's name. The once sparse collection of sheds and miners' tenements now included two churches, a school, a company store and a narrow-gauge railroad that hauled ore a steep thirteen hundred feet down to furnaces in Crown Point. The weekly dispatches from Hammondville printed in the Plattsburgh Republican show a community struggling for normalcy in a dismal mining town:

December 9—A visitor here of late remarked that the village presented a picturesque appearance at lamp light, and that the melody of pianos and organs from the various cottages was cheerful to the passing traveler. Many of our homes possess these enjoyable instruments and all hands are willing to throw out life lines over the hills.

But all the mentions of tinkling pianos could do little to alter the fact that life at the mine was brutal.

November 24, 1879—Henry Sumner laborer in the Penfield Pit was pushed from his position by a machine drill which he was working . . . and thrown from the ledge falling thirty-five feet and landing among a quantity of loose rocks. It is a wonder he was not instantly killed. His right arm was broken and side badly bruised; how seriously is not yet known. He is still lying in critical condition, but it is thought he will recover.

Hammondville had its boom years like so many early industrial towns, but by the mid-1880s it was already in decline. It was reported that a lack of charcoal for the forges and blast furnaces forced the mine's closure after the surrounding hills were cleared of every scrap of hardwood. But that's just part of the story, despite the photographic evidence of massive clear-cuts. In reality, Hammondville, with its feudal labor practices, fell in part because of union pressure, the death of General Hammond in 1889 and, most significantly, the opening of the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota. Without Hammond's leadership, the mine lost its resolve. The Mesabi Range offered vast deposits of ore, much larger than the dwindling Hammondville pits, and easy access to the Great Lakes and the railroad hubs of Duluth.

By 1890 Crown Point Iron began selling off the Hammondville mine. The steam engines and boilers were packed up and shipped west to Minnesota. The homes and blacksmith and cobbler shops—everything but the two churches, which were destroyed thirty years later—were dismantled, the wood sold off. Because Hammondville was a company town, residents were ordered to vacate, and most drifted into North Hudson, Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Some folks packed up and followed the engines and boilers west.

Hammondville was sold to American Steel and Wire Company, and as the people filtered away, nature took over. In a matter of a few seasons, a thin scar tissue of moss and leaves covered the streets, and soon new growth pushed up through the broken foundations. The town's last resident, Henry "Monkeywrench" Ploof, died in 1935.

Today Hammondville is gone, swallowed by nature, the land it once occupied lost in a large tract owned by International Paper Company. The laborers who broke the rock and ran the steam engines, the people who played piano and baseball, the children who were born there and schooled in the basement of the Union Church, are long gone. They would be ghosts but for the photos and yellowed newspaper clippings at the Penfield Museum, in Ironville, and the 1996 novel We Are Gathered Here by Micah Perks, which focuses on two women living in Hammondville in the late nineteenth century.

"In this country we have this idea of progress where slowly all the green space is taken up by the exploding population, and Hammondville, and the Adirondacks in general, is the opposite of that," says Perks, who grew up in the shadow of the mine. "It was more populated in the nineteenth century than it is now. Hammondville was an industrial wasteland, basically. It's gone back to wilderness."

Pictures of Hammondville taken in the mid-1970s give the sense man was never supposed to be there. Just fieldstone foundations, fading roads, cut blocks of mossy granite and abandoned mineshafts. At twenty feet wide, sixty feet long in some cases, they lay like granite vaults. Just rock really, but enough to know a settlement existed there.

For a time, a sign stood along the edge of the old state highway, pointing up a slow incline into the trees, up into the mountains, announcing Hammondville, but that sign is gone. The name itself means little, even to most locals.

Writer Wallace Stegner once said that place is more than half memory. In the case of Hammondville, memory is all that's left, and soon it may be removed forever from the collective consciousness, just like the old highway sign that bore its name.

Ore Place or Mine? While the site of former Hammondville is now on private land, those who wish to learn more about this historic region may visit the nearby Penfield Museum, in Ironville. The museum offers walking tours of its nineteenth-century homestead and grounds as well as displays showcasing this once bustling center of industry. Call (518) 597-3804 for information.

[redhawk]

When are you going in there?

If you are looking for companions, let me know and we'll move this into the events planning section.

I may be interested, depending on the dates.

Hawk

[Hammondville]

From the Novel, "We Are Gathered Here", by Micah Perks

Before the century could turn, a cheaper, higher-grade midwestern ore drove the Hammondville mines out of business. The remaining miners stayed on only to dismantle the town, to throw the hacked-up shacks into piles and burn them, to load the company's valuables onto the train. They pulled up the tracks behind them, and Hammondville was gone. Crownpoint and Irondale shriveled.

The decades wedged against the new century were filled with fire. As the men logged, they stripped branches, left the sash knee-deep, covering dried stumps and roots. It stopped raining. The sash turned brittle. Any spark could ignite it. And sparks did, again and again. The dead forest flamed over thousands of acres. Even dirt burned. Root fires sizzled underground, until they crept up a living tree. Suddenly a white pine would explode, spontaneous combustion, the warning hand of a god. With no roots to keep it steady, the earth skidded down the mountain in terrific mud slides.

The old money who summered in the Adirondacks did not appreciate the charred scenery after the fires had passed through. A Vermonter wrote a book claiming all great civilizations doomed themselves by cutting down their trees. The state legislature grew afraid of prophecy and wealth. In 1892 they declared the Adirondacks a park.

Now, start at the Paradox road. Still unpaved, filled with ridges. Stop at the Shaker house, now owned by a city lady as a vacation home. . .And then, past these houses, no people at all. The forest is tumbledown, awry, crowding the road. The valley school and farms and blacksmith are all gone. . .The valley is nearly empty now, just a beaver swamp, two blue herons, circled by trees. It is hard to find Hammondville Road. Look for the signs: No Trespassing. Danger. Deep holes covered only bt a thin layer of earth. It will frost early in Hammondville, and the hoarfrost is beautiful on the frozen leaves. Deer step delicately through the missing town. Coyotes howl at its center.

Trespass. Climb the old two-track. Out of breath, at the top, at first there is nothing to see--the tousled woods have taken everything back. Nothing but a scatter of gun cartridges from last fall. But move carefully, look closely. Here are foundations, circles of rock. Touch the cool stone, still flecked with dark iron. There is a bucket, the bottom a lace of rust. An old green bottle drowns in a tangle of blackberry brambles.

Some of the mines are still open, jagged wounds with aqua water streaming down their sides. Tread carefully. Some shafts are hidden. You can tell when you are standing over a hole: crouch, brush away the dried twigs and leaves until you see black earth. Rest your hand flat on the ground until you feel a gust of cool, moist air rising still. Hold your breath. Listen. The mines are filled with bats, and the sound of their fluttering at dusk is like the sound of a hundred quick hearts. The cool air is like breath on your palm: keep breathing. Hope the past will bear you up.

[Tom McG]

You relalize, of course, that the Hammondville Area is posted.

[Hammondville]

Originally Posted by Tom McG

You relalize, of course, that the Hammondville Area is posted.

Really? You don't say?

[Tom McG]

Afraid so, I have a cabin near there and have heard tales (from other neighbors) of trespassers being arrested by the sheriff. The reason is there are a number of mines with deep unprotected shafts. Just thought I’d pass on the information.
Tom

[Hammondville]

Not too many sheriff deputies in that area my friend. Spend a lot of time up there and have never seen an Essex County Sheriff's car ever. State Police run the show. But fear not. I am ninja.

['Dukes]

Who owns the land, GP, IP? I wouldn't worry about the signage. The place is a piece of history.
Althought not much remains. Still fun to see.

[Tom McG]

The area is owned by IP.

Quote "I wouldn't worry about the signage."

Dukes, a question for you.... What part of 'not your land' do you seem to have a problem with?

There is about 3 million acres of state owned or easement lands in the Adirondacks, isn't that enough to avoid trespassing on private lands?

Tom McG

[Wildernessphoto]

I've found IP property is easy folks. Just contact them and get a permit. I've done it to photograph and explore there property. They will issue permits by the day, week, month, & year. Take the time to get one. It's available, and a good PR practice.

Never hurts to ask, but gets ugly if you don't!

International Paper
286 Glen St.
Glens Falls, NY 12801
(518) 793-4481
Permit Recreation program

[sacco]

well said and great info gary

[Tom McG]

Wildernessphoto is right, I've managed to climb many private peaks, just taking the time to locate the owner and ask permission. Sometimes they say no and I respect their decision. I have asked and received permission from IP to hike on their lands in the past. There are more restrictive of requests made during hunting season or in areas that there are logging. Respect property owners rights to their land, I know I wouldn’t be too happy to have someone trespassing on my lands.

[Hammondville]

Ski season is over and it's time to venture back into the Adirondacks. Memorial Day kicks off the summer season and my family will be going up to the Ticonderoga area. Time to do some more exploring.

Here is photo of Hammondville from above the Hammond Pit, Crown Point.

[Gray Ghost]

If you don't take someone who really knows that area with you--maybe you do--you're asking for trouble. IP wants no one in that area and for good reason. It's dangerous! Hammondville just happens to be part of my hometown. I have always wanted to check it out as well, but i don't want to end up a hundred feet down in a mine either. If you think that all the mines are open, think again. New mines open up all the time. I would definitely contact IP first. My guess is they will tell you to stay away from that area. I have some friends who live up that way and I'll see if they've ever asked permission and let you know.

[Hammondville]

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost

If you don't take someone who really knows that area with you--maybe you do--you're asking for trouble. IP wants no one in that area and for good reason. It's dangerous! Hammondville just happens to be part of my hometown. I have always wanted to check it out as well, but i don't want to end up a hundred feet down in a mine either. If you think that all the mines are open, think again. New mines open up all the time. I would definitely contact IP first. My guess is they will tell you to stay away from that area. I have some friends who live up that way and I'll see if they've ever asked permission and let you know.

I have been to Hammondville several times. I know where the mines are. They dug them far from main street. There aren't any new mines opening(?) If I lived in Crown Point I certainly would have been to Hammondville before.

[Gray Ghost]

You "certainly" would have, eh? Well maybe I'm not down with trespassing on private property. I have some property in the area that's posted myself and I get pretty peeved when people just ignore the yellow signs. Maybe you have permission, whatever, it's you're perogative. If you know where you're going, good. What I mean by new mines are areas that open up unexpectedly (I'm not sure the exact term for it). And I'm talking DEEP holes that open up. You must have driven through the Mineville/Witherbee area before. A huge hole connected to the mines opened up on the Witherbee road about a year ago. I can't say I'm not interested in Hammondville; I think it has got to be pretty cool to explore. I am not down with breaking the law, however. If you don't have permission, I'm sure IP would nail you if you were caught.

[wiltz101]

Sounds like a pretty cool place, but i wouldn't disrespect the property owners rights. If everyone that thought they knew an area like this were allowed to explore it we would have search and rescue parties going back there all the time and people suing the property owner. Not that you don't know your way around the area but why should you be allow to trespass if the rest of us are being told to stay away from that area because it is dangerous? and are respectful enough to do so.

[lumberzac]

Due to the nature of this thread I have decided to lock it. Adkforum does not advocate trespassing on private property. Should you want to explore the area I suggest contacting the property owner and getting their permission.