The Hibernia Mine was one of the largest mines in NJ. It was
comprised of many smaller mines, all being linked and accessed
through a 4000 foot plus adit. An adit is a type of entrance to an
underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal. Adits
are usually built into the side of a hill or mountain. This adit
was so large that it needed a locomotive in order for the ore
transport to be economical. This was handled by the Hibernia
Underground railway, the only incorporated mine railway in NJ.
While much is known about the Revolutionary War era signifigance
of the iron mines of northern New Jersey, less information is
available on the railroad that facilitated the movement of iron ore
to market from 1863 until the early 1900's.
Accounts vary as to when the original tunnel was dug and when
tracks were first put down, but it is believed that by 1898, the
Hibernia Underground Railroad (H.U.R.R.) was "an incorporated
narrow gauge railway that went as far as 317 feet below the surface
and traveled along an 1,800 foot long elevated trestle.
The H.U.R.R. is unique in at least one aspect. While it was not
the first iron mining railroad built in New Jersey, it was the
first and only one to travel inside a mountain, and while early
colonists and legendary captured Hessian soldiers provided the
underground labor in the 1700's, Italians and Hungarians were
reported to work the mines, and thus load the rail cars, in 1879
and 1891 respectively.
The mine itself had a succession of owners since it's beginning,
the raiload also appears to have been held by various interests.
Historians state that by the end of the useful mining of iron ore
in New Jersey, two railroad companies had assumed control of the
mine roalroads: the Central Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western.
Today, the abandoned railroad tunnel is the state's largest
hibernaculum which had once housed 30,000 bats, until recently
Surveys have shown that the bat population has greatly deminished.
(see Bat cave cache page)
The cache is a short walk along the trail leading to the cave,
after you locate the cache stop by the mine and feel the cold draft
of air coming out of the mine. Please be respectful in the
area.
NNJC is about promoting a quality caching experience in
Northern New Jersey.
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