Abandoned mine: joint over stream (3 of 6)
The rails have been pushed together by a falling tree.
History
In the early 19th century the Wetherill lead mine in Shannonville, PA (later renamed Audubon in honor of a famous former resident) provided lead for the production of paint. By the 1840s additional copper mining efforts opened a total of nine shafts including the New Perkiomen Mine, Whim Shaft, and the Ecton Mine. These veins were so promising that copper miners were imported from Cornwall, England to support the effort. Production diminished during the following decade culminating in the failure of the enterprise before the Civil War. All that remains above ground are scattered foundations, the smokestack from a facility that pumped water out of the mines, and a curious set of rails over the mine run stream.
Further Information
Conversion of abandoned mine into a bat hibernaculum.
A short article on mining at Mill Grove in Audubon (formerly Shannonville), PA.
A summary history of Perkiomen Mines.
A list of minerals mined in Shannonville.
A note listing the operational life of Perkiomen mines, the last owner, as 1850s-1880s.
A note listing the date of abandoment as the 1870s.
Abandoned mine: joint over stream (3 of 6)
The rails have been pushed together by a falling tree.
History
In the early 19th century the Wetherill lead mine in Shannonville, PA (later renamed Audubon in honor of a famous former resident) provided lead for the production of paint. By the 1840s additional copper mining efforts opened a total of nine shafts including the New Perkiomen Mine, Whim Shaft, and the Ecton Mine. These veins were so promising that copper miners were imported from Cornwall, England to support the effort. Production diminished during the following decade culminating in the failure of the enterprise before the Civil War. All that remains above ground are scattered foundations, the smokestack from a facility that pumped water out of the mines, and a curious set of rails over the mine run stream.
Further Information
Conversion of abandoned mine into a bat hibernaculum.
A short article on mining at Mill Grove in Audubon (formerly Shannonville), PA.
A summary history of Perkiomen Mines.
A list of minerals mined in Shannonville.
A note listing the operational life of Perkiomen mines, the last owner, as 1850s-1880s.
A note listing the date of abandoment as the 1870s.