8. Edison Mines, Sparta, NJ

November 20, 2023

One of my favorite places to hike and explore back home, the old Edison Mines. These old abandoned mines sit within 3,300 acres of protected forest on Sparta Mountain and happen to be not too far from where I live. You could get lost back there. There are no homes back here and no roads. To find almost anything you have to veer off the one road that passes through the back of the mountain and walk for awhile through the trees. I discovered these old mines buried deep in the woods during 2020 at the peak of the pandemic when my dad and I would explore the woods to get out of the house to maintain our sanity. The forest is dense back there with a few pathways and trails created by human foot traffic. If you stray from those paths you are met with rocky dirt covered forest floor. The 60-foot trees go on for as far as the eye can see, with no clearing in sight. You could wander for hours through the trees and rocks, but if you know where to go, you might just stumble across the ruins of the old Edison Mines. 

Some backstory...

Thomas Edison ran a mining company here in the late 1880s. After finding that the land here in my neighborhood was rich in iron ore, he built, at the time, one of the world's largest iron ore mining factories and operations. At the center of the operation was a massive factory, large enough to process 1200 tons of iron ore every single day. There were mines covering the mountain that workers would trek down into daily to harvest the iron ore. The operation was so successful that a little town was created on the mountain: there was a post office, small stores, homes for all the workers and their families, and a railroad that hauled off cars full of processed iron ore every day. Edison practically deforested the mountain to feed his booming iron ore processing operation. Eventually, in 1899, the mining operation was forced to shut down as sales had plummeted after cheaper iron ore was found in Minnesota. Edison decided to close the company and shut down, losing over $2 million. The business shut down and the mountain cleared out, leaving behind a ghost town on a deforested mountain. 

Today the ghost town in covered by trees. Where the trees had once been leveled to facilitate the mining operation, they have now returned in full force. The trees and brush are woods have crowded out the land. Remnants of old buildings remain merely a few bricks high, and where the towering factory once stood now boasts hundreds of trees standing tall with a small pond in the middle. All the old buildings have deteriorated or been removed and the wood eroded from over 100 years of the elements. You have to search hard to find the pieces of the old town, venturing well off the main road and entrance, the wood is now covered in moss and trees and brush cover small brick structures. The rocks perfectly aligned to form a barrier wall is the only thing recognizably still intact, with a 3 foot tall wall of rocks of various shapes and sizes wedged and fit perfectly together to create a solid barrier. It's quite a sight to see if you go and explore, a wonderful picture of nature's ability to bounce back if left untouched. If you didn't know the history, you might miss all that nature has hidden. It's quite marvelous to see actually. During the pandemic my dad and I would spend hours trekking through the forest and looking for the puzzle pieces of human touch that told the story of over a hundred years prior. The mines are the most obvious and largest remaining structure of the time. The rock chiseled out and down for hundreds of feet where humans used to descend daily to pull iron from the depths of the earth. Now, for safety reasons, they are surrounded by fence so people cannot get to the edge; however, most of these fences are broken or have holes that suggest humans recently have gotten closer than intended. It's quiet and secluded out there. If anything were to happen there isn't anything around for miles and the nearest house is quite a hike away. It's one of those places that if you screamed it's likely no one would hear you. If you're looking to escape from the world and to dive into some history while exploring all the forest and the nature that New Jersey has to offer, it is the best place to do so. It's a hidden gem in Sparta, and most people don't even know it exists. It took me over a decade of living there to discover it. But, it's a wonderful place, the land protected and allowed to grow and do as it pleases untouched for the longest time. It's New Jersey nature at its finest. You'll find squirrel and deer that run through. Lakes and streams that cut through the trees, forest for thousands of acres as far as you can see or image. Birds that chirp and hawks that fly through the air. Cicadas that buzz all summer long. And if you happen to be out amongst the trees from spring through fall, always check yourself for ticks, and keep an eye out for black bear that call these woods their home. 

*These pictures include the natural landscape as well as some personal discoveries of the old mining operation that used to run there.*

(^One of the smaller mines--My dad and I guess this drops probably around 150 feet.)

 

(^Where the train tracks used to run through. Now a great bike path!)

(An engraving on a cement block of a mining pick.)

(^The largest mine we've found. It is hundreds of feet deep and now full of water.)

(^From the old building structures.)

(^We believe, pieces of the old railroad tracks.)