About 1880 the Company re-opened the 81 mine, which was located
a short distance east
of Williamstown (now Standish) , to supply ore to the
forges located on the
Saranac River, at Clayburg, a distance of approximately
11 miles. A
separator containing the latest types of roasting; stamping, screen-
ing and jigging
equipment was built on the brook. The concentrated ore from
the mill was loaded
into wagons and hauled over a plank road, which had been
recently built for
that purpose, to Clayburg. However, within a year, the
forges and equipment
were moved to Williamstown (Standish), and in 1881
the first forge began
operations near the site of the Company's present modern
blast furnace.
The new location was ideal, for it was in the heart of what seemed to
be
an almost endless
supply of wood for charcoal, and only four miles from the
terminus of the
Chateaugay Railroad.
In this same year, 1881, the Chateaugay Ore and Iron Company was
incorporated, and
purchased the properties of the Chateaugay Ore Company,
the Chateaugay Iron
Company, a furnace at Plattsburg, and the Chateaugay
Railroad Company. The
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company became closely
identified with the
new Company at this time.
By 1883 the mines and mills were producing concentrated ore for some
60 forges in Clinton
and Essex counties. At Belmont, 20 forge fires were
running, the largest
Catalan forge in the country, besides a six-fire forge at
Standish, and a
charcoal blast furnace at Plattsburg. Lyon Mountain had
grown from a few
shacks in the wilderness to a thriving community of some
3,000 inhabitants, the
busiest spot in Clinton county. Nearly a million dollars
had been expended in
the purchase of machinery and equipment, for even then
those dauntless
pioneers, Williams and Weed, realized the wealth and future
possibilities which
lay in this wonderful bed of iron ore.
Improved mining methods and machinery were constantly being introduced,
and as the market
demanded it, the output was rapidly increased. This,
of course,
necessitated a like increase in milling capacity. As a result,
new mills
were erected at
strategic points on the most convenient brook.
Just below the Williams Pit, No. 3 Separator, with roasting, stamping
and jigging equipment, was built, and at Bradley Pond outlet, No.4
Separator,
complete with all equipment, was erected to handle the ore from
Parkhurst
Shaft. Every ton of ore was immediately turned into iron which,
it seems, was
rapidly marketed.
The method of mining at this time, which was continued for some years,
was to sink shafts on the dip of the vein to a depth of about 300 feet,
and
at
intervals, along the strike (i. e., the general longitudinal direction
of the vein)
of about 250 feet. Levels were opened into the ore on both sides
of each shaft
every 50 feet, leaving a small pillar to protect the shaft. After
the
ore was
blasted, it was loaded into wheelbarrows, wheeled out to the shaft,
dumped into
the skip and hoisted to the surface. The rich lump ore was sorted
out
by hand
on the surface, and shipped direct to the steel mills for use in the
open hearth and
puddling furnaces.
As the demand and production of iron increased, so it was with the con-
sumption of charcoal, and in the ensuing years it became necessary to
tap still
further the forests in order to obtain an adequate supply of wood for
the making
of charcoal. In the year 1885, the Company began the erection of
a blast
furnace at Standish, extending the railroad from Lyon Mountain to that
point,
and later to Loon Lake, as a part of its plant facility, in order to
reach the
furnace, charcoal kilns and woodlands that it owned.
In the year 1886, the Catalan forges at Standish were temporarily aban-
doned, and the making of pig iron commenced in the new blast furnace,
using
charcoal as fuel. This resulted in the development of an entirely
new
market
for this product, pig iron being an entirely different product from
bloom iron
produced by the Catalan forges. However, steel making by the
Bessemer pro-
cess was gaining by leaps and bounds in this country, and the
Chateaugay Iron,
being extremely low in phosphorus, was in great demand. Many
additional
houses, a merchandising store, a school house and a church sprang up in
the
village, and Standish began to make industrial history.
The Company continued to make pig iron at Standish, and bloom iron
at Belmont, until the year 1893. The major depression of that
period having
gotten well underway by this time, the Company, in order to consolidate
its
operations at one point and close to its railroad, moved the forges
from Belmont
to Standish, so that both bloom iron and pig iron could be made at that
point
and shipped to market by rail.
The slump in the iron business continued for several years, due to the
depression, and when
the revival of industrial activity began to show itself in
the late '90s, there
came a great demand for the ore, as well as the iron. A com-
paratively new device
for separating the ore came into the market about this time,
known as the Ball and
Norton Magnetic Separator. With this machine, it was
possible to make a
concentrate running 60 per cent iron, with a tailing of only
7 per cent iron, at
the rate of ten tons per hour per machine. The separator at
Lyon Mountain was
enlarged, and a number of these machines installed, with
very good results.
As steel making by the Bessemer process, and wrought iron making by
the puddling process,
increased, the demand for Catalan forge blooms decreased,
not on account of
quality, but because these new processes could make wrought
iron and steel which
would serve the purpose at the time for less than half the
cost of Catalan forge
blooms. As a result, the American Bloomery, which for
many years had been
the backbone of the iron and steel industry of the country,
was doomed.
The Company subsequently abandoned its Catalan forge operations and
continued making low
phosphorus pig iron in the blast furnace, using charcoal
as fuel, and also
continued to ship concentrates and lump ore from its mines at
Lyon Mountain,
By now, it was obvious that the Chateaugay Ore Beds were very exten-
sive, this having been
proven by openings on the outcroppings for a distance of
several miles, and to
a considerable depth, all of the ore being of the same char-
acter and
purity. Because of the exceptional quality of the ore and the
iron, the
demand continued to
increase, and it became evident that the property should
be operated on a much
larger scale.
At this time, The Delaware and Hudson Company had a considerable
financial interest in
the Chateaugay Ore and Iron Company. After having
a study of the
property made, President Willcox, of The Delaware and Hudson
Company, recommended
to its Board of Managers that they take over the
Chateaugay Company and
operate it. On July 29, 1903, the Board of
Managers of The
Delaware and Hudson Company authorized that procedure.
The narrow gauge railroad, which meanwhile had been extended to
Lake Placid, was
promptly supplanted by a substantial, standard gauge road.
At the same time,
wherever possible, grades and curvature were reduced to make
possible the heavy
movements of iron ore which were contemplated from the
property, and which
subsequently took place.
A large steam power plant was built, and two 500 K. W. electrical
generators were
installed to furnish electric power for the electric motors, which
were installed in
place of steam-driven engines, at isolated points, and also for
additional
electro-magnetic separators. There were also installed two
Laidlaw
Dunn air compressors,
to insure an ample supply of compressed air for the
drilling machines in
the mine.
Because of the tremendous amount of charcoal used by the blast furnace,
the increasing
difficulty of securing a sufficient supply, and the fact that by this
time coke had replaced
charcoal in most of the blast furnaces in the country, and
could be secured at a
much lower cost, the Standish Furnace was changed from a
charcoal to a coke
furnace.
Between the years 1903 and 1907, a great deal was done in the way of
replacing much of the
light equipment with heavier and more substantial equip-
ment. The output
of ore and pig iron was considerably increased.
Then, in 1907, came the new President, Mr. L. F. Loree, with many
years of scientific
engineering and practical experience behind him. A new
separator, which was
badly needed, was completed in this year, equipped with
the latest improved
magnetic separators, crushing and screening equipment, and
did excellent
work. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire the following year,
which made it
necessary to use the old No.2 Separator, which had been closed
down.
A well defined plan of study of the property was immediately put into
action by the
President. This included a magnetrometric and geological survey,
diamond drilling,
chemical analyses, and surveying and mapping the mine
workings. The
results of this study revealed that the Chateaugay Ore beds
were tremendous in
size, containing an almost endless supply of iron ore, prac-
tically free from
Sulphur and Phosphorus.
It took several years to complete the above mentioned exploration work,
during which time the
Company's mines and blast furnace operated continually.
In 1914, plans were
made for the development of the ore body on a large scale,
which included a new
hoisting shaft, to be 1,600 feet deep, with steel headframe
and modern
electrically-driven hoisting equipment.
This work was well under way, and the shaft down 900 feet, when the
demands for Chateaugay
iron and iron ore became so great, on account of the
war, that it was
necessary to postpone the development work, in order to con-
centrate all
activities on production.
In 1917, it became necessary to build a new separator, because the old
No.2 Separator was
beginning to fail badly, on account of the many years it
had been
standing. The new separator was completed and put in operation
by the fall of 1918.
In 1919, when the demands of the war had eased up considerably, it
was decided to proceed
with the development of the mine. The No. 1 Shaft,
which had been sunk to
a depth of 900 feet, was extended to a depth of 1,685
feet, with four
compartments; one for pipe and ladderways, one for men and
supplies, and two for
hoisting ore, all enclosed in steel and concrete.
Levels were opened east and west on the strike of the vein, at
intervals
varying from 150 feet
to 300 feet, depending on the nature and character of the
vein. Stopes
were opened up, and electric locomotives installed, and by 1924
all of the mining
operations were confined to the new No.1 Shaft.
In 1921, it became necessary to make repairs and changes at the
Standish
Furnace, which
included a new hearth and bosh, skip hoist and stock bins, pig
casting machine, and a
25,000 cubic foot Turbo blower. In this connection,
a sintering plant was
built at Lyon Mountain, in order to sinter the concentrates
for the furnace, and
also to make additional sintered ore to be sold.
In May, 1924, the separator, which had been completed in 1918, was
destroyed by
fire. It had been intended to make this separator building
entirely
fireproof, but due to
the difficulty in obtaining materials on account of the war,
and the urgent need of
the new separator because of the failure of the old No.2
Separator, it had
become necessary to use considerable wood in the construction
of the interior of the
building.
Plans were made, and work immediately started, on the building of a
new and larger
separator and concentrating plant, which was built entirely of
steel and concrete,
making it absolutely fireproof. This was completed and put
in operation in June,
1925.
By the year 1925, the plants and equipment of the Company were
modern in every way,
including a well developed mine, with one main hoisting
shaft, with steel
headframe and concrete and steel hoist house; a large and
modern concentrating
plant, both built of steel and concrete, being absolutely
fireproof; at the
furnace, a skip hoist and bins, pig casting machine, turbo
blower, a cooling
system and a revolving distributor. The subsequent years
have been devoted
entirely to operating the plant and marketing the products.
shaft34.jpg pg 72
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