History of Rockaway Township
Morris County, New Jersey
Villages of::
Green Pond
Lake Telemark
Marcella
Hibernia.
White Meadow Lake
Mount Hope
Fleetwood
Birchwood
Mount Pleasant.
History:
Pre-colonial period the Lenni Lenape (Delaware Indians) lived in the area.
c. 1710 along with the Dickerson Mine of Mine Hill, the Mount Hope Mine was the oldest iron mine in the United States.
1715 the Dutch settlers came to the lower or eastern part of Rockaway Township. The settlers named the village based on the Indian word, "Rechouwakie," meaning, "the place of sands."
1715 land grant between William Penn and the Delaware Indians.
as early as 1722 iron ore was mined from the Hibernia deposit.
1730 Job Allen in Rockaway Village (todays Rockaway Boro) built an early forge later known as the Stephen Jackson Forge.
1740 forges were operating along the Rockaway River.
Rockaway was the first district in America to actively work and mine iron ore. . There were three blast furnaces located in Hibernia, Mount Hope and Split Rock. The Spilt Rock Furnace (the only furnace still standing) is located below the dam of the Spilt Rock Reservoir.
1749 the Middle or Aetna Forge, located on the Burnt Meadow Branch of the Rockaway River on land that is now the Picatinny Arsenal, built.
1750 the Lenni Lenapes disappeared from Morris County.
1763 or 1764 Samuel Ford built the Hibernia Iron Works on the Whippany River, "about four miles north of Rockaway," in the hills of northern Morris County. The Hibernia Mine got its iron ore from the Loswer Wood, Glendon, Scott, DeCamp, Upper Wood, Willis and Wharton mines working on the Hibernia deposit. (The ore extended from the Beach mine, near New Road, northeast under the Hibernia Brook into the hill on the east).
1765 the "Adventure Furnace," later known as the Hibernia Furnace, was built.
1767 Samuel Ford sold his share of Hibernia to William Alexander, Lord Stirling, thereby making James Anderson, Benjamin Cooper, and Lord Stirling equal co-owners. Ford himself got involved in counterfeiting.
1772 John Jacob Faesch, one of the most prominent men of Morristown and leading ironmaster of his day, erected the Mount Hope Furnace. Mount Hope Mine is located in Mount Hope, three miles north of Dover. Iron ore was located on Mount Hope Hill, Hickory Hill and Mount Teabo Hill. It was the largest producer of iron ore in New Jersey.
Revolutionary War (1775-1782) the forges and furnaces at Hibernia and Mount Hope furnished the Continental Army with all kinds of iron implements along with cannon and cannon balls.
By 1776 Morris County was the principle smelting center of the United States.
1777 (October 7) because the need for iron was so crucial, the New Jersey Legislature adopted a resolution exempting fifty men at Mount Hope and twenty-five men a Hibernia from entering the military service.
1792 Jacob Faesch acquired land that later came to be mined in the Teabo, Allen and Richard Mines. The land was southwest of the Mount Hope Mine and northeast of the Baker Mine.
1803 iron ore found on the Jacob Faesch property. Jacob gave 28 acres to his son Richard who opened what became known as the Richard Mine.
1809 Richard Faesch sold the Richard Mine. (Later the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation operated the Richard Mine.)
18l0 the Federal Government bought the Aetna Forge.
1831 the Morris Canal began operating from Dover to Newark to the benefit of the local iron industry.
By 1832 the Morris Canal canal linked Newark to Easton, Pennsylvania. Anthracite coal from Pennsylvania breathed new life into the local iron industry.
1844 Morris County divided some of its larger townships. Rockaway Township was formed. (It included both todays Rockaway Township and Rockaway Boro and Denville.) Sections of Pequannock and Hanover Township were split off to form Rockaway Township.
1850 some ore was mined from Hibernia to supply the furnaces as Powerville and Beach Glen; the Hibernia furnace at that time being in ruins.
1850-1875 Swedes Mine (located off Swedes Mine Road) was one of the more important mines of this year. The mine was operated continuously until 1875.
1855-1884 the Allen Mine (northeast of the Richard Mine) worked.
18561950s the Richard Mine was operated nearly continuously.
Civil War Period (1861-1865) the Hibernia Railroad built linking the Morris Canal at Rockaway Village with the mines at Hibernia.
After the Civil War the Mount Hope Railway carried an immense ore freight. There was also the Green Pond Railway travelling from Charolotteburgh to Green Pond.
The lakes of Rockaway Township made possible the development of Green Pond, Lake Telemark, and White Meadow Lake as resorts.
before 1868 the Cobb Mine (a.k.a. the Spilt Rock Mine), located east of Split Rock Road, opened.
1873-1878 the Cobb Mine was inactive.
1876 vast deposits of cheap surface iron ore were discovered in the Mesabi region near Lake Superior, Minnesota causing a decline in the Morris County iron industry.
1878-1881 the Cobb Mines last tour of duty.
1879 Picatinny Arsenal established.
c. 1890 Joseph Wharton began a program of consolidation.
1891 the Navy Ordinance Depot established at Picatinny Arsenal.
1894 Rockaway Boro incorporated.
1901 Wharton secured control of the entire Hibernia mines. The property was then passed on to Warren Foundry & Pipe Corp. and the Shamoon Industries.
early 1900s Joseph Wharton built the Wharton and Northern Railroad, which included a branch from Lake Denmark into Upper Hibernia.
1907 the first powder factory at the Picatinny Arsenal opened.
1907 the Teabo mine. northeast of the Allen mine, started being operated by Richard Mine operators.
1913 the Hibernia mine was finally abandoned.
1913 Denville incorporated.
1940 the population of Rockaway Township was 2,423.
1946 the Mount Hope Mine was reopened with Hungarian workers.
1950 the population of Rockaway Township was 4,418.
By 1959 both the Richard and Mt. Hope mines closed.
1960 the population of Rockaway Township was 10,356.
1970 the population of Rockaway Township was 18,955.
the 1970's Shire National (successor to Shamoon Industries) sold the northeast section of the Hibernia deposit.
1980 the population of Rockaway Township was 19,850.
1990 the population of Rockaway Township was 19,5720.
1994 the Township celebrated its seisquecentennial, 150 years.
1994 Rockaway Boro celebrated its centennial.
Sources:
About Rockaway Township - History & Geography http://www.gti.net/rocktwp/rthist.html#history