History and geology come together at this spectacular destination in Sussex County, showcasing one of nature’s best-kept secrets in the most amazing way. Photo by Michael Kucinski
Posted on 02/23/2020 4:25:42 PM PST by Coleus
History and geology come together at this spectacular destination in Sussex County, showcasing one of nature’s best-kept secrets in the most amazing way. Photo by Michael Kucinski
Upon descent into the Earth’s depths in rural Sussex County, an underground world concealed from the masses comes to light, its marvelous features a true hidden gem. Wandering through the cavernous tunnels, you’ll find craggy cliffs, heaps of artifacts and a surreal display of fluorescence that sparks curiosity and captures the glory of geology. But that only just scratches the surface of the world-famous destination.
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to take a tour of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum.
Sterling Hill Mine is a half-mile deep, with 27 levels and 35 miles of tunnel. Visitors can get a sense of the scale on the walking tour of the first level while viewing geological features that don’t exist anywhere else on Earth. Photo by Michael Kucinski
The Sterling Hill Mine began operating around 1739 and produced more than 11 million tons of zinc over its 247-year lifespan. When it closed in 1986, it was the last operating mine in New Jersey, but now the facility has become a popular attraction — about 75,000 people visit annually — since brothers Richard and Robert Hauck reopened the historic site as a museum in 1990.
“The Sterling Hill Mining Museum is a very unique place on the planet,” said Bill Kroth, president and executive director of Sterling Hill Mining Museum. “We have preserved a wonderful and complex geological deposit. If you were to talk to any geologist or mineralogist, no matter what country you’re in, you mention Sterling Hill and they would immediately recognize us as a special place.”
Visitors can view a laundry list of cool and quirky features along the guided walking tour of the 1,300-foot-long first level, including the lamp room, shaft station, blasting demonstration and mine galleries dating back to the 1830s. Mining mannequins are placed alongside curiously labeled signage to give guests a laugh and maybe a brief moment of panic.
For those who love to be spooked, the quarter-mile journey does give off a slight sense of mystery, and yes — there have been supernatural sightings according to Kroth, most notably a ghost named Pete. If you’re like me and prefer to stay on the spirit’s good side, just stick to the well-lit paths on the tour.
Paranormal activity aside, over 390 minerals are found in the country’s fourth-oldest mine, and at least 90 of them can create a kaleidoscope of colors in the right setting.
After getting treated to a few fleeting glimpses of nature’s eye candy during the trek, the real star of the show takes the spotlight, and it’s a double dose of wonderment you don’t want to miss: The Rainbow Room.
The Rainbow Room reveals a surreal display of fluorescence that sparks curiosity and captures the glory of geology. Photo by Hunter Hulbert
With the flip of a switch, fluorescent minerals suddenly are set aglow in gorgeous reds (calcite) and greens (willemite) when subjected to ultraviolet light. Calcite and willemite were the main ores found in the mine when it was operational, so miners back then would’ve seen the same spectacle we enjoy today.
“It really is one-of-a-kind,” Kroth said. “Most museums do have a fluorescent exhibit that’s a small-scale item, but when you walk into the Rainbow Room here, you’re seeing a very large display of minerals in-situ (in place), and to see the scale and to be underground, it’s just a wonderful thing. When we turn the lights out, the kids go crazy, and we know we’re lighting the love-of-science spark in those kids.”
Believe me: You’ve got to see this iconic outcrop in person. The exhibit is so captivating that the Smithsonian Institution features a model of the display at its museum in Washington, D.C.
Pyromorphite is one of the many international minerals on display in the Zobel Hall Museum. Photo by Hunter Hulbert
The immersive experience doesn’t stop there, though. Next, you’ll head to the Warren Museum of Fluorescence, which houses 700 fluorescent minerals in four rooms, as well as touchable displays, theme cases and a 16-foot-wide, floor-to-ceiling Color Wall filled with 100 oversized fluorescent mineral specimens.
The Zobel Hall Museum, which used to be the miners’ Change House, features a multimillion-dollar display of minerals from around the world as well as individual mineral species such as barite, celestine and copper. Included within the 12,000 items on display is an interactive, 10-foot-long representation of the Periodic Table of the Elements along with a plethora of mining equipment and machinery, ore specimens, Thomas Edison inventions and more.
Beyond the beauty found within the mining museum, there are a couple of other worthy exhibits to check out, too.
The Ellis Astronomical Observatory offers excellent dark-sky viewing conditions far removed from major urban sources of light pollution. The observatory’s massive 20-inch and 12.5-inch reflector telescopes are ideal for nighttime stargazing, and a Hydrogen-Alpha telescope allows for safe viewing of the sun.
The Ellis Astronomical Observatory offers excellent dark-sky viewing conditions far removed from major urban sources of light pollution. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media
During the warm months, the Rock and Fossil Discovery Centers are a great hands-on option for kids looking to learn more about the wonders of geology and paleontology. If they want to get their hands dirty, have them try sluice mining (also known as panning for gold) or dig through diverse minerals in the mine run dump, where they may just find more mining treasures.
Public tour prices, which include the mine, Zobel Hall Museum and Warren Museum of Fluorescence, are as follows:
Adults: $13
Seniors (ages 65+): $12
Children (ages 4-12): $10
Children under age 4: Free
After taking a tour of Sterling Hill Mining Museum, there’s no question this place will rock your world. Seriously, see for yourself.
Just don’t forget you can only find this fluke of nature … Just in Jersey.
Note: Sterling Hill Mining Museum is located at 30 Plant St., Ogdensburg, NJ 07439. In order to go into either of the museums or the mine, you must be a part of a tour. Bring a light jacket as the temperature is a cool 56°F year-round inside the mine. The tour is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
I should go sometime!
In the early 60s I went to Franklin, NJ to collect some specimens of franklinite and the associated calcite and willemite. There was a large open pit of tailings that we could scavenge through. Never got a chance to go to one of the two night sessions that were held annually. To wander through that pile with battery operated short wave UL lights must have been thrilling.
UL...should be...UV
Ping for later
I’ve been there. It’s about 25 minutes away. It’s a cool place, I love the rocks.
I just wish I had some valuable rocks in my backyard. I put in a shovel and hit...granite. Non-decomposed granite is everywhere around here. We expanded our kitchen and had to cut out a somewhat small section of granite ledge.
They brought in a track hoe with a jack hammer attachment.
Several hours later, the Granite was still laughing at them. They ended up using an abrasive saw to cut slits in it and bash it apart with a sledge hammer.
Back in my rock-hound days I took several trips from Queens, NY to NJ for specimens. My trip to Franklin was mentioned above. I made a few to a trap rock quarry in Summit where we would spend the day swinging sledge hammers breaking up big rocks to find small pockets of crystals. The Sayreville clay pits were another destination where we would find concretions and on rare occasions, amber.
There was a lot going on in that area of NJ for rock-hounds back then. I imagine most of it has been built over with homes now.
Plenty of the iron-mining areas in NJ are undeveloped; much of it is on state land/in parks.
Northwestern NJ saw a brief boom a few years ago then it faded quickly as the people expected to flee westward from the high taxes in northeast NJ opted to leave the state altogether rather than live in the hills spending hours each day commuting to the east anyway. The property taxes started climbing there (and in central Jersey) as the urban sprawl spread; now they are looking at closing schools as the state depopulates.
For greg
Hoping to visit very soon. The field trip director of one of the gem and mineral clubs I am a member of is trying to arrange it.
Spoiler: The "nuclear fire" was just harmless fluorescence.
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