Really interesting article. Two years ago my family bought the Freestone Hill property that backs up to Baker Hill Road where the Allen Co. mine was. In fact, the mine shaft that you found is on our land! I just stumbled across it a couple of months ago so I was quite happy to learn the background. Thanks for providing such insightful articles.
Thanks! Are you speaking of the old Carbino Mine (with the steel grate across the entrance) or one of the mines at the top of Baker Hill Road? There's also a soapstone quarry at the base of Freestone that I haven't yet located. The Quartz Hill mine off Fancher Road is worth visiting, too.
Fascinating reading. I have read that the Plymouth Four Corners VT rush was both more populous and profitable. Do you know if that was occurring concurrently with the Bridgewater mines? I believe Plymouth was mostly placer mining as opposed to the hard rock mining occurring in Bridgewater.
I suspect you are correct on both counts - what was happening at Five Corners was placer mining, while the Rooks Mine on Buffalo Brook was obviously hard rock. The capital requirements for placer mining are much lower - all you really need are a gold pan and a bunch of lumber. Look for posts on both the Five Corners "ghost town" and Rooks Mine in the months ahead.
Really interesting article. Two years ago my family bought the Freestone Hill property that backs up to Baker Hill Road where the Allen Co. mine was. In fact, the mine shaft that you found is on our land! I just stumbled across it a couple of months ago so I was quite happy to learn the background. Thanks for providing such insightful articles.
Thanks! Are you speaking of the old Carbino Mine (with the steel grate across the entrance) or one of the mines at the top of Baker Hill Road? There's also a soapstone quarry at the base of Freestone that I haven't yet located. The Quartz Hill mine off Fancher Road is worth visiting, too.
Fascinating reading. I have read that the Plymouth Four Corners VT rush was both more populous and profitable. Do you know if that was occurring concurrently with the Bridgewater mines? I believe Plymouth was mostly placer mining as opposed to the hard rock mining occurring in Bridgewater.
I suspect you are correct on both counts - what was happening at Five Corners was placer mining, while the Rooks Mine on Buffalo Brook was obviously hard rock. The capital requirements for placer mining are much lower - all you really need are a gold pan and a bunch of lumber. Look for posts on both the Five Corners "ghost town" and Rooks Mine in the months ahead.