This message was posted by CT Mike, I am reposted it as it was lost due to the system failure.
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Today I hiked up to Croton Magnetic mine, located near Brewster, New York off magnetic mine road..................
I have some disheartening news............
The mill site is destroyed and the area reclaimed
the huge ore storage towers are destroyed and the area reclaimed
the original 1872 ore crusher is gone
the original 1872 steam engine is gone...... I saw some riveted sheet iron from what was an intact 70 hp boiler crushed and mangled on the ground... sad.
the old dynamite sheds are destroyed
the adit is back filled with dirt
the shaft is filled with dirt....
thus entombing 1000s of bats , endangered Indiana bats are known to inhabit mines in this area, and this was one of their largest hibernaculums.
there are now roads in place for development of the site
This was all done without the land owner consulting the Putnam county historical society, if they had, the historical society would have contacted me and I would have paid to have the antique 1800s machinery relocated to my property in CT and preserved for future generations.
I was talking to a prominent CT historian/ author and we agreed this WAS probably the most intact 19th century site east of the Hudson in CT or NY, I have spent the last 5 years researching the history of the mine. There is NO other site in this region that still has machinery in place from the 1800s.
now there isn't a trace left
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