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 Post subject: Brewster Mine Drainage Tunnel?
PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:29 pm 
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
Some suggest this stone lined portal in Brewster connects with the Brewster Mine. This tunnel driven underneath the city of Brewster reportedly served the purpose of both city drainage and mine drainage. The position of the tunnel would seem to intersect or run very close to the mine workings. However, in 1989 a large portion of the tunnel was concrete lined obscuring any evidence of a possible connection with the mine. Our examination confirmed there is in fact no entry, at least today, into the workings. As we continue our research we hope to find the answer to this question but if anyone has any information, we would like to hear from you.

Photo of adit here: http://www.ironminers.com/mineforum/viewtopic.php?p=108865

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:58 pm 
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Location: National Mine Woodinville, NY
Most of the drainage tunnels around Brewster, NY are built and controlled by the New York City Water Supply. There are at least 2 such tunnels off of Nelson Blvd. (the dirt road that is parallel to The Diverting Reservoir). and 2 additional pipes that carry water from the surrounding hillside to the Diverting Reservoir . The Croton Falls Reservoir, The Channel (across from the Theall & McCullom Mine), the weir, & The Diverting Reservoir are all part of the same system. One of the old drainage tunnels from The Cheevers & Durant Mine was uncovered in the 1950's, when a water treatment plant was built in Brewster, east of the the railroad station. The treatment tanks were recently removed , but the cement foundations of the treatment tanks are visible from both sides of Railroad Ave. The cement drainage tunnel in your picture is similar to many of the same type built by NYC Water Supply or Harlem Railroad. I hiked in this area on Saturday, along Nelson Blvd. and could not find any trace of The Brady Farm Shaft (30 feet). All I found was old stone foundations, and railroad debris. The pictures that I took of the tunnels all had a date engraved in cement on the top of the tunnel, 1906. This corresponds to the raising of the water levels by The NYC Water Commission in 1904-1906 to alleviate the spread of malaria (water level would be higher in the summer and the mosquito population would be reduced). All the local bridges were replaced by 1906, along the Croton Reservoir System, and evidence of this are the numerous stone bridge foundations that can be seen below the existing bridges from Katonah (Whitlockville) north to Village of Brewster.[


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[img]/Users/mikemaruzzella/Desktop/CIMG0154.JPG[/img]

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:54 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:33 pm
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Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
Michael,

Thanks for sharing the information. Unfortunately the photos did not come through. Right now the best way to upload photos to the system is to use some type of photosharing service and linking to the pictures from the forum. Please see here:

http://www.ironminers.com/mineforum/vie ... hp?t=19319

Feel free to Private Message me if you have any questions..

Miner Greg


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:00 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:17 am
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Location: Monroe, CT
Mike - have found the brady farm shaft, I will post some pictures of it. it is partially filled, there is a small tailings pile near it.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:31 pm 
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Location: Monroe, CT
Mike - do you know of any other entrances to the brewster/ cheever and durant mine, in the village of brewster? i have an old map that shows a shaft right in town, and i have heard there is a building, i think used to be a hotel, with a trap door in the basement leading into the mines.


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 Post subject: The NY Central Drainage Tunnels & 3 Views of Tilly Foste
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:12 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:07 pm
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Location: National Mine Woodinville, NY
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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:19 pm 
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Location: Monroe, CT
ok so maybe this drainage tunnel is not the one that conected to the mine workings?http://www.ironminers.com/mineforum/viewtopic.php?p=108865

i did not relize there were other tunnels, Mike, what is the possibility that these intersect mine workings,or do they just come out the other side somewhere?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:01 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:07 pm
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Location: National Mine Woodinville, NY
Miner Mike & CT Mike,

The Audit for the Brewster mine was cemented closed because of kids getting trapped in the mine. I have met both sons of the landowner next to the trench & mine. The other opening of the Brewster mine was behind the Brewster Hotel approx. 600' east of the train station on main street. The shaft was paved over, and is no longer visible. I have heard first hand stories from shop owners over the years, that there are basement entrances to the mine. I worked as a sales representative in Brewster, and one of the owners told me a story that a childhood friend took him down the opening that IronMiners feature in pics on the web page. He said he was never so scared in all his life, but his guide had been in the mine before, so he just followed him through the tunnel. He said he came out in the basement of a store behind a cold vault, but couldn't tell me where on Main St.

I checked out his original story with the son of the property owner next to the mine (who had been in the mine as a teenager). He and another store owner said that the storyteller wasn't reliable. I will keep researching this area because I live in the vicinity. I hope to find out info. by talking to the 'locals'.

Thanks,
Mike Maz

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Last edited by Michael Maruzzella on Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:31 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:17 am
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Location: Monroe, CT
Mike, does the property owner next to the mine actually own the mine, and if not who does? do you think it would be possible to secure permission to properly explore and document the mine?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:45 am 
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Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
Michael,

When you say the Adit for Brewster mine was cemented closed, is this the entrance that is currently opened for getting into the mine? Or is this another entrance that you are speaking of?

I'd love to hear about if these stories are true.. It would be pretty neat going down in one of these old businesses and climbing down a trap door and into the mine. I am assuming that if this exists, it may be in a way into a section of the mine that is no longer accessible. Pretty neat.

Miner Greg


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 Post subject: Tunnels under Main Street - Brewster, NY
PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:48 pm 
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Location: National Mine Woodinville, NY
Mystery Tunnels and Spook Lights
by Philip J. Imbrogno
FATE :: September-October 2008

Since 1978, I have investigated countless reports of the paranormal in New York and New England. Underground tunnels feature prominently in some of this area’s greatest mysteries.

In 1980 I came across a letter written to the editor of the New York Daily News from a resident of Brewster, New York, referring to underground passages and old mines in the area. The writer was sure that the government was using them for some covert operation. He claimed that he saw lights from some type of unknown aircraft settling down in the hills at night where the old entrances to closed mines are located. These lights moved like helicopters, but there was no sound. They were seen several times a week for almost 18 months.

This letter intrigued me since I knew that area was a hotbed of UFO activity. I made an attempt to find the location of these mines, but to my dismay the people who ran the local historical societies had no idea about the locations of the entrances. However, they did have a great deal of information about the mining history of those towns.

Since the late 19th century, ghosts, UFO-like phenomena, strange creatures, and occult activity, including magical ceremonies and Satanic worship, have been reported in the vicinity of these underground tunnels. Locals still pass along legends about them, and old-time residents warn people to stay clear of the mine and tunnel entrances.

The entire town of Brewster is catacombed by miles of underground passages. Many of these tunnels have openings leading to the basements of some of the older homes in the downtown area. Over the years, many of these portals have been boarded up and sealed over with cement. As these homes have been sold to people from out of town, knowledge of the tunnels below them has become lost. How might these new residents react if they found out their basement hosts a doorway to an underground world?

In 1995, I explored the mines with paranormal researcher Marianne Horrigan. Although we did not find aliens or other strange creatures, we discovered evidence that at least two of the mines were once used for Satanic worship, in the form of symbols and prayers written on the walls. We also found new tunnels that were made by modern machinery. These recent tunnels lead to pits now flooded with water. Clearly, someone with modern technology made use of the mines long after they were shut down and sealed 100 years ago.

The locations around the old mines show very strong magnetic anomalies. One would expect this, since magnetite, a very pure form of iron ore, was mined here. Many researchers have noted a connection between paranormal phenomena and magnetic anomalies. Many of the unexplained experiences over the years came from the town of Southeast (a part of Brewster), very close to the Croton-Magnetic mine. Iron ore was mined here until 1899.

In 1901, the Croton-Magnetic mine was used by a cult group called the “Fallen Ones,â€

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:33 pm 
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Posts: 32
Location: London ON
The last post reminded me of a whole bunch of stories I've collected myself over the years around the quarry complex around Beachville ON.

A lot of research into earth related energy fields from people like Paul
Deveraux in England as well as Allen Budden also of England comes in handy in these cases. If one considers how far back some of these stories go and how they tend to associate with very specific regions one does tend to wonder

Brewster is mentioned a lot in the better UFO anthologies as well as other
sites.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:26 pm 
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Location: Carmel NY
Mike its funny you mention about stories about entrances in buildings in brewster that would go too the mine i worked with a man back in mid 90"s that grew up in brewster and he remembers the bank in center of town on upper part of the street that he said if you went downstairs that there was a steel door, that was bolted up shut but at one time he had it opened with his freind and said there were stairs leading down too the mine ,,he was told that the miners would come up those stairs too get there weeks pay then go back down into the mine, that alone gives me goose bumps, when i remember it , i think it a food store or something now , but miner mike is right ,whatever it would take to get permission to let a chosen few down those stairs too document, the inside of the mine if its not flooded,would be incredible theres stories which you probly heard that the mountain behind the train station is filled with tunnels, mostly blocked off i was told too .Seems you know a lot about brewster history pretty cool mike

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:01 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:07 pm
Posts: 19
Location: National Mine Woodinville, NY
The story that miners of the Durant & Cheevers mine went directly into a bank in Brewster is not reliable. The Cheevers & Durant iron-ore was exhausted in 1880 & mining operations ceased. The National Bank in Brewster was built in 1885-1886 according to a Town of Southeast pamphlet. I remember stories about tunnels underneath main street but until I actually viewed pics at the website: ironminers.com, I was skeptical. Local stories about the iron mines are filled with historical inaccuracies, and exaggerated tales, for example: I used to hear stories about the Brewster mine connecting to Tilly Foster mine over TWO MILES away. That local bootlegers would use the Tilly Foster mine tunnels to smuggle their wares without detection by the local authorities. The unique feature of the National Bank of Brewster was it was the only bank in the U.S. with streets on all sides (Ripley's Believe It Or Not segment). It is no longer a bank, but its current use is the Town Hall of Brewster.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:03 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:28 pm
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
There certainly is a lot of mystery surrounding the mines in Brewster, NY. The fact that these stories date back to the 19th century makes it even more intriguing. Thanks for sharing this everyone.

Quite incidentally I did a little bit of research on the Brewster Mine area while dining at Applebee's in the town of Southeast Friday. As I was munching on a hot wing, I happened to notice a sketch drawing of the town of Brewster hanging on the wall. Miner Marc and I leaped out of our booth and approached the drawing. It was a aerial perspective drawing from 1887 from a vantage point that would be situated approximately where the Brewster Mine is. While scrutinizing the map, I happened to locate the exact tunnel entrance that I recently posted a picture of. On the map you could indicate the wall with the "adit" and you could follow the waterway. Obviously this would date that tunnel entrance as far back as 1887. The railroad and station were still in existence and are clearly indicated. Michael, do you know by chance how early the Harlem Railroad or NYC Water Supply were diverting water via tunnels? I didn't look closely for any other water diversions. With such a reportedly liberal excavation of tunnels under Brewster, it seems not hard to imagine the tunnel could have also served as drainage for the mine...

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