Schuyler Copper Mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
 Schuyler Copper Mine
|
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| Location | North Arlington, Bergen County |
| State | New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 40°46′43″N 74°7′39″W / 40.77861°N 74.12750°WCoordinates: 40°46′43″N 74°7′39″W / 40.77861°N 74.12750°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper, minor amounts of Gold and Silver |
| History | |
| Opened | 1715 |
| Active | 1715–1773, 1793–1901 (sporadic) |
| Closed | 1901 |
The Schuyler Copper Mine is an abandoned, historic copper mine located in what is now North Arlington in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Operations began in 1715, making it the earliest copper mine in New Jersey and one of the oldest in the United States. In 1755, it was the site of the first use of a steam engine assembled in America. Later, starting in 1794, the first steam engine was manufactured in the United States near here. Shortly before and after, but not during, the revolutionary war, the mine was a major copper producer. Even though nothing remains of the mining operations above ground, the collapse of the underground shafts and tunnels caused damage as recently as 1989.
The mine was also known as the Arlington, Belleville, or Victoria copper mine.
Around 1710, Arent Schuyler purchased a large tract of land in New Barbadoes Neck. A few years later, around 1712–1713, a significant deposit of copper ore was discovered on the property.
At Arent Schuyler's death, his three sons, Adonijah, John, and Peter, inherited his lands, with John managing the mine.
In 1748, flooding in the mine led John Schuyler to order a Newcomen steam engine and pumping equipment from Jonathan Hornblower of Cornwall, England. The equipment arrived in 1753 and was installed by Jonathan's brother Josiah Hornblower. It started operations in 1755 to pump water out of the mine. This Hornblower engine was then used in one of the oldest and deepest, more than 100 feet (30 m), mine shafts in America. It was later called the Victoria shaft and eventually reached a depth of 347 feet (106 m).
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