Manuscript Group 740, Great King Hole Mine, Randolph Township, NJ Daybook, 1838 – 1849
Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 740, Great King Hole Mine, Randolph Township, NJ
Daybook, 1838-1849, 0.1 linear feet / 1 volume
Call Number: MG 740
Daily employee attendance records with marginal notes on mining accidents, weather conditions, and the tonnage of iron ore extracted. Most miners appear to have been Irish-Americans. It may be identical with the “King Mine,” located just southwest of the Dickerson Mine in Randolph Township, Morris County.
The Great King Hole Mine, probably identical to the King Mine, extracted iron ore in Randolph Township, Morris County, New Jersey. The mine was in operation from at least 1838-1873, after which it closed briefly before it reopened from 1879-1880. For a time it was owned by the Dickerson-Suckasunny Mining Company, which also owned.The profitable Dickerson Mine located a third of a mile to the north. The mine ceased operations in 1880.
The source of this collection is unknown.
This collection consists of an attendance book kept from April 1838 until April 1849 detailing the work of miners at the Great King Hole Mine. For each workday, the volume lists employee attendance, the amount of iron ore mined, and occasionally notes on such things as the weather, holidays, and visits by the priest. The volume documents the fluctuating iron market as the number of employees goes from 19 in July 1838
to 40 in April 1849, with periods when there were less than 6 men working for the mine. The majority of the miners seem to have been Irish-American.
Manuscript Group 101, Dickerson Mine Records
See other mining companies’ records.
Processed by James Lewis, January 2001 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
