This large stonework feature was built
in 1873 to support an immense 50 foot (some sources say 90
foot) waterwheel, part of a large scale rebuilding of the
facility here at Long Pond. The plan called for two
remodeled anthracite
furnaces, a rolling mill and an entirely new hydropower
system which would have included damming the river upstream
at an elevation that comes out at the top of this hill to
turn the giant over shot wheel operating here.
Two events conspired to end this
project:
- an economic depression hit the
country in 1873. Producing pig iron from the furnace was
not profitable.
- the railroad, which had just been
completed to the furnace, was now to continue up the
valley to Greenwood Lake. A rail line along the river
would not be possible with the new dam and increased
water level. The project was stopped, the wheel was never
built and we are left with this magnificent stone
foundation
|