Nomenclature

The history and exploitation of these deposits, spread out over three centuries, have provided an evolution of our knowledge of them; so, too, the nomenclature used to communicate this information has evolved. The meaning of a few terms is lost in unrecorded history; other meanings have been lost by carelessness and some by neglect. For some terms there are multiple semantic interpretations; these are, however, few in number and not confusing.

Several geographical and political terms for the towns, deposits, and mines still were extant at the turn of the twentieth century: the Franklin deposit was known as Mine Hill in Franklin Furnace, and the Sterling Hill deposit was known as Sterling Hill in Ogdensburg, both in Sussex County, New Jersey; and hardystonite was named for Hardyston township. However, the community of Franklin Furnace (Post Office established as such on April 25, 1838) was incorporated as the Borough of Franklin in 1913; franklinite was named for the original community name, as was franklinfurnaceite. Ogdensburg, known until at least 1893 as Ogdensburgh, was incorporated as the Borough of Ogdensburg (without the terminal "h") in 1914; ogdensburgite was named for the community. The entire Franklin-Sterling Hill area, as defined below, is in Sussex County. The designation "Sussex County" is an important part of specimen labels inasmuch as there were numerous other places called "Franklin" in New Jersey; they were townships, villages, and a hamlet.

The names of local communities are mentioned often in this text, and they are intimately tied to the history and mineralogy of the local area; many have minerals named after them. The derivation of these community names was published by the Federal Writers' Project (1945), and other supporting information is given by Snell (1881). According to these publications, Franklin was named for Benjamin Franklin, but there is a viewpoint advancing the name of William Franklin (Frondel, 1972). Ogdensburg, formerly known as Sodom, was named for Robert Ogden. Sparta was named for the Greek state of the same name. Hamburg was early known as Wallings, and the southern part of it (near the Hamburg-Franklin border) was known by numerous names: to some it was South Hamburg or Upper Hamburg, to others it was Sharpsburg or Sharpsborough, and later it was called Hardistonville. The town was finally named (by miners) Hamburg for Hamburg, Germany. Hardyston Township draws its name from Josiah Hardy (Governor of New Jersey, 1761-1762) as does Hardystonville (Hardistonville). Sussex, early called Deckertown after Peter Decker, its earliest settler, was named for Sussex County, England. Stockholm, known in colonial days as Snufftown, was named for Stockholm, Sweden. Newton was named for new-town; Andover was named for Andover, England; Vernon was named for Edward Vernon (an English Admiral); and New Jersey was named for the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. According to the Federal Writers' Project (1945), the Wallkill River was named for Joseph Wallings (who in 1740 settled in Hamburg), but this seems questionable. The matter of its derivation remains unresolved; some have attributed its name to the River Waal in the Netherlands.

Mine names evolved much more awkwardly. A great many names were used for parts of these deposits and the mines, openings, and pits utilized to exploit them; these are listed and discussed below under mining history for the most part.

The Franklin ore deposit is commonly and herein referred to as Franklin, and the Sterling Hill ore deposit is referred to as Sterling Hill; sterlinghillite was named for Sterling Hill. The great mine at Franklin, formed in the 1897 Great Consolidation from a large number of smaller mines, is called the Franklin Mine. The great mine at Sterling Hill, also formed in the Great Consolidation, is called the Sterling Mine. It has also historically (since at least 1849), popularly, and casually been referred to as the Sterling Hill Mine, in part to preclude confusion, as there had been other Sterling Mines. Occurrences not within the orebodies proper are designated as occurring in specific rock types or formations, such as in the Cork Hill Gneiss or in the Franklin Marble.

Copyright © 1995 by Pete J. Dunn			Website by Herb Yeates
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This page created: January 16, 2001