pioneer smelting

[stizkidz]

today, despite horrible conditions, i ventured out onto route 563 and eventually rt 532 to explore the pioneer smelting factory. i had a general idea of where to go but i basically made it up as i went along, luckilly the route signs are easy to follow (coming from hammonton). i have several questions and comments:

first, is "friendship/speedwell road" the road to the friendship village off of route 563?
second, what town is the pioneer smelting factory in and does andbody know its ACTUAL purpose or real name? although decrepit, the place appears very well preserved in comparison to many other sites like it which makes me think that it may have been in use up until recently. SOMEONE has got to know something about it or even how to learn stuff about it. it is quite an impressive site with a very neat layout.
finally, i found something interesting there. of all the debris there, i found half of a brick with lettering on it. the part that was still in tact read "L A C E" until it cut off on the top row and "K I" until it cut off on the bottom row. i was thinking maybe it said "lacey kiln"? if anyone can provide me with any other info on this place, it is much appreciated.

thanks,
-Ben

[TeeGate]

stidzkidz.


Friendship Speedwell road is the only paved road that intersects 563 at Speedwell and as you correctly mentioned it goes to Friendship.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/Speedwell_563.jpg

The red target symbol in this map is on the road. Notice Friendship on the left and the word "Wading" on the right is just below the Speedwell intersection at 563 that is in the photo above.

http://topozone.com/map.asp?z=18&n=4401068&e=537139&s=50


The Pioneer Smelting company was not in operation in the early 70's when I first visited there. There were large pacts of wild dogs that lived there and would chase us in my Land Cruiser as we drove by. We would slow down just enough to let them catch up and speed away. My car had a back window that would open and my passengers would scream when I slowed down to let them get close.

I would assume that it closed down in the middle 60's when the Jersey Central RR eliminated service to Chatsworth. The trains still went through Chatsworth until about 1978 but would not stop.


Guy

[TeeGate]

I was searching for info for Pioneer Smelting and found this site on contamination in that area. Buzby's store is listed! It could be something small as an old oil tank leak.

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:R2M1ZkB0ZgIJ:www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/kcs-nj/burlington/kcs01_0339.pdf+%22pioneer+smelting%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Guy

[bruset]

Pioneer Smelting is it's actual, real life name.

The land is also for sale, I belive, but needs a LOT of environmental remediation.

[bobpbx]

i found half of a brick with lettering on it. the part that was still in tact read "L A C E" until it cut off on the top row and "K I" until it cut off on the bottom row. i was thinking maybe it said "lacey kiln"?

Ben,

There is a little-known abandoned set of small clay pits very close to the boarder of Lacey and Manchester Township. I wonder if that is relevant? I always wanted to explore them, but it keeps getting pushed off. Maybe now that I have a clue about what went on there, we should all visit them...hmmm?

[TeeGate]

Lets set a date!

Guy

[bruset]

Sounds good to me. Just let me know.

[TeeGate]

My days are limited in the coming weeks. This weekend coming up is fine, but the next weekend we have the RR outing on Saturday but Sunday will be fine. Then the next two weekends I will be in Vermont so obviously I can't make it then.

Guy

[stizkidz]

feel like letting a kid tag along? (me...)

[bruset]

I don't have a problem.

[TeeGate]

Same here...


Guy

[TeeGate]

All,

If you have anything in your possession from the Pioneer Smelting company you may want to throw it out.

I talked today to a man who was at the township meeting in Woodland Township last night (Monday) and the subject of the Pioneer Smelting was brought up by the lawyer for the township. Apparently there is a concern about the health of people who visit the site and are contaminated by the residue from the Zinc which the ground around and the bricks of the building contain. The lawyers are concerned enough that in the comings weeks the township is going to erect signs there warning the public of entering the property. And eventually they are going to erect a 10 foot high fence around it with a guard stationed there as the demolition and cleanup of the property begins. It is estimated that it will take 3 years to complete. So if you have never been there and want photo's of it you had better do it this year. Some of us know what happens when you enter a property that has a sign telling you to keep off like Bulltown road, and your pocket gets somewhat lighter.

I also found out that there are tunnels below or in the building where the Zinc was moved from room to room. I was talking to a college student who is an avid paintballer who frequents the place often, and he has tried to enter them without success. They are either filled in or blocked by debris.

Also, I had been searching on the web for some info and stumbled on a site mentioning that Buzby's store had some sort of contamination. So while talking with the two men today I asked them about it and I was told that the gasoline storage tanks from when the store was a gas station are still underneath 532 partially, and the road will have to be blocked and tore up to remove it. I questioned him as to if it was just contaminated under there and he said again the tanks are still there.

This info on Buzby's store is in a .pdf file but thanks to Yahoo's cached files you can view it below. Yahoo rocks!!!


http://makeashorterlink.com/?O2B0352E4


Guy

[stizkidz]

whoa... should i be concerned aboit zinc contamination? i never heard anything about it before...

anyway, it appears as though it is also an "NJ Superfund" site. http://www.cqs.com/super_nj.htm

-Ben

[bruset]

Guy,

I just found out yesterday that Laura has plans for me on Saturday, so it would have to be in 2 weeks (after my precana class) before I get a chance to go out anywhere.

The Pioneer plant is a mess - but probably a lot safer than the buildings at Heritage Minerals that I wandered through.

[TeeGate]

I will not be here in two weeks, I will be in Vermont. I will not be available the weekend after also. That will make 5 weeks so if you want me to come down your area this weekend I could meet you somewhere and pick them up. If not we will have to wait.

Guy

[TeeGate]

whoa... should i be concerned aboit zinc contamination? i never heard anything about it before...

anyway, it appears as though it is also an "NJ Superfund" site. http://www.cqs.com/super_nj.htm

-Ben

I found this:

While zinc is an essential element in the human diet, the lack of which can cause health problems, ingestion or inhalation of amounts in the 100-250 mg/day range are known to be health hazards. Long-term ingestion of these levels of zinc can cause anemia and pancreatic damage, while short-term consumption of large amounts can induce nausea, vomiting and intense stomach cramps. Because of these serious health problems, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added zinc to its original RCRA list of hazardous metals when it promulgated the Universal Treatment Standards (UTS) regulations regarding leachable concentrations of hazardous metals. The August 1998 UTS criteria set the leachable zinc limit at 4.30 mg/l.

[bruset]

I will not be here in two weeks, I will be in Vermont. I will not be available the weekend after also. That will make 5 weeks so if you want me to come down your area this weekend I could meet you somewhere and pick them up. If not we will have to wait.

Guy

We can meet up on Sunday. Email me and we'll work out the details.

[stizkidz]

im not available this sunday, unfortunately. someone please take pictures!

thanks,
-Ben

[stizkidz]

oooops... i was wrong about that brick that I found with the writing. it did NOT say "Lacey Kiln"... i went there tonight because an explorer friend of mine took me there and we found a completely in-tact brick. on the brick it said: "Laceland King". if anyone knows what this means, please let me know.

-Ben

[TeeGate]

I did a search on he web and did not find anything on it.

If it said Lakeland then it may have been Lakeland Brick company which was in Florida. Here is a photo of one of their Stock Certificates from 1925.

http://www.clintonhollins.com/img/43920.jpg

There also is a Lakeland Brick Company in New Zealand but it seems like a more modern place.

The word King could mean it was their biggest or best brick????????

Guy

[Brookside]

Hello,

I am new to this Site and was reading the posts regarding Ghost towns and Forgotten Places when I came across this post regarding the Pioneer Smelting Site. I am very curious about this Site as I had heard somewhere that it was built during WWII as a wartime industrial project and used as a zinc smelter. Supposely, the plant only operated for a few years during the war and was abandoned in 1946. Pioneer Smelting bought the property in 1972 and started an aluminum recyclying facility. I am curious about wartime industries in the pines and was wondering if anyone has any more information regarding who built the plant and operated the zinc smelter?

[Jerseyman]

Hello,

I am new to this Site and was reading the posts regarding Ghost towns and Forgotten Places when I came across this post regarding the Pioneer Smelting Site. I am very curious about this Site as I had heard somewhere that it was built during WWII as a wartime industrial project and used as a zinc smelter. Supposely, the plant only operated for a few years during the war and was abandoned in 1946. Pioneer Smelting bought the property in 1972 and started an aluminum recyclying facility. I am curious about wartime industries in the pines and was wondering if anyone has any more information regarding who built the plant and operated the zinc smelter?

Brookside:

Welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy being a member of these forums. Here is what I can tell you on the zinc smelter at Chatsworth:

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the Superior Zinc Company of Bristol, Pennsylvania sought to enlarge its capacity for wartime production by constructing a new zinc producer plant outside of Chatsworth, New Jersey. Superior formed the Plains Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, to construct and manage operations in Chatsworth. The plant would produce slab zinc from sal ammoniac skimmings--a byproduct of the galvanic coating industry--and dross derived from the zinc casting industry. The Chatsworth plant featured two 99-foot long furnaces with each having a capacity of 300 retorts stacked four high. Joseph Wharton originally invented this type of furnace called a Hegeler Furnace. The manufactory featured a Morgan type gas producer to fuel the furnaces and also produced its own pottery retorts. The plant opened for operations on 1 April 1942.

The choice to process sal ammoniac skimmings proved disastrous for the plant. Not only would the presence of chloride in this byproduct reduce the total zinc yield, but zinc chloride gas generated in processing the byproduct into zinc served as a strong irritant to plant workers. A design flaw in the plant provided a closed rather than an open roof over the furnaces, creating poor ventilation and trapping the zinc chloride gas in the retort house. Over time, the trapped irritant gas sickened so many workers that they could not charge the retorts and the plant closed very suddenly on 1 December 1942, exactly seven months after inaugurating operations It did not reopen under Superior's control. The plant sat vacant for a while before Superior either leased it out or sold it to other operators.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

[TeeGate]

Brookside:



Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the Superior Zinc Company of Bristol, Pennsylvania sought to enlarge its capacity for wartime production by constructing a new zinc producer plant outside of Chatsworth, New Jersey. Superior formed the Plains Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, to construct and manage operations in Chatsworth. The plant would produce slab zinc from sal ammoniac skimmings--a byproduct of the galvanic coating industry--and dross derived from the zinc casting industry. The Chatsworth plant featured two 99-foot long furnaces with each having a capacity of 300 retorts stacked four high. Joseph Wharton originally invented this type of furnace called a Hegeler Furnace. The manufactory featured a Morgan type gas producer to fuel the furnaces and also produced its own pottery retorts. The plant opened for operations on 1 April 1942.

The choice to process sal ammoniac skimmings proved disastrous for the plant. Not only would the presence of chloride in this byproduct reduce the total zinc yield, but zinc chloride gas generated in processing the byproduct into zinc served as a strong irritant to plant workers. A design flaw in the plant provided a closed rather than an open roof over the furnaces, creating poor ventilation and trapping the zinc chloride gas in the retort house. Over time, the trapped irritant gas sickened so many workers that they could not charge the retorts and the plant closed very suddenly on 1 December 1942, exactly seven months after inaugurating operations It did not reopen under Superior's control. The plant sat vacant for a while before Superior either leased it out or sold it to other operators.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

Nice piece of info Jerseyman. Thank you!

Just think that in that short time, and all these years later, they had to remove quite a bit of the dirt around there because it was contaminated.


Guy

[Jerseyman]

Nice piece of info Jerseyman. Thank you!

Just think that in that short time, and all these years later, they had to remove quite a bit of the dirt around there because it was contaminated.


Guy

Guy:

Thanks for the kind words. The contamination in and around the plant stems not only from Superior processes, but also from subsequent operators at the plant like Pioneer.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

[Brookside]

Brookside:

Welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy being a member of these forums. Here is what I can tell you on the zinc smelter at Chatsworth:

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the Superior Zinc Company of Bristol, Pennsylvania sought to enlarge its capacity for wartime production by constructing a new zinc producer plant outside of Chatsworth, New Jersey. Superior formed the Plains Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, to construct and manage operations in Chatsworth. The plant would produce slab zinc from sal ammoniac skimmings--a byproduct of the galvanic coating industry--and dross derived from the zinc casting industry. The Chatsworth plant featured two 99-foot long furnaces with each having a capacity of 300 retorts stacked four high. Joseph Wharton originally invented this type of furnace called a Hegeler Furnace. The manufactory featured a Morgan type gas producer to fuel the furnaces and also produced its own pottery retorts. The plant opened for operations on 1 April 1942.

The choice to process sal ammoniac skimmings proved disastrous for the plant. Not only would the presence of chloride in this byproduct reduce the total zinc yield, but zinc chloride gas generated in processing the byproduct into zinc served as a strong irritant to plant workers. A design flaw in the plant provided a closed rather than an open roof over the furnaces, creating poor ventilation and trapping the zinc chloride gas in the retort house. Over time, the trapped irritant gas sickened so many workers that they could not charge the retorts and the plant closed very suddenly on 1 December 1942, exactly seven months after inaugurating operations It did not reopen under Superior's control. The plant sat vacant for a while before Superior either leased it out or sold it to other operators.

Best regards,
Jerseyman


Jerseyman,

WOW, thanks for the great information and welcoming me to the forum. Is this information from a book or other written source or personal knowledge. If it is a written source, please relay the information as I would love to get a copy to add to my collection. Again, thanks so much for the quick response and great info.

[TeeGate]

Jerseyman,

WOW, thanks for the great information and welcoming me to the forum. Is this information from a book or other written source or personal knowledge. If it is a written source, please relay the information as I would love to get a copy to add to my collection. Again, thanks so much for the quick response and great info.

All you have to do is read all of his posts at the below link, and I think you will find it obvious that you have been enlightened by the "enlightener”. Throw away your encyclopedia and ask him :)


http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/search.php?searchid=35702

Guy

[bruset]

Jerseyman is really the king of all information. :)

[james ungehajer]

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/z2280.htm

I use to work for a major chemical company in the delaware valley for 32 years,this msds sheet(material safety data sheet)explains all the info needed on a certain chemical,the msds sheets are available to anyone looking for any info for all chemicals,the msds sheets were the saving grace for all the chemicals we worked with.

[Jerseyman]

Jerseyman,

WOW, thanks for the great information and welcoming me to the forum. Is this information from a book or other written source or personal knowledge. If it is a written source, please relay the information as I would love to get a copy to add to my collection. Again, thanks so much for the quick response and great info.

Brookside:

What I wrote represents accumulated knowledge from a variety of sources--some rather obscure. Sorry I cannot provide you with a title for a single work on the topic.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

[Jerseyman]

All you have to do is read all of his posts at the below link, and I think you will find it obvious that you have been enlightened by the "enlightener”. Throw away your encyclopedia and ask him :)


http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/search.php?searchid=35702

Guy

Guy:

Ben needs a smilie for embarrassed, because that's what I am right now!
Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

[autumn_mist]

I read on http://www.stuofdoom.com/ that the Smelting Plant was demolished in 2003. Any truth to that? Also has anyone ever heard of or been to the "Sex Plant" that is supposedly located off of Savoy Blvd, near this place?

[bruset]

I read on http://www.stuofdoom.com/ that the Smelting Plant was demolished in 2003. Any truth to that? Also has anyone ever heard of or been to the "Sex Plant" that is supposedly located off of Savoy Blvd, near this place?

Yes, it was demolished. The only thing left is the water tower.

The "sex plant" is an abandoned factory/warehouse on Savoy Blvd close to Chatsworth not too far from the Pioneer Smelting property. It's a blue building that is visible from the road. I think it's named what it is because of the graffiti inside.