A few years ago friends purchased their first home on Lilac Rd., off Lakeshore Drive in Browns Mills. I remember the young son going out back to dig in the sand. He usually would return a short time later with pockets full of clear marbles. Does anyone have any info on that area? Are the marbles formed from glass fragments formed in the sand over time? Or were marbles manufactured somewhere in the area?
Backyard Marbles
- Thread starter Jerseygirl
- Start date
The only naturally formed marbles I"m aware of are cave pearls and you won't be finding those in the pine barrens.Their made out of calcite deposits formed where calcite rich water is tumbling grains of sand or pebbles and they get layers of calcite hardened around them.I would say the marbles the boy is finding are manmade.Do you have any pics? Could be glass slag but those wouldn't be round.Slag is hardened glass or iron left in the bottom of a glass or iron furnace when it cools.
I used to use marbles as ammo from a wrist rocket when I was a kid hunting squirrels but most of them would be in the woods down here.
If my guess is correct, the marbles you found along the railroad tracks were the raw materials used for the manufacture of fiberglass insulation. The plant was off of route 73 in Berlin behind where the 84 lumber used to be. The marbles were about one inch in diameter and aqua in color. In all honesty I am not sure that my account is factual. It was the story that I was told as a kid 35 years ago. I can't imagine that the marbles in Browns Mills are of the same origin.
Probably buried in the yard by a former child resident. My friends had a tree fort back in the early 70s when there were still wooded lots on Lilac. The older couple in the second house on the left have known me since I was born
I sent the son a message via FB. Of course it will go into the " other" in folder and I have no way of knowing if he will ever see it. Wait and see I guess. The thought also occurred to me that they were buried treasure.