pioneer smelting

stizkidz

stizkidz

Piney
May 10, 2003
1,044
8
Tuckerton
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

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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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
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,195
4,293
Pines; Bamber area
stizkidz said:
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"?
Click to expand...

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

Teegate

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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
 
Teegate

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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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
 
Ben Ruset

Ben Ruset

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Oct 12, 2004
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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

Teegate

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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

Teegate

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stizkidz said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
Ben Ruset

Ben Ruset

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TeeGate said:
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
Click to expand...

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

stizkidz

Piney
May 10, 2003
1,044
8
Tuckerton
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

Teegate

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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
 
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