MINERALS
Iron ore is found in many parts of the state. The mines of Morris County in the Highlands are the most productive. Iron ore was smelted at Shrewsbury in the seventeenth century by Colonel Lewis Morris, and in many places at the time of the Revolution. The iron industry of the state was most extensive and successful during the third quarter of the last century. The greater abundance and richness of western ores has since made it impossible to operatemost of the mines and furnaces of Warren and Morris counties profitably. The industry has therefore declined. A few mines are still worked, however, in these two counties. Very rich zinc mines are located in Sussex County, in the neighborhood of Franklin Furnace. In the production of zinc this state ranks fifth among the states of the Union.
Portland cement factories near Phillipsburg
Portland cement factories near Phillipsburg
Granite of good quality is found in the Appalachian and Highland zones. The quarrying of this material is a rapidly growing industry. Besides granite the sandstone of the Piedmont Plateau is widely used for building purposes. Slate is quarried to some extent in Sussex and Warren counties. Talc, or soapstone, which, ground into powder, is used in making certain kinds of paper and for other purposes, is found in Warren County. The production of cement from limestone and shale, found in the western part of the Highlands near Phillipsburg, has grown to be a very important industry. This industry and the quarrying of slate are parts of the great cement and slate industries of the adjacent section of Pennsylvania, across the Delaware, near Easton, which are among the most important in the country. The trap rock of the Piedmont Plateau is used for building purposes, road making, and railroad beds. Its hardness makes it particularly valuable for macadam roads. In all parts of the state are found deposits of sand and gravel necessary in building operations.
Pottery works, Trenton
Pottery works, Trenton
The beds of marl found in the Coastal Plain have already been mentioned. This region also contains very valuable beds of white sand and fine clay. This sand is used in the making of glass, and has caused the establishment of many glass factories in the southwestern part of the state. Molding sand is also found in great quantity. The most extensive beds of clay are found in Mercer and Middlesex counties. In the former they are used in the making of pottery and in the latter in the making of brick, terra cotta, tile, and other clay products. The enormous industries of Trenton and of Perth Amboy and its vicinity are due to the presence of these clays. For the finer pottery, clays brought from other states or countries are used. Much clay is shipped from this state to other states.
Manufacturing.—New Jersey is an important manufacturing state. In this state the manufacturing industries have been developed in a remarkable degree by a combination of conditions and causes. Very early in the history of New Jersey the people of the state were forced by their own needs and the demands of their neighbors to establish manufacturing, and thus this industry has the advantage of many years of growth. The state is rich in certain important natural resources, which have been mentioned. Ithas profited greatly by its nearness to the coal and iron fields of Pennsylvania and to the two great cities of New York and Philadelphia, with their enormous demands for manufactured products. The number of intelligent and skillful workers in the state is unusually large. The facilities for rapid transportation, both of raw materials from all sources and of finished products to all markets, are unusually abundant. The navigable waters which fringe the state, and the transcontinental railroad systems with their branches, which cross it, facilitate shipments to every part of the world.
Among the most important manufactures of New Jersey are refined copper, silk and silk goods, foundry and machine shop products, petroleum products, packed meats, woolen and felt goods, wire, leather and leather goods, electrical machinery, tobacco manufactures, chemicals, and ships. (See Table II for other manufactures.)
Warping silk, silk mills, Paterson
Weaving silk, Paterson
Nearly one sixth of the people of the state are engaged in the manufacturing industries. Only four states, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, show a larger proportion of workers engaged in manufacturing. Although New Jersey is forty-fifth in area and ninth in population, this state is sixth in the total value of manufactured goods, first in the manufacture of silk and silk goods, in the smelting and refining of copper, in the manufacture of oil cloth and linoleum and of sewing machines, second in the manufacture of chemicals, rubber goods, pottery, terra cotta, and fine clay products, and of paint and varnish, third in the manufacture of electrical machinery and supplies, and fourth in the manufacture of soap and gold and silver articles.