A 1926 photo of the quarry | Source: Milestone Heritage Consulting

Yorktown, New York

Saturday, November 6th, 10:30 AM

A Program of the SIA Roebling Chapter

From 1890 to 1941, the abandoned and long forgotten Mohegan Quarry was a major industry in Yorktown and a major New York State supplier of granite for buildings, including the Cathedral of St. John in Manhattan. At its peak in the mid-to-late 1920s, the quarry company employed between 200 to 300 workers, depending on the number and size of the contracts it had at any given time. Today, it is part of Yorktown’s 343 acre Sylvan Glen Park Preserve.

For some history of the quarry, please see Matt’s interpretive panels at http://www.milestoneheritage.com/ (scroll down to “Mohegan Granite Quarry Interpretive Panels”).

Quarried stone was moved by a cable-drawn incline railway. There is limited evidence of the original machinery, and one building remains, an explosives shed.

MAP: Please go to https://www.nynjtc.org/map/sylvan-glen-nature-preserve for a trail map from the NY-NJ Trail Conference.

Meeting place: We will meet at the trailhead car park on Stoney Street near Winding Court in Yorktown (please see the map). Google Maps knows the location as “Sylvan Glen Eastern Trail Head”, and “2820 Stoney Street, Mohegan Lake, NY” should also work.

Do NOT go to the Grant Avenue trailhead (Dog Park). Do not go to the Granite Knolls Park, and do not go to the Granite Knolls Sports & Recreation Complex. We will not be there.

The tour will be led by Matt Kierstead — if you’ve been on any of his tours you know you will be in for a treat!

Google estimates the driving time at about 1 1/4 hours from NYC but that could be optimistic. Public transportation does not seem to be practical unless you take a service like Lyft from an area train station.

Please bring your beverage and sandwich for lunch. There are no on-site toilet facilities. The total walking distance is about 2 miles, and the hike is not recommended for anyone with physical issues or limitations on walking on rocky surfaces or steep hills.

Trail information, per Matt: This is not a flat or paved walk. It is a dirt woodland trail, with flat and rolling terrain, some short plank boardwalks, maybe some mud depending on weather, and once we get to the quarry, a short slope on loose small stones. Then there is the steep 1,000 ft incline at the end which takes us down to the cutting shed ruins. There are lots of up to fist-sized loose stones, and it is not an easy walk back up. Some people may opt to stay at the top. Depending on enthusiasm, ability and energy level, we may take a diversion from the middle of the incline into the quarry bottom to look at some machinery artifacts; that will be the most challenging option.

For reservations or more details, email Sandy Needham at scotsloon@gmail.com, or call 347-808-9168. Please include your cell phone number and the numbers of people expected. On the day of the event, you may contact Matt at 845-234-9497.

The tour is limited to 24 people and we must have at least 6 signed up for it to take place. Your early reservation is appreciated.

 

 

Wednesday, October 20 at 3 p.m. 

Join the SIA for the 14th session of IA Online Eastern (US & Canada):

David Farrier – “An extant cotton gin from the Albany Agricultural Works”

Jerry Miller – “North Central Ohio Industrial Museum Featuring Inventor of Over 200 Patents, Harry F. Smith of Lexington OH”



Register to join us on Zoom:

https://michigantech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIucO6grj8iGNfG48HmbqbM8YlVjCaKaSLe

Talks are roughly 10-15 minutes each, with 5 minutes of Q&A for each presenter. The end of the session is reserved for additional questions and discussion.

Also, videos of past IA Online presentations can be viewed on the SIA YouTube Channel.