Historic Context and Management Plan for the Quarry Pond Archeological Complex on Fort Drum.

摘要

Land annexed by Fort Drum in 1941 included a defunct limestone quarry filled with water. Known as Quarry Pond, the site is part of a larger group of archeological sites known as the Quarry Pond Complex that also contains industrial ruins, early lime kilns, and a railroad berm and grade. The complex first furnished limestone for flux used in an iron blast furnace in Lewisburg. The ruins of three lime kilns are extant near the pond. When advances in iron production made the furnace obsolete, the quarry provided limestone used by sulfite mills in paper production or by the steel industry. In 1931, the quarry suddenly filled with spring water and was shut down. It is perhaps best known as the site of a spectacular cavern filled with very large and beautiful calcite crystals that were displayed at the New York State Museum for nearly seventy years. Although the site is significant for discovery of the crystals, the level of its destruction has resulted in a loss of integrity. The complex maintains the potential, however, to yield useful information about nineteenth- and early twentieth-century extractive industries, and it should be managed to minimize damage to the component parts of the complex.