Community Update

Explore Cobalt Mine and CCC Camp Jenkins in Cobalt

The East Hampton Parks
and Recreation Dept. will sponsor a hike in Cobalt and explore the
old cobalt mine and the site of the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) Camp Jenkins on Gadpouch Rd. on Sunday, August 4 at 10 am. The hike is organized by the
Chatham Historical Society and is part of the “Explore East
Hampton” monthly series program.

Come and learn about
the history of these historic sites. The cobalt mine is located at
the southern foot of Great Hill where there are two parallel
veins, one contains nickel and cobalt and the other gold. Both
veins are under private property and partly under the Meshomasic
State Forest. In 1770 miners came to Cobalt searching for cobalt
which was used to make a deep blue pigment used in making textiles
and dishes. These miners probably dug through traces of gold but
were unaware of its importance.

There were rumors of
gold in the Cobalt area way back in the 1600s when Governor John
Winthrop, the first governor of Connecticut and an avid
prospector, wore a gold ring that he said was mined and smelted
from local ore.

From the late 1700s to the
mid1800s mines were established in the Village of Cobalt and
cobalt ore was extracted and shipped to England and China.
During the mid1800s miners shifted to extracting nickel because
the US Mint was beginning to use it for coinage.

Later in the 1980s UCONN
professor, Anthony Philpotts, and his geology students came to
Cobalt and discovered one of the richest gold lodes in North
America. They were able to extract 1.5 to 6 ounces of gold from
a ton of quartzite, a hard, non-foliate metamorphic rock.

The second site to be
explored will be Camp Jenkins, a CCC camp that began on June 15,
1933. CCC camps were established throughout the US during Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s presidency in 1933 to give unemployed, single men
between the ages of 18-25, a job building up the natural resources
in the US. These young men came from poor families that were on
relief and were paid a dollar a day. They received five dollars a
month for spending money and $25 went to their parents to help
during the economic crisis that was gripping the US. The enrollees
at Camp Jenkins built roads & trails, developed state parks,
removed dead and unwanted trees from the state forests, fought
forest fires, planted trees, and helped neighboring towns during
disasters. The camps were supervised by the Army and the
Connecticut Conservation Dept. planned and supervised the work
projects. Camp Jenkins closed on January 1, 1936.

The hike
offers a wonderful and unique opportunity for residents to learn
about the history of Cobalt and for life-long residents to share
their recollections and stories. Adults and children are welcome
to join in on what promises to be a morning of making local
history come alive. Hikers should wear proper shoes. Heavy rain
will cancel the walk.

Directions: At the
intersection of Rts. 151 and 66 in Cobalt turn on Depot Hill Rd.
Drive up this road for approximately  a mile and then turn right onto
Gadpouch Road. Follow the signs to the old mine site.

The Chatham Historical
Society's Museum complex, located at 6
Bevin Boulevard, will be open that
afternoon from 2-4 pm. All are welcome to visit
the museum and admission is free.