Silver Mine in Pa. ??? True or Not

[FinderKeeper]

Is there any truth to silver mines in Pa. You can read old stories about Indians that found silver in Pa. but is there any truth to any of this I have been ask by the Clearfield Historical Society to check out two sites in Clearfield Co. to see if their is any silver at either site. I just wonder if there is any other silver mines in the state. This area has lots of sandstone. Any info would be of help. Thank You

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[jeff741972]

I googled this "clearfield pa silver mine" , there's some stories, hope it helps

 

[jeff of pa]

There are (Were) at least 2 in Lebanon County

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,89110.0.html

 

[Mentz]

Lancaster County!!

I live a couple of miles from Silver Mine Rd., there is a park across the road from the actual mine which is fenced off (no longer active). Also silver was picked up from a field about 1/4 mile behind my house. Answer: yes there was silver mines in Pa.

 

[Mentz]

Buy it?

Can't buy it, the Twp. bought it along with the park land across the road, fenced and posted the mine area. Totals several hundred acres and had been a concert location for about 20 years or so with a small amphitheater. The "ONE" twp. official considers it his personal property. Its cabled off and only parking along the road for a few cars. Was good for lots of clad but now not worth the long walk. Do not know if any silver left in the mine, heard it was exhausted.

 

[robbuckalew]

I don't believe anything is exhausted but if no access we will never know

 

[simonds]

Several stories of one being near Coudersport, Pa. near the Ice mines, Can't say if it is true or not.

 

[FinderKeeper]

I would like to thank everyone for their reply to this post. Now I will have to go out and find one. I just wasn't sure if there was any truth to the stories , I am going out this month to check out two sites in Clearfield Co. and I will post what I find. Thank You
Denny

 

[RON (PA)]

There is a legends that there was an old silver mines in the Forest/Warren County area, Pike County & a mine in Keating, Centre county area. I believe that they all are based on old Indian legends. Hope it helps.

 

[lastleg]

Hey Silver Mine Hunters: If you go to the Treasure Leads Forum and click on
the Mormon Treasure thread it has a reference to a Spanish silver mine in Penn.
Chapter 3 tells about Joseph Smith's treasure hunting antics. Very interesting.

lastleg

 

[RON (PA)]

Hey Silver Mine Hunters: If you go to the Treasure Leads Forum and click on
the Mormon Treasure thread it has a reference to a Spanish silver mine in Penn.
Chapter 3 tells about Joseph Smith's treasure hunting antics. Very interesting.

lastleg

Thank you, I will check it out.

 

[CanUDigIt]

Try the mineral database and search by location...

http://www.mindat.org/

 

[deepskyal]

Chech this book out from 1863. Type silver into the search function. It lists 2 possibilities. http://www.archive.org/stream/thurstonsroutebo00pitt

Al

 

[salmonoid]

Generally speaking, you would not find silver in native format to be profitable enough for mining in Pennsylvania. It does occur with copper in Adams County, and was recovered as a byproduct of iron mining at Cornwall and Grace mines (Lebanon and Berks Cos. I believe). The mine in Lancaster County contained primarily galena, with traces of silver and those two metals are often found together, so any place you find galena in PA, you may find silver. Many rumors of silver mines exist in the northern tier; however, the geology of PA, especially in the Allegheny Plateau is simply not conducive to hosting silver. You would need some serious volcanic activity accompanied with hydrothermal solutions percolating through a host rock to create viable silver deposits and everything from the south west, through the north west, north central and to the north east is more or less flat sedimentary rocks. That's why Adams County, which has had recent geologic volcanic activity, does have some copper deposits and some silver associated with them.

So generally speaking, I'd say that silver is present in PA, but not in any sort of economically viable deposit. You could probably say the same for gold or diamonds - they are natively present, but not in quantities to be economically viable.

 

[The Buzzard King]

 

[007]

actually this may be one , Im just not sure The chiseling seems to indicate pre dynamite era , Just not sure if native Americans had metal tools , but i believe this is colonial era , I live in North east Pa , right near the Lennape Indian strong hold on the Delaware , Seems the entrance might have been tryed to be closed off , because there is a trickle of water , and after a few feet the mine droops a few feet the water is crystal clear , and about waist to chest deep , wonder what this mine was used for or to hide , it is a few miles from the areas listed bellow , about a 2hour hike deep in the woods no roads a few crude trails , i really do not know if anyone has even come across this mine , accept a hunter or 2 .
this is exeprpts from the united states treasure atlas volume 8:
1180a Legends say that the early Indians knew of a rich silver treasure or mine in a cave at Shohola Glen . According to the Legend the cave couls be entered from a hidden cranny in the ravine , with a second entrance supposedly in Panther Glen
1180b It is said that the early Indians of this region fought with silver-tipped arrows and sliver bullets
1180c An early Settler named helm was taken blindfolded to the mysterious cave by a befriended Indian chief where he reportedly saw piles of crudely mined silver on the floor , helms spent the rest of his life in search of the treasure cave without success.

 

[RON (PA)]

007,

That is a great start. It would be interesting thought to know the story behind yours. towns, names, etc would be helpful to compare the stories that we are all hearing about mines in PA. They all seem to have the same general story. You can PM me if you wish. Thank you.

Also, since this is so far in the woods, could it be a bear cave and how do bear caves compare with what we are thinking about/looking for Thank you.

 

[cuddles17981]

I showed my hubby these pics,he worked in the coal mines when he was in his late teens and early twenties. He said it was definitly dynamited. He said he drove many rock tunnels but this is almost perfect. The guy who lead this must of new what he was doing. He said he never seen one so smooth or without big rocks hanging down.. It looks like it was drivin in with air jack hammers. As for what kind of mine it is he has no clue. It could be a silver mine. He said they make rock tunnels for many reasons. Like to train water out of the mountain and mine airways.
Here is some reading about the area in google books.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Yx...c9fkE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10

 

[deepskyal]

I'm no cave pro by any means but...looks like that is almost perfectly round. Be pretty hard to haul coal out of...or any kind of ore in bulk. No flat path for trams or whatever. Would even be difficult to walk....I would think.

Maybe a giant earthworm lives in there...lol

Al

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Being from Pa, I used to hear about some old silver mines, here and there, and thought they were nothing my hooey.

However, moving forward 30 years or so, we had a friend who was a fireman in New Jersey, but had his home in Pa. He did lots and lots of research on the silver front, and found several old, old maps and newspaper articles from across the state that seems to validate the fact that there was silver and Pa, and not just a little, but some that were actually worked by indians AND white men alike.

It does explain some very old silver jewelry found by the parents of a friend of ours years ago. It was definitely indian-made and consisted of silver and polished stones of different varieties (and was verified by an expert).

In fact, if you go into the Wyoming County courthouse in Tunkhannock, they have a very, very old original map which specifically has not only silver workings, but a few gold areas also.

There has also been industrial diamonds found in Pa - which makes sense, considering the hard coal that abounds there.

B