Rewind: August 2025 – “Henry Hudson Barton”
We continue our look at the book in the collection of the Historical Society called Adirondack Profiles by William L. Wessels. In it, Mr. Wessels tells stories about people and places from all around the Adirondack Park. You may wonder about some of the ‘facts’ he shared, as we did when we read some of his remembrances. Let us know if you have any concerns or ideas about what is said. The book was published in 1961, and the author talks about his up-bringing in the 1940s and 50s. As all of us who study history know, time sometimes does make changes in facts about events.
The book was first published in 1961. We have copied the text exactly as it appears in the book. Therefore, some places may appear to be written incorrectly, but that, too, is a product of the passing of time. Lowell Thomas wrote the Foreword of the book and gives high praise to the author for putting history down for us. We have selected a few of the articles because we found out something new by reading them.
As you read this column, keep in mind it was published over 60 years ago!
BARTON GARNET MINES
North River – North Creek
Over the years there have been few industrial enterprises in the Adirondacks. The first great industry after the American Revolution was the lumber industry; first the harvesting of hemlock bark for the tanning of leather which the pioneers learned from the Indians. Next came the glove industry which started in Johnstown, N. Y. The art of making gloves had been brought from France to Johnstown and the descendants of one family, Joseph Younglove, may still be found in that city. Gloversville followed soon after and was early called the “Stump City.” Hemlock bark was plentiful in the nearby Adirondack region and tanneries sprang up at many points. Wevertown was one.
The mining of iron ore developed in the early 1800’s and this is a large industry today. The discovery of titanium at the long established Adirondack Iron Company at Tahawus has brought a new industry to the Adirondacks. Another industry that has had continuous operations since the early 1880’s is garnet mining.
Henry Hudson Barton, 1860-1905
H. H. Barton was the discoverer of the use of garnet as an abrasive. He was associated with a company in Philadelphia that manufactured sandpaper as its chief product and it was Charles Bader Barton, his son, who wrapped the packets of sandpaper and listened to his father’s instruction. His father told him to take samples to the John Ebert furniture factory and the Gardner Carriage Shop, both in Philadelphia. Young Barton in great haste made his way to Ebert by horse and buggy. He arrived out of breath and greatly excited. Ebert took the samples and said, “Humpff, another sandpaper.” they went into the shop where the workmen tried out the new sandpaper on mahogany banisters and oak spindles. The workmen were amazed at the new material and soon said it was six times better than fling, glass or any other known abrasive. It was the same story at the Gardner Carriage Shop.
The foremen hurried to the Barton shop the next morning and going up to Barton said, “The boss wants me to bring all the new sandpaper I can bring back.” Ebert was at the Barton Shop the next morning and said, “Henry, that abrasive is magic, almost as hard as diamond. Adds a dollar a day per man in production as it is so tough.” “Glad you like it John; what’s your order?” said Barton. “All I can get,” said Ebert. “By the way, what is the name of the stuff?” “You name it, call it magic ‘Barton’s Magic Abrasive’,” he replied. Thus was born the Barton Garnet Mines.
Henry Hudson Barton was of Scotch descent, having come to Boston from Scotland. His father was Daniel Barton of Castle Dunbarton. Henry was born in 1830 and came to America in 1846. Henry served an apprenticeship with a Boston jeweler and learned to recognize the value of semi-precious stones.
One day a man came into the store and dumped on the counter a heap of rough stones, garnets from the Adirondacks. Barton’s boss was not interested but young Barton never forgot those red stones. Barton soon moved to greener pastures. He first came to Newark, N. J. and then on to Philadelphia, Pa. where in 1858 he married Josephine Bader, the daughter of one German Bader who was the pioneer in the manufacture of Sandpaper in the United States. The firm of Bader, Adamson and Company was formed in 1869.
After the turmoil of the Civil War had died down, H. H. Barton set up his own business as a dealer in woodworking supplies, and a specialist in abrasives. Business was most competitive and Barton was on the look-out for a new abrasive when he remembered the heap of garnet stones on the jewelry shop in Boston. He went to Bost at once and found the old shop closed. He finally located the old man, the retired owner, and he took Barton up to the attic of his house where he had kept over the years, the records of his transactions. There was the record of the man from the Adirondacks with a sack of garnet stones.
Barton decided to go at once to the Adirondacks, but just before he left, a friend by the name of Harry Stratton came in to see him, opened up an old carpet bag and handed over a ragged stone as big as a pumpkin. Stratton was interested only in the value as semi-precious stones while Barton was not. Stratton told Barton that he had picked up this sample while on a hunting trip around North Creek in the Adirondacks. He told Barton to keep the “stuff.” This was a part of the samples that young Barton had taken to Ebert Furniture factory and the Gardner Carriage Shop. Barton made many trips to North Creek, contracted with a man by the name of Moore to conduct mining operations and Barton purchased options on Gore Mountain.
The name garnet comes from the Latin Granaticus, because it resembles the red seed of the pomegranate. Garnet was known in ancient times and was frequently called topaz. The breastplate of Aaron, the high priest of the Old Testament in Exodus XXVII, is an example of the religious use of precious stones in worship.
H. H. Barton leased the Gore Mountain property in 1867 and in 1887 he bought the entire Gore Mountain. The search of the area showed that there was a plentiful supply and could be mined on the surface at a low cost. The first mine was called Moore’s mine but later on this was changed to the Barton Mines. The More mine was located at North River, but the garnet soon petered out. The tunnel to his mine can still be seen. A Mr. Frank Hooper took up mining claims in the area and built the first plant to extract garnet by mechanical means from the rock. When his claims became depleted he joined forces with the Barton Mines Corporation.
In the early days, garnet was mined by hand. The garnet material was accumulated in the summer months and then shipped to Philadelphia. Contractors furnished the manpower. Many hands were hired at Bakers Mills, 20 to 36 to a group. They lived in bunk houses on the property and the groups had to be of similar tastes or trouble developed. These men arrived from Bakers Mills at the open pits on Monday morning and left Friday night. They brought along their guns and on the return home they hunted for that Sunday venison dinner. There was a boarding house and a company store. One woman cook, the only one on the premises, did the cooking. All the garnet mining was done by hand picking at the pits and about one hundred men were employed at one time.
The garnets were separated from the rock by picking or cobing, the larger crystals being knocked out by small pick hammers. These long forgotten tools are on displayed the Barton Mines headquarters. The concentrate plant was erected in 1924 with all modern improvements. This separates the garnet from the mined roc and also reclaims from the piles of previous mined rock, the small garnet crystals. Up to recent times, it was the common practice to secure this left over rock, mixed with small pieces of garnet, for making of roads, walks, and binder for concrete. the author who owned and operated the old Blue Mountain House at Blue Mountain Lake (now the site of the Adirondack Museum) used this stone for some years for walks. It was a common sight to see the guests picking up the pieces of garnet on the walks of the hotel grounds.
At this point, the author goes into an explanation of garnet, where it is found in the world, and specifics of the garnet found here and its use for making abrasive paper and cloth. There is a discussion of the sizes of garnet obtained here, as well as how it is used. He points out the fact that, “…the product of the Barton mines is vastly superior to any in the market.”
The product of the Barton Mines consists of mixed grains of garnet, measuring about one-sixteenth up to five-eights of an inch in size. They are shipped in one hundred pound sacks to domestic and foreign manufacturers of abrasive products. Garnet is mined and processed at Barton Mines today by the most modern power tools.
He picks up the story again here:
At an altitude of 2600 feet, the Barton Mines is the highest self-sufficient community in the State of New York. It is ten miles from North Creek, its adopted home, and five miles from North River. When you turn off Route 28 at North River, you enter upon the Gore Mountain road, which was built by the company and rises an average of 300 feet to the mile. The panoramic views from the top of the mountain are wonderful to behold. The road is paved all the way to the mines.
The Barton Mines are self-sufficient. The have their own power plant, with five Diesel electric generators, their own water supply from man-made lakes, their own fire department. Compressed air produced at the power plant is piped a mile to pneumatic drills at the mine operations. the average consumption of fuel oil during the year is 750,000 gallons with a reserve at all times of 285,000 gallons. The Barton Mines Corporation has erected a museum at the mines for the public to view and buy garnet items, if so desired. A trip to the top of the world, the Barton Mines, is a trip well worth making.