Sins Of The Earth: Part Three - Beneath The Mountain

SINS OF THE EARTH

Part Three: Beneath the Mountains

The Devil Within — Hosted by Branden Morgan

There is a particular kind of arrogance required to look upon a mountain and conclude that its greatest contribution to civilization would be to disappear.

In the early nineteenth century, the mountains of northern New Jersey were becoming the foundation of an industrial empire. Beneath their forests lay enormous deposits of iron ore, and the men determined to extract that wealth were transforming the landscape one mine, one furnace, and one felled tree at a time.

And in 1804, a new name appeared on the map.

Jefferson Township.

In the third installment of Sins of the Earth, we explore the birth of Jefferson Township and the extraordinary industrial transformation unfolding across the New Jersey Highlands.

Named for President Thomas Jefferson, the newly established township occupied a rugged landscape of mountains, forests, lakes, and scattered settlements. But beneath its seemingly untouched wilderness, an increasingly sophisticated network of mines, furnaces, charcoal hearths, and transportation routes was taking shape.

From Milton and Oak Ridge to Lake Hopatcong and the neighboring ironworks of West Milford and Rockaway, the region was becoming an essential part of America's expanding industrial economy.

Iron was extracted from ancient bedrock. Forests were harvested to fuel furnaces. Waterways were altered, roads carved through mountains, and entire communities built around an industry that would eventually disappear.

But disappearing industries have a peculiar habit of leaving things behind.

Today, the forests have reclaimed much of that industrial landscape. Abandoned mine shafts, forgotten charcoal hearths, crumbling foundations, and old transportation routes lie concealed beneath generations of vegetation.

And that raises an unsettling question: What else might have been left behind?

As our investigation moves closer to the events of January 1988 and the murders that first brought The Devil Within to Jefferson Township, we begin examining whether the region's industrial history could have produced environmental consequences that persisted into the modern era.

There is no established connection between that history and the Sullivan murders. But understanding what happened to the land is the first step toward determining whether such a connection is even plausible.

Because every place has a past.

And sometimes the most important parts of that past are the ones we can no longer see.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The founding of Jefferson Township on February 11, 1804, and its connection to President Thomas Jefferson.

• The expanding iron mines and industrial economy of the New Jersey Highlands.

• The development of Milton, Oak Ridge, and the communities surrounding Lake Hopatcong.

• The role of the Morris Canal in transforming regional transportation and commerce.

• The forgotten charcoal hearths, abandoned mines, and industrial remnants concealed within the forests.

• The critical distinction between evidence of historical industrial activity and proof of environmental contamination.

NEXT EPISODE — BLOOD & IRON

In Act II of Sins of the Earth, we return to the industrial ambitions of Peter Hasenclever, Long Pond Ironworks, and the expanding network of mines and furnaces that transformed the Highlands.

This time, we'll begin examining the industrial operations themselves: what they produced, what they discarded, and whether their environmental legacy may have extended far beyond the generations responsible for creating it.

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The Devil Within is an Evio Creative production.

Every place has a past. And sometimes the most important parts of that past are the ones we can no longer see.

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