Through the Light Hole: A Saga of Adirondack Mines and Men, by Patrick F. Farrell

Anyone who has lived in or spent any considerable time exploring the Adirondacks is apt to have at least a passing familiarity with the mining history of the region. From the margins of the mountains at Ironville, Mineville, or Lyon Mountain to the Tahawus and Adirondack in the High Peak region, the impact on the landscape and culture is very apparent. It is hard to enter the Adirondacks from some directions without having the history stare you in the face, for example when you are crossing the bridge from Vermont to Crown Point and can see the looming slag piles on the hills of Mineville and Witherbee.

Old buildings at Adirondack

Mining is not one of the first associations many people have of the region, and books such as this go a long way toward making the public record a bit more accessible. There is no shortage of books, museums and local knowledge, to be sure, but this well researched and presented work does a very good job of not only synopsizing and cataloguing the material, but also of giving it some wider historical context. His knowledge is intimate and comprehensive, which comes through in his work.

Industrial mining began in the area primarily along the Lake Champlain shore region, and moved into the mountains with the colonization of he area by the French, British and American settlers. Innovations came with the Industry, including the use of electricity at the Ironville ore processors which have earned the settlement the appellation “The Birthplace of the Electrical Age.”

Farrell divides his book into to main parts, followed by lengthy and very detailed appendices. Part one is the history to 1938 and part two covers “The Republic Steel Corporation years.” He wisely relegates the bulk of his supporting material to the appendices which results in a much more readable book. He brings a personal perspective, having worked in the industry for decades and having researched and shared the history in the Essex County are for even longer. Many photographs and illustrations compliment the test, and the reader can easily follow both the broad history and the individual stories of the people involved. The focus is more on the broader history, but the impact on people and communities is neither ignored nor lost.

There have been quite a few works addressing this side of Adirondack history. Some are more focused on particular areas or locales, as this one gives weight to the iron ore history. The quality of the other works aside, Through the Light Hole is an excellent choice for an introduction to the subject.

Through the Light Hole (1996) is published by North Country Books and is still in print.