The partnership of Cooper ? blast furnaces at Philipsburg, N.J., built in 1847; mines at Ringwood, N.J. purchased in 1853; and the Durham Iron Works in Pennsylvania, purchased in 1870.
To secure a supply of good iron ore, Hewitt had purchased the abandoned iron mines at Andover, N.J., in 1847. The Andover mines had been extensively worked before the Revolution, and the government of New Jersey had seized the property from its loyalist owners to supply the Revolutionary armies. After the war the mines were mismanaged, and they were abandoned in 1800. Cooper & Hewitt also built the Sussex Mine Railroad in 1854, running from the mines to the Morris Canal, which carried the ore to the furnaces at Philipsburg. The Andover mines were nearly exhausted by 1862.
From the description of Records, 1848-1870. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122558801
