What lies beneath...? The history of a 19th century mining event between 1838 and 1878 and its impact on current life in the small New England town of Cheshire, Connecticut

A giant sinkhole swallowed a section of earth, forty-feet deep by thirteen feet wide in the back yard of a Cheshire, Connecticut resident in 2005, opening the door to a world of mining that took place in this small New England town between 1838 and 1878. This thesis describes and analyzes every aspect of this historical event including: the discovery of the barite; the decision to mine the barite; how the barite was mined; the miners who mined it; and the transportation of the barite to be milled at Long Wharf in New Haven to ready it for processing into house paint for which it was ultimately used; the closing of the mines; and, what happened to the miners after the mines were closed. This thesis also addresses the impact this historical mining event is having on Cheshire's residents today. It is the first extensive discussion of Cheshire's barite mines from an academic historical perspective.