Samuel Wells Collection

Background on Barite mining in Hatfield, Mass.

Barite was recorded in occurring in small veins in Hatfield, Mass., as early as 1810, one of a handful of locations in the Connecticut River Valley where the mineral co-occurs with in hydrothermal deposits with lead ores in economic quantity. Prior to the Civil War, the barium sulfate compound was used in sugar refining, as a white pigment for textiles and paints, and a pigment and weighted filler for paper.

In November 1840, the prominent New York mercantile firm, Josiah Macy and Son, engaged Samuel Wells of Northampton to act as an agent to secure leases to land in Hatfield for the purpose of mining barite. Wells sought the assistance of the renowned geologist Edward Hitchcock of Amherst College to assist in determining the best mining site, which they located about two miles west of the village on three adjoining parcels of land owned by laborer Thomas Frary, farmer John D. Moron, and the estate of Charles Smith. With Wells leading the way, Morton agreed to lease mining rights for $400, and Frary apparently consented, however negotiations with the Smith estate were more protracted, finally concluding in January 1842.

Mining apparently commenced in Hatfield during the summer 1842, however assays proved troublesome, with the lead ore galena intermixed with the barite in a way that made it difficult to purify. The sulfurous red tinge from the galena made the barite unsuited for whitening. Macy and Son transferred their interest in the mine to a group based in New Haven, and although some mining was apparently attempted later in the decade, the enterprise never prospered.