RockWoof
Check access before you go. Most sites listed here are old mines, quarries or prospects, and many are on private land or active mining claims. Get the landowner's permission, check the rules of the agency that manages any public land, and never enter mine workings. Locations are approximate.

Sketch map

Acton Island Quarry (Past Producer)J. Leopold and Co. Quarry (Past Producer)Redwood Lead Occurrence (Occurrence)Shirtliff Mine (Past Producer)Unnamed Deposit + 1 more nearby (Past Producer)Oxbow Southwest Prospect + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Gold Hill Prospect + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Old Sterling Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer)Dickson Prospect + 7 more nearby (Occurrence)Keene Prospect (Occurrence)Morgan Prospect + 2 more nearby (Occurrence)Carthage Region Anorthosite (Prospect)Keene Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
13 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 1 site(s) with USGS coordinates outside the outline are not pinned. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.

Woof’s favorite find

Oxbow Southwest Prospect

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Garnet) and 4 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as occurrence for Sulfur-Pyrite. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Garnet, Mica, Pyrite. Approx. location 44.265, -75.642. USGS record.

Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.

Field cards: what kind of sites?

14
Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

12
Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

2
Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.

Minerals recorded here

Pyrite 1

Commodities

Iron 10Sulfur-Pyrite 6Sulfur 3Granite 2Fluorine-Fluorite 2Pig Iron 1Aluminum 1Lead 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
Gold Hill ProspectIron, Pig Iron, Sulfur-PyritePyriteOccurrence44.279, -75.604
Dickson ProspectSulfur-Pyrite—Occurrence44.223, -75.601
Morgan ProspectSulfur-Pyrite—Occurrence44.254, -75.571
Keene ProspectSulfur-Pyrite—Occurrence44.261, -75.569
Old Sterling MineIron—Past Producer44.238, -75.591
Keene MineIron—Past Producer44.262, -75.547
White ProspectIron—Occurrence44.230, -75.595
Morgan MineIron—Occurrence44.251, -75.573
Shirtliff MineIron—Past Producer44.196, -75.245
Ward MineIron—Past Producer44.219, -75.603
Acton Island QuarryGranite—Past Producer44.290, -76.064
J. Leopold and Co. QuarryGranite—Past Producer44.321, -75.924
Unnamed DepositFluorine-Fluorite—Past Producer44.302, -75.688
Wight ProspectSulfur-Pyrite—Occurrence44.231, -75.595
Oxbow Southwest ProspectSulfur-Pyrite—Occurrence44.265, -75.642
Dickson MineIron—Past Producer44.222, -75.601
Carthage Region AnorthositeAluminum—Prospect43.998, -75.588
Gold Hill ProspectSulfur—Occurrence44.276, -75.611
Wight ProspectSulfur—Occurrence44.231, -75.595
Dickson Mine——Past Producer44.221, -75.607
Unnamed Fluorite DepositFluorine-Fluorite—Past Producer44.303, -75.687
Ward MineIron—Prospect44.220, -75.609
Old Stirling Mine——Past Producer44.237, -75.592
Redwood Lead OccurrenceLead—Occurrence44.316, -75.800
Morgan ProspectIron—Past Producer44.249, -75.575
Shirtliff Mine——Past Producer44.196, -75.745
Oxbow Southwest ProspectSulfur—Occurrence44.262, -75.642
Keene Mine——Past Producer44.261, -75.551

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 11 fossil collection records in Jefferson County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Lewis County · St. Lawrence County · Franklin County · Hamilton County · Herkimer County

New York mineral guides

Back to all New York counties.

Related articles

How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.

Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS). USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.

Updated