Cumberlandite - Cumberland, Rhode Island USA
Posted by: 
401Photos
N 42° 00.283 W 071° 27.400
19T E 296553 N 4653220
Cumberlandite is a rare ore deposit of black, heavy, and, due to a high iron content, slightly magnetic rock naturally occurring no place else on Earth but this small plot of less than four acres.
Waymark Code: WMZQ4H
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 12/19/2018
Views: 1
Cumberlandite is a rare ore deposit of black, heavy, and, due to a high iron content, slightly magnetic rock found nowhere else in the world. It is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 billion years old and formed with the eruption of a small volcano. Originally named Rhodose and identified hundreds of years ago, it was renamed in 1861. It was designated as Rhode Island’s State Rock in 1966 by Resolution No. 268 - the same resolution also designated Bowenite as the State Mineral. Cumberlandlite is found on a plat of 3.75 acres that has been Town-owned since 5 January 2001. (1) (2)
“One of Rhode Island’s three masses of gabbro, a dark gray rock composed chiefly of ferromagnesian minerals, lies in the northwest section of town. The world’s only known deposit of cumberlandite is at Iron Mine Hill, on the west edge of the northern gabbroic formation. Cumberlandite is a titaniferous magnetite rock whose unique composition and potential economic use have sparked attempts at exploitation for nearly 250 years. Significant efforts have been undertaken in recent years by the town and the state to preserve this unique natural source area. Iron Mine Hill has been reduced to approximately half its original size by extensive mining and quarrying.”(2)
“IRON MINE HILL (18th century): This hill contained a large mass of magnetic iron ore mined in colonial times. Ore extracted from the hill was said to have been manufactured at Abbott Run into cannon used during the British victory over the French at Lousibourg in 1745 during the French and Indian Wars. In the early twentieth century, the hill was used to quarry large quantities of trap rock for road building. This is the only place in the world were [sic.] Cumberlandite can be found in its natural state (not relocated by glacier.)” (3)
This location is accessible by a short walk along an unimproved path to the southeast border of RI Historical Cemetery 27 - ELDER BALLOU MEETING HOUSE CEMETERY.
Sources:
1)
Rhode Island State Symbols
2)
“Town of Cumberland Comprehensive Plan 2016 - 2036”; Adopted by the Planning Board and Town Council - June 15, 2016; pages 53, 75
3)
“Historic and Architectural Resources of Cumberland, Rhode Island - Rhode Island”; pages 2, 45; Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, Revised 1998
4)
Wikipedia - Cumberlandite