The Sterling Iron & Railway Company

This gorgeous stock certificate was issued in 1892. The engraver's craftsmanship is amazing. Iron deposits were discovered in the Sloatsburg/Tuxedo area of New York State in the 1750's. Sterling had the first iron mine & foundry in the U.S. The foundry's major claim to fame was the production of massive chains that were strung across the Hudson River to keep the British from sailing up the Hudson to capture West Point, Kingston and other major places during the American Revolution. A single link in these chains weighed 140 lbs. The chain weighed 186 tons and was made and delivered in 6 weeks!

Several mines opened in Sterling and the Sterling Railway transported the finished iron to the Erie Railroad connection in Sloatsburg, NY. The entire operation closed by 1920. Ruins of foundries and mines are popular hiking attractions in Sterling Forest State Park. The railroad right-of-way can still be seen and followed. An interlocking location on the Metro-North owned tracks in Sloatsburg, NY is called CP Sterling and is near the spot where the Sterling Iron & Mine Railway branched off to head into the mountains.