Peter Goff Tenant House

Peter Goff Tenant House. What Remains of the Old Mining Village?. During the 1800's, the land now known as the Oregon Ridge Park was an active mining village. Between the years of 1840-1870, The Oregon Mining Company mined iron and marble. , An industrial village was developed to house their Workers conveniently near the ore pits and the furnace. Most workers were Irish immigrants and free blacks. Life in the mining village was not easy. While the men mined ore and worked the furnace. women spent most of their time cooking. The average lite expectancy for a resident of the mining village was 43 years old. , This replica tenant house is named after a resident of the Oregon mining town. To rent one of the 12 tenant houses on the mining property, you must have worked as an ore miner or furnace worker. According to an 1850's census, it is believe that 9 people lived in a tenant house of this size. This house displays artifacts excavated and restored by students of the Baltimore County Public Schools Archeology Program. , The Tenant House is open for tours during Oregon Ridge Nature Center S special events. , Oregon Ridge Lake , The Oregon Ridge Lake once was not a lake at all, but actually a surface mine. While mining iron, the crew eventually dug deep enough to hit the groundwater table which created a lake. The lake reaches depths of over 40 ft. , House Foundations on the ' "Avenue" , The three foundations located on the Miners rail near the spring house are remains of other tenant house foundations. Man of the tenant houses located on the avenue were duplexes. , The Furnace , Not much remains of the ore smelting furnace. The site of the furnace is viewable via the Miner's Trail. Along the trail you will find a boardwalk and interpretive signs of the operation that took place at the furnace. , The Open Mine Pits , During the 19th Century, the most common practice of harvesting ore and marble was open pit mining. You still see the remains of the open pits via a short walk around the nature center.