Seneca Stone Mill 2-27-04 Cont.

or more in diameter. They could have also killed some of the trees; and the vines are everywhere!

2/3 rds distance of the turning basin and about 40 feet up from the level of the canal, there is evidence of quarrying in a fairly large area.

Just found my first sign of the old railroad - a piece of railroad track high on top of the quarry. Close by is another artesian well coming out of the side of the mountain. They had poured concrete around it; apparently another watering place for workers.

Of course, the question now is how did they get the rock that you have just knocked lose from the quarry area down to the canal level without killing someone?

One possibility is that there are some huge iron rings that have obviously been driven into the ground (notice the flat tops to the rings); and there is the remain of what looks like an old windlass next to one of the rings and there is another ring next to what could be a stake where a pulley had been anchored.

So, I would guess that they would have a tramway going up the side of the hill and use the rings to guide a rope through the windlass and pulley combination to lower the rough-cut stone on the tramway cars down to more level ground.

This is very similar to the problem lumbermen faced with logs; how do you get something big and heavy moved to where you need it - a sawmill or a stone-cutting mill? Almost exactly the same problem. Harvesting is different, but almost the same process.