DUPRS_0037 Tar Felt

DUPRS_0037 Tar Felt

Tar-Covered Felt Shingles

Multiple pieces of felt, of different sizes and shapes, covered with black tar on both sides of most, and with little gravel pebbles only on one side of some. A few of the pieces seem to have been melted, possibly in a fire.

Unknown, possibly the Stanley Coal Tar Mill

Stanley Park West

Drew University, Department of Anthropology, Drew University Passaic River Survey

Mid to Late 1800s

Emily Graves

The felt clothes items found at the site.

Tar

It was common in this time period for mills to be repurposed as demands changed. As the Stanley Felt Paper Mill stopped producing clothes items in the late 1800s, they instead began to cover the felt they were producing with tar in order to create roof shingles. As there was evidence of felt clothes pieces and uniformly sized tar-covered felt pieces found at the site, this supports that idea.