Rittenhouse Gap is a human settlement in Longswamp Township in

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

, United States, situated at . The gap which gives the town its name lies between the headwaters of Swabia Creek, in the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward ...

watershed, and an unnamed tributary of the

Perkiomen Creek Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Berks, Lehigh, and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania.Gertler ...

, in the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

watershed. Gap Hill lies along its northwestern side. The village is located at the northeastern end of the gap, around the source of Swabia Creek. The Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad was extended to the village in 1865, to carry

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

from the mines in the vicinity, largely owned by the Thomas Iron Company. These mines were among those selected by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

for experiments in magnetic beneficiation of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

, by which he hoped to make iron mining in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

cost effective. The availability of cheap

Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iro ...

ore defeated his plans, and the mines and railroad were abandoned after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The geological origins of the deposits have been the subject of recent research. With the closing of the iron mines, the community lost its principal support. It now lies at the head of the Bear Creek Mountain Resort and uses the Macungie zip code of 18062.

External links

Geology of Rittenhouse Gap iron deposits

References

Unincorporated communities in Berks County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania {{BerksCountyPA-geo-stub