Fantastic Insulator Find in Southern NJ

Relic Hunter, aka: Terry, reports an amazing find of porcelain insulators in southern New Jersey. He was aware of a pile of insulators that had been collected by the previous owner who had lived on the property for nearly 50 years. The pile was covered by leaves and was pretty much untouched for the last 30 years! Terry uncovered over 11,000 porcelain and about 175 glass insulators so he nicknamed the dig the "South Jersey Insulator Mine"! It took several weeks to unearth all the insulators which had been placed in such a way to prevent freeze or other damage. There are a number of great you-tube videos of the find -- a sample you can find here:

The original collector was a lineman at the electric company after having served in the Korean war. It is likely that his linemen friends must have pitched in to gather so many. He owned this property since the 60's. As the pile spread out and got higher, he positioned 4X4 posts and branches up the pile so he could put more on without breaking the others! The latest date observed on any insulator was 1967, and this was on some of the larger ones. Clearly, as a lineman, he had an understanding of the history represented by these early industrial artifacts. It is amazing how much beauty can be found in these purely utilitarian items.

Note that you can find more videos by searching "South Jersey insulator mine" at youtube. Although there were many of the same style and maker, there was also an amazing variety of different manufacturers which appear to date from the late 1920's into the 1930's including a large selection of insulators in tan and yellow glazes which are not too common. Shown below are some samples from the dig. You can click on each insulator to get more information on that item.