Guide to the Patrick F. Farrell collection

Biographical History

Patrick F. Farrell was born Dec. 14, 1918. He attended Regents Academic High School and took college courses in business management, law, English, and environmental conservation. He and his wife had two children: Susan and John. He worked in the mining industry for Witherbee, Sherman & Company – and its successor the Republic Steel Corporation – in Mineville, New York for 45 years. The mines in this area were known for the high quality of their ore. The whole region became known as the Mineville Iron District. Other than two deposits in Sweden, these ore deposits were the largest developed magnetic ore concentrations in the world. At various points in his career, Farrell worked as a mining engineer (1938–1943) and served the Mineville Iron District as Superintendent of Mines (1956–1961), and District Superintendent (1961–1972). Farrell later would lecture on mining at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following his retirement as a employee for Republic Steel Corporation in 1982, he continued working as a mining consultant in the Adirondack Mountain region of New York State. Throughout his career, he was a member of the Socie of Mining Engineers of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME and once served as chairman of the Adirondack Section. His chief technical achievement as a mining specialist was the promotion of raise boring and tunnel boring as viable tools for the mining industry thereby improving costs, safety, and productivity. He also maintained an interest in the history of Adirondack region mining. Farrell served as a trustee and president of the Essex County Historical Society and was a member of the Crown Point Foundation. Additionally, he was a member and chair o the Board of Directors of the Essex County Industrial Development Agency and for six years, he serve as the chair of the Mineville–Witherbee Board of Fire Commissioners. Farrell had many memberships other community societies and associations. In 1985, he received the Liberty Bell Award from the Esse County Bar Association in recognition of community service. Farrell died in 1992.