I was mainly interested in resources for further family research and quickly located the Cornish Family History Society. I spent a couple of hours there and found some interesting and new material about some of my ancestors. One thing that I determined is that Chacewater, more so than Kenwyn, was the home of my ancestors in the 19th century.
Truro is a lovely town with one of the most magnificent cathedrals I have ever seen. But Truro itself was not the object of my attention. We headed for Chacewater, about 10 miles away. It is a very small rural village that originally sprung up around the tin mines in that area. 
We found a small bakery in the center of the village for a pasty lunch and struck up conversation with some locals who provided some history and insight. Undoubtedly, we were walking the very village streets that my ancestors walked.
The Village of Chacewater, Cornwall
The most amazing phenomena of this area of Cornwall is how it is literally dotted with ancient “smokestacks”, each of which marked the location of a tin mine. These smokestacks and adjacent stone buildings housed the great steam engines that drove all the machinery in the mine. All remnants of the mines have long since disappeared, except for these ruins. Now that we knew what they were, we began to notice them in abundance throughout the countryside, many just outside of Chacewater.
We found out that there was a tin mine located in nearby Troon which was still used for training and education purposes – a form of working museum. So we hopped in the car and headed that way. Luckily it was open and we joined in the last tour of the day. I have read extensively about the copper mining processes used on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where my maternal ancestors found their home and plied their skills in America. When the Cornish immigrated to Michigan’s copper country, they brought their mining knowledge with them and utilized many of the same techniques to mine copper. We saw an amazing demonstration of the ancient equipment and processes that they used in the Cornish tin mines.
As we headed back to Looe late that afternoon, I could only think about what I had learned during the day. Previously, I had only the vaguest image of Cornwall, the Cornish and the tin mining phenomena, but now I can see so much clearer in my mind’s eye what their lives might have been like.
As we headed back to Looe late that afternoon, I could only think about what I had learned during the day. Previously, I had only the vaguest image of Cornwall, the Cornish and the tin mining phenomena, but now I can see so much clearer in my mind’s eye what their lives might have been like.
No comments:
Post a Comment