Tahawus or Tahawus mine and tailings - Environmental Wasteland

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With the termination of mining activities by NL Industries in 1989, the mine site once again lies deserted. The mine pits filled with water and local lore states the depths reach 1,000 feet or more.

The water filled mine pits are clearly visible in this aerial photo. A 300-foot high massive tailings pile sits between the mine pits.

NL Industries 1940 - 1989
Ironically, the titanium dioxide that hampered mining efforts in the 1800s later served as the catalyst for reopening the mine in 1941. The wartime demand for domestic titanium dioxide provided sufficient impetus for the Federal government to build a railroad into the mine site. The railroad provided the distribution capabilities that allowed National Lead Industries to successfully reopen the mine. Under NL Industries ownership, 40 million tons of titanium were extracted before operations ceased in 1989.


Pristine water leaves Henderson Lake as the Hudson River flowing through the heart of the Adirondacks, onward to the Catskill watershed and finally emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at New York City.

Wildlife abounds on the Tahawus Tract. A quiet, attentive hiker has opportunities to glimpse moose, bears, deer, loons, coyotes, foxes and other small mammals. The elusive Pine Marten is know to favor the deep recesses of the Tahawus Tract and rugged Indian Pass just north of the old Village of Adirondac.


In 1994 the Open Space Institute (OSI) began negotiations with NL Industries for the purchase of 10,000 acres known as the Tahawus Tract. OSI successfully acquired the property in August of 2003 through its land acquisition affiliate, the Open Space Conservancy, for a purchase price of $8.5 million. The Tahawus Tract, located in Essex County in the northern part of the Town of Newcomb, represents the largest land acquisition by OSI since the organization was founded in 1963. The acquisition, which has long been at the top of the conservation community’s “must save” list, will protect the headwaters of the Hudson River, the “deserted” village of Adirondac and the site of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Midnight Ride” to the presidency in 1901. The Houston based NL Industries, which operated a titanium mine on the property until 1989, will retain the 1,200-acre industrial portion of the Tahawus Tract.