Robert M. Catlin (1853-1934)

At the time of the Great Consolidation, the Franklin Mine was in a state of high disorder. After a period of deliberation and searching, Robert Catlin, who had made a substantial reputation as a mining engineer in Johannesburg, South Africa, and other places, was brought in as mining superintendent in 1906 and served until 1930. He filled-in the hole-ridden Franklin deposit, and then established the top-slice mining method here, guaranteeing the profitable removal of the entire ore body. Equally important, if not more so, was his interest, shared by George Rowe, in establishing a humane community at Franklin. He began a process that established the Franklin Hospital, developed a water system, paved the streets, founded a community house, arranged for a bank and general store, and established law and order. He brought not only modern mining practice, but also civilization, to Franklin. Robert Catlin was a man with diverse interests; he did much early research in oil shale, some of it in the New Jersey Zinc Company’s laboratories. Additional details are given by Baum (1987a), from which this account is derived in part.