The workings of the Hibernia tract most likely date back to 1722 when a forge was operating along the Rockaway River west of Dover. Joshua Ball purchased the mine property in 1753 which before then, was available for anyone to mine for free. In 1765, the Adventure Furnace (later known as Hibernia Furnace) was built at the mine and the ore was smelted here and used to provide shot and ordnance for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. By 1850, the furnace was in ruins and that year the ore was supplying forges at Beach Glen and Powerville.

For most of its history, the term "Hibernia Mine" was used to describe a series of independently operating mines all along the same orebody. From the southwest heading northeast, they are generally known as Beach, Lower Wood (or Andover), Glendon (or Crane), Scott (or Church), DeCamp, Upper Wood, and Willis (or Wharton) mines.

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