THE ORIGIN OF THE IRON INDUSTRY IN MARYLAND

By 1754 there were 7 furnaces and 8 forges in Maryland, increasing by 1758 to 8 furnaces and 10 forges producing 2,500 long tons of pig iron and 600 long tons of bar iron annually. By the time of the American Revolution, there were 14 furnaces and 17 or 18 forges (Fig. 4; Appendix A). (See Appendix B for description of the important early iron-producing family, the Snowdens.) Their production is summarized in Table 3. (Note: Furnaces produce mainly pig iron from ores and forges mainly bar iron from the pig iron. It is bar iron that is used in the manufacture of most finished iron products.)

Furnace

Figure 4.— Curtis Creek Furnace, Furnace Creek, Anne Arundel County, typical of the Catalan furnace commonly used in Maryland's early iron industry (Singewald, 1911). For information on the design and operation of the Catalan furnace, see Weitzman (1980) and Bining (1938).

	Pig Iron	Bar Iron
Year		T.	Cwt.	Q.	lbs.
1750	1,424	518	2	2	18
1751	3,005	622	2	1	10
1752	1,390	635	17	3	16
1753	3,076	573	13	3	0
1754	1,978	534	0	3	2
1755	1,331	640	18	0	8

Table 3.— Production of pig iron and bar iron in Maryland from 1750 to 1755 (Singewald, 1911, p. 130). (See Table 1 for Note on Weights and Measures.)

Most of the iron of the early domestic industry was exported in a crude state as pig, bloom, or bar iron. (Pig iron derives its name from the appearance of a row of ingots on either side of central channel resembling nursing piglets. Bloom iron is a mass of malleable iron from which the slag has been beaten off.) In fact, England as a colonial power discouraged the manufacture of ironware in the colonies. Nonetheless, there was a flourishing domestic iron forge industry which produced a variety of goods including farm and domestic tools, nails, and particularly at the time of the Revolution shot, shell, and cannons. (See Appendix A for more detail on production and products.)

The early ironmasters, persons in charge of the furnace operations, at Principio were Stephen Onion and Thomas Russell, Sr. They left John England in charge when they returned to England in 1724. On their ship they encountered Benjamin Franklin, who was returning from New Castle to Philadelphia. Mr. Russell stayed in England. Although Mr. Onion returned in 1726, John England became the primary ironmaster thereafter. Mr. England remained as ironmaster and part owner until his death in 1734 (Robbins, 1985). Tables 4 and 5 give examples of what it cost to make iron in the first part of the eighteenth century.

	Ł	s.	d.
Iron ore, 90 tons at 15s	67	10	0
Charcoal, 90 loads (say 11,880 bu), at 18s	81	0	0
Oyster shells and limestone	5	0	0
Wages, John Barker, founder, 40 tons, at 2/6	5	0	0
Other labor, 40 tons, at 5/6	11	0	0
Disbursements	2	0	0
Total production cost: 40 tons pig iron	171	10	0

Table 4.— Production costs at Principio Furnace, Cecil County, August, 1727 (Singewald, 1911, p. 163.) (See Table 1 for Note on Weights and Measures)

	Ł	s.	d.
Pig ore, 3,200lbs., at 8	11	8	7
Charcoal, 480 bus., at 9s. per load of 144bu.	1	10	0
Foremen's wages (white, 20s.; slave, 1s.), avg.	0	8	8
Hammermen's wages	1	0	0
Provision account (for slaves)	2	17	0
General charges, etc.	4	5	9
Total	21	10	0

Table 5.— Cost of 2,240 lbs. (1 long ton) of bar iron at North East Forge, Cecil County for 1754 (Singewald, 1911, p. 164). (See Table 1 for Note on Weights and Measures.)

Mr. England was followed as primary ironmaster by John Ruston (1734-1736), Nathaniel Chapman (1736-1761), and Thomas Russell II (1764-1781). During all this time, members of George Washington's family were important shareholders in the Principio Company (Robbins, 1985)