Sterling Iron Works

Last updated

The Sterling Iron Works owned by Peter Townsend was one of the first steel and iron manufacturers in the Thirteen Colonies and the first steel producer in the Province of New York. The company was most famous for forging the Hudson River Chain that kept the British Navy from sailing up the Hudson during the American Revolution, and served to protect the strategically important fort at West Point. The works were operational from 1761 to 1842.

Contents

Initial ore discovery

In 1750 the first discovery was made of a rich superficial deposit of iron ore at the south end of Sterling Mountain, in the town of Monroe, New York. In the following year, Ward & Colton erected at the outlet of mine and Sterling Pond, in the extreme southern part of Warwick, near the Monroe line, a charcoal blast-furnace, which was the first in Warwick. These works were called the Sterling Iron-works, honoring General William Alexander known as Lord Stirling, the owner of the land, and later an officer in the Revolutionary army. They were built for the manufacture of anchors, including for the United States frigate, USS Constitution. A second Sterling furnace was built in 1777.

Additional mines opened

Several other veins of magnetic ore were later opened in the vicinity of the Sterling mine, which itself covered about 30 acres (120,000 m2). The Forest of Dean mine, a very extensive bed six miles (10 km) west-northwest of Fort Montgomery, as early as 1756 supplied a furnace, and was abandoned twenty-one years later. The vein is over 30 feet (9.1 m) thick and 150 feet (46 m) broad, and made good cold short iron.

The Long Mine, belonging to the Townsends, was discovered in 1761 by David Jones and supplied about 500 tons of ore annually to the Sterling Works over the next 70–80 years for an aggregate production of about 140,000 tons. It was the only mine at which systematic mining was attempted in that time, and was worked to the depth of 170 feet (52 m) on a single vein 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. The ore yielded 62 per cent, of strong tough metal, from which cannon, muskets, wire, steel, fine malleable iron, and harness-buckles were made.

The Mountain Mine, half a mile southwest of Long Mine, was found in 1758 by a hunter, in consequence of a tree having been blown up by the roots. The Iron from this mine was remarkable for its strength and fine polish, and was in consequence chiefly exported to England to be tinned.

First metal produced in New York

Autograph of Peter Townsend, noted in the American Revolution, owner of Sterling Iron Works PeterTownsend1797autograph.jpg
Autograph of Peter Townsend, noted in the American Revolution, owner of Sterling Iron Works

Mr. Peter Townsend, who became the owner of Sterling Iron before the Revolutionary War, made iron anchors in 1773, and in 1776 produced the first steel in New York, at first from pig and afterward from bar iron. The first blister steel made in the State was made by his son, Peter Townsend, Jr., in 1810, from ore of the Long Mine on the Sterling estate. In the manufacture of edge-tools it was considered equal to the famous Dannemora mine Swedish Iron.

The first cannon made in the State were cast at Sterling for the government, in 1816. They were from 6 to 32-pounders.

The Hudson River Chain

The Great Chain forged at Stirling Iron Works by Peter Townsend GreatChain1933.jpg
The Great Chain forged at Stirling Iron Works by Peter Townsend

At the close of 1779, West Point was the strongest military post in America. In addition to the batteries that stood menacingly upon the hill tops, the river was obstructed by an enormous defensive iron chain. The iron of which this chain was constructed was wrought from ore of equal parts, from the Stirling and Long Mines, in Orange county. The chain was manufactured at the Stirling Iron Works about 25 miles (40 km) from West Point. The general superintendent of the work, as engineer, was Captain Thomas Machin, who afterward assisted in the engineering operations at Yorktown, when Cornwallis was captured. The project took place under the supervision of Colonel Timothy Pickering.

The chain was completed in the middle of April, 1778, and on 1 May it was stretched across the river and secured. It weighed 186 tons, and was made and delivered in six weeks. This chain was forged at Stirling, hauled piece by piece to New Windsor, and put together at the military smithy of Capt. Machin. It was then floated down the Hudson as a whole, and placed in position. It remained unbroken during the war although others at Fort Montgomery and on the lake above were broken by the British. Links of these chains, weighing 140 lb (64 kg). each, are preserved at the Military Academy at West Point.

In front of this chain was a heavy boom of logs. Each winter the chain and boom were un-moored, taken up to the beach, in the cove now crossed by the railroad tracks, and piled up out of reach of the moving ice until ready to be replaced in the spring.

The chain was instrumental in the discovery of Benedict Arnold, when Peter Townsend's cousin, Sally Townsend, whose brother Robert was a member of Gen George Washington's Culper Ring of spies, allegedly intercepted information at the family home in Oyster Bay, Long Island which occupied by British officers. The intercepted message from Arnold indicated that he had weakened the chain and contained instructions on how the Royal Navy could breach its defenses and take the fort at West Point. When he realized he had been discovered, Arnold escaped to the British and the chain remained intact throughout the war.

Iron Chain and Boom at West Point Boom and Iron Chain.jpg
Iron Chain and Boom at West Point

Origin of boom placed in front of the Hudson River Chain

Chaining The Hudson River In the summer of 1777, the Ringwood Iron Works edit:(Long Pond Iron Works) manufactured iron for a boom intended to be installed in front of Fort Montgomery (Bear Mountain) chain. Over 30 tons of chain links and components were carried by ox cart from Ringwood over the Ramapo Mountains to the Hudson River. Unfortunately for the Americans, the British captured the fort and carried away the chain before the boom could be properly installed.

After the capture of Fort Montgomery, the Ringwood iron was taken to West Point and used to make the boom placed in front of the West Point chain, which was forged at the Sterling Iron Works and placed across the river in 1778.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burden Iron Works</span> United States historic place

The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel, had occasion to observe the wheel while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The iron works site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site in 1977. The Burden Ironworks Office Building was previously listed in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson River Chains</span> River barriers used during the American Revolutionary War

The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels from sailing upriver and were overseen by the Highlands Department of the Continental Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ironworks</span> Building or site where iron is smelted

An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ironworks is ironworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Highlands</span> Mountains on either side of the Hudson River roughly 60 mi (100 km) north of New York City

The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York state lying primarily in Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County on its west. They continue somewhat to the south in Westchester County and Rockland County, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringwood Manor</span> United States historic place

Ringwood Manor, located in Passaic County, New Jersey, was the site of an ironworks and home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. The current manor house was not built until 1807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Fuel and Iron</span>

The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a large steel conglomerate founded by the merger of previous business interests in 1892. By 1903 it was mainly owned and controlled by John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould's financial heirs. While it came to control many plants throughout the country, its main plant was a steel mill on the south side of Pueblo, Colorado and was the city's main industry for most of its history. From 1901 to 1912, Colorado Fuel and Iron was one of the Dow Jones Industrials. The steel-market crash of 1982 led to the decline of the company. After going through several bankruptcies, the company was acquired by Oregon Steel Mills in 1993, and changed its name to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. In January 2007, Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, along with the rest of Oregon Steel's holdings, were acquired by EVRAZ Group, a Russian steel corporation, for $2.3 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popolopen</span> Mountain in the United States

Popolopen is the name of several related landmarks mainly within the Hudson Highlands of Orange County, New York. These include a mountain, Popolopen Torne—or simply "The Torne", and a short and steep-sided nearby valley officially called Hell Hole, but often Popolopen Gorge. Popolopen Creek runs through this valley. The Popolopen Bridge spans its mouth at the Hudson River and is crossed by Route 9W. Popolopen Lake feeds the headwaters of its namesake creek. Despite local usage, the United States Board on Geographical Names recognizes only the lake, creek and bridge as bearing the name "Popolopen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Crane Iron Company</span> Defunct ronmaking firm in the Lehigh Valley, USA

The Lehigh Crane Iron Company was a major ironmaking firm in the Lehigh Valley from its founding in 1839 until its sale in 1899. It was founded under the patronage of Josiah White and Erskine Hazard, and financed by their Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, which hoped to promote the then-novel technique of smelting iron ore with anthracite coal. This was an important cost and energy savings technique, since either an expensive charcoaling nor coke producing process and transport costs was totally eliminated so produced a great acceleration in the underpinnings of the American industrial revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahawus, New York</span>

Tahawus was a village in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County, New York, United States. It is now a ghost town situated in the Adirondack Park. Tahawus is located in Essex County within the unpopulated northern area designated to the town of Newcomb. Tahawus was the site of major mining and iron smelting operations in the 19th century. Although standing as recently as 2005, the last mining facilities have since been demolished and removed.

TrentonWorks is an industrial manufacturing facility located in the town of Trenton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company</span> American steelmaking company

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely within Tennessee, it relocated most of its business to Alabama in the late nineteenth century, following protests over its use of free convict labor. With a sizable real estate portfolio, the company owned several Birmingham satellite towns, including Ensley, Fairfield, Docena, Edgewater and Bayview. It also established a coal mining camp it sold to U.S. Steel which developed it into the Westfield, Alabama planned community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Island</span> Island on the Hudson river opposite West Point

Constitution Island is in the northeastern United States, located in New York on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. It is directly opposite the U.S. Military Academy Reservation at West Point and is connected to the east shore by Constitution Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Iron Company</span> Former iron smelting enterprise

The Oregon Iron Company was an iron smelting company located in what is now Lake Oswego, Oregon. The company was established in 1865, and in 1867, became the first company west of the Rocky Mountains in the United States to smelt iron. The company failed after a few years, but was reorganized as the Oswego Iron Company in 1878, and again as the Oregon Iron and Steel Company in 1883. With the addition of a larger furnace, the last incarnation of the company prospered, reaching peak production in 1890. By 1894, however, pressure from cheaper imported iron combined with the effects of the Panic of 1893 forced the company to close its smelter. The company continued to operate a pipe foundry until 1928, and until the early 1960s, existed as a land management company, selling its real estate holdings which expanded the city of Lake Oswego.

The Woodward Iron Company was founded on December 31, 1881, by brothers William and Joseph Woodward. William was the company president and Joseph was the company secretary. The company operated iron and coal mines, quarries and furnaces; these were connected by a private industrial railroad based in Bessemer, Alabama. The company administrative office was located near Woodward Ore Mine #1, south of Paul's Hill in Bessemer.

The Grubb Family Iron Dynasty was a succession of iron manufacturing enterprises owned and operated by Grubb family members for more than 165 years. Collectively, they were Pennsylvania's leading iron manufacturer between 1840 and 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scunthorpe Steelworks</span>

The Iron and Steel Industry in Scunthorpe was established in the mid 19th century, following the discovery and exploitation of middle Lias ironstone east of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.

The history of Sussex County, New Jersey spans over 13,000 years from the time Paleo Indians arrived after the Wisconsin glacier melted to the present day, and the entire width of the American experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron mining in the United States</span> Overview of iron mining in the United States

Iron mining in the United States produced 48 million metric tons of iron ore in 2019. Iron ore was the third-highest-value metal mined in the United States, after gold and copper. Iron ore was mined from nine active mines and three reclamation operations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Utah. Most of the iron ore was mined in northern Minnesota's Mesabi Range. Net exports were 3.9 million tons. US iron ore made up 2.5 percent of the total mined worldwide in 2015. Employment as of 2014 was 5,750 in iron mines and iron ore treatment plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the iron and steel industry in the United States</span> Aspect of history

The US iron and steel industry has paralleled the industry in other countries in technological developments. In the 1800s, the US switched from charcoal to coal in ore smelting, adopted the Bessemer process, and saw the rise of very large integrated steel mills. In the 20th century, the US industry successively adopted the open hearth furnace, then the basic oxygen steelmaking process. Since the American industry peaked in the 1940s and 1950s, the US industry has shifted to small mini-mills and specialty mills, using iron and steel scrap as feedstock, rather than iron ore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British and Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Company</span> Iron mining and smelting company

The British and Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Company (BTCIC) was an iron mining and smelting company that operated from 1874 to 1878 in Northern Tasmania, Australia. It was formed by floating the operations of a private company, the Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Company that operated between 1871 and 1874.

References

Hatfield, Henry Rand (1904). Lectures on Commerce Delivered Before the College of Commerce and Administration of the University of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp.  168–169. Lectures on Commerce Delivered Before the College of Commece and Administration of the University of Chicago.

Ingersoll, Ernest (1912). Rand, McNally & Co.'s Illustrated Guide to the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. New York: Rand McNally & Co. pp.  99. Illustrated Guide to the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains.

The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge. New York: Encyclopedia Americana Corp. 1919. p. 371.

Thurston, Robert Henry (1903). Materials of Engineering. New York: J. Wiley & Sons. pp.  52. sterling iron works.

Bishop, John Leander; Edwin Troxell Freedley; Edward Young (1861). A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860. Philadelphia: E Young. pp.  528–529. sterling iron works.

Popular Science Monthly. D. Apleton. 1891. p. 326.

Ringwood Manor webpage

Lloyd Ashby Ridgewood Superintendent of Schools 1967