
Contents
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Methods of the Melt Methods of the Melt
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Early Smelting in New Mexico Early Smelting in New Mexico
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Saugus Iron of Massachusetts Saugus Iron of Massachusetts
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Trenton Steel Works of New Jersey Trenton Steel Works of New Jersey
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Strategies and Bloomeries of the Chesapeake Strategies and Bloomeries of the Chesapeake
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Landscape Challenges in Blacklog Narrows Landscape Challenges in Blacklog Narrows
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Iron Plantations in South Carolina and Maryland Iron Plantations in South Carolina and Maryland
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Women of Iron Women of Iron
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Bluff Furnace of Tennessee Bluff Furnace of Tennessee
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Tahawus Blast Innovations in New York Tahawus Blast Innovations in New York
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West Point Foundry on the Hudson West Point Foundry on the Hudson
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Jackson Iron Company of Michigan Jackson Iron Company of Michigan
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Tredegar Iron and Cannons in Virginia Tredegar Iron and Cannons in Virginia
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Hawks Nest Tunnel in West Virginia Hawks Nest Tunnel in West Virginia
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Innovations, Pragmatic Choices, and Personal Costs Innovations, Pragmatic Choices, and Personal Costs
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5 Forges, Furnaces, and Metallurgy
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Published:September 2021
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Abstract
This chapter first surveys the diverse methods for melting and shaping iron. I then consider a series of case studies in which archaeological research has contributed to understanding the strategic choices of ironmasters as they confronted myriad contingencies and opportunities. Archaeologists explored early smelting activities in pueblos in New Mexico in the 1600s. Those activities were dwarfed by enterprises launched in British North America in the 1700s. Large-scale investments on the Saugus River in Massachusetts and in Trenton, New Jersey, were followed by more circumspect investments in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. An early form of vertically integrated enterprise in an iron plantation in South Carolina, was exceeded by far-flung, interdependent networks of production at the Tredegar works of Virginia. The remarkable resilience of women in managing family-run iron plants played out in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Notable technological innovations were undertaken at iron manufacturers in Tennessee and New York. Class dynamics shaped the residential landscape of managers and workers in Michigan. Finally, a quest for accelerated water power to propel iron foundries in West Virginia cost little in capital and a staggering price in lives lost.
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