A
good grade of hematite
ore was discovered in
the Catoctin Mountains
in the 1770's by
Thomas Johnson Jr.,
who later became the
first governor of
Maryland. Thomas Baker
and Roger Johnson
constructed the
Catoctin Furnace to
produce pig iron. In
1776, the production
of pig iron began. The
fuel for the furnace
was initially charcoal
and the Catoctin
forest provided the
fuel for the furnace
until 1873. Then the
furnace was converted
from charcoal fuel to
coal. The remains of
these iron works still
remain at the base of
the Catoctin Mountains
in Cunningham Falls
State Park, in
Frederick County, MD.
Iron from this furnace
was used in the
manufacture of car
wheels and for foundry
rolling mill purposes.
Also produced during
the beginning of the
nineteenth century
were the "Catoctin
Stove," also known as
the "Ten Plate Stove,"
and the "Franklin
Stove." It is reported
that during the
Revolutionary War,
cannons and
cannonballs were cast
at the furnace for
George Washington's
Army when the Johnsons
owned the furnace.
Simple machinery for
James Rumsey's
steamboat was made at
the Catoctin Furnace
Iron Works in the
1780's. Robert Fulton
is credited with
building the first
successful steamboat,
but he was not the
first to apply steam
power to boats. Rumsey
began his invention
before 1785. Iron
produced at the
Catoctin Furnace
during Jacob Kunkel's
ownership was used to
make the plates on the
famous Civil War
vessel, the Monitor.
To reduce this raw ore
into a usable product,
a great amount of heat
was required. The raw
materials for the
production of charcoal
was obtained from
nearby forests. The
furnace owned
thousands of acres of
forest, but still
found it necessary to
buy charcoal to meet
its needs. The
production of charcoal
was a major enterprise
employing over 300
woodcutters and
consuming timber from
11,000 acres of
company land during
peak years.
The operation of the
furnace was a simple
one involving several
steps. The stack was
filled with a layer of
charcoal, a layer of
limestone, and a layer
of iron ore.
Transportation of the
iron ore to the
furnace from the mines
was by way of ore dump
cars whose contents
were dumped directly
into the stack of the
furnace.
Fire was applied and
kept burning by a
natural draft. As the
fire burned, the
different layers
settled and additional
layers of charcoal,
limestone, and ore
were put into the
stack until sufficient
iron melted to draw
off or be cast. A clay
valve on the bottom of
the furnace permitted
flow of molten iron
into shallow channels
furrowed in the ground
which were sprinkled
with sand to prevent
the iron from adhering
to the ground. The end
product called "pig"
iron got its name from
the sucking sound it
made flowing through
channels.
A
charcoal iron furnace
was a community of
many skills. Some
skills, such as
woodcutting, were
easily learned and
relatively low paid.
Other skills were more
complex and
represented knowledge
passed on within the
trade over many years.
Among these skilled
workers were the
charcoal makers;
miners who dug the
iron ore and later,
coal; founders who
operated the furnace,
and molders, who cast
the hot iron into
stoves, pots,
firebacks, and other
objects for sale. Most
furnaces had a clerk
who kept accounts and
ran the store, and
every furnace was
headed by an iron
master, whose
financial, marketing,
and managerial skills
were needed to make
the whole enterprise a
business success.
After changing hands
several times, the
Catoctin Iron Furnace
was blown out for the
last time in February
1903. The ore blanks
were still mined for
several years after
this and sold
elsewhere. The
remnant of this
thriving industry
remain a stark reality
to the life and death
of a part of history;
a part of history
eliminated by
technological advances
and the economics of
business.
If you have any Information or
historical news clippings on
business or Place in
the Thurmont Area, Please send them to us so we can
included them in our archives. E-mail us at:
history@mythurmont.net
Read more articles by
Anne Cissel