Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Reconstructed Forge and Mill
Location: Off U.S. 1, Saugus, Massachusetts
Area: 9 acres (0.04 km²)
Built: 1648
Visitation: 11,153 (2006)
Governing body: National Park Service
NRHP Reference#: 66000047[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966
Designated NHLD: November 27, 1963
Designated NHS: April 5, 1968

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is a National Historic Site located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Downtown Boston in Saugus, Massachusetts. It is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, 1646 – 1668. It includes the reconstructed blast furnace, forge, rolling mill, shear, slitter and a quarter-ton drop hammer.

The facility is powered by seven large waterwheels, some of which are rigged to work in tandem with huge wooden gears connecting them. It has a wharf to load the iron onto ocean-going vessels, as well as a large, restored 17th-century house.

Contents

Overview

With the archaeological site of the 17th-century iron-making plant, the museum collection, the 17th-century Iron Works House, and the reconstructed iron works complex, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site illustrates the critical role of iron making to 17th-century settlement and its legacy in shaping the early history of the nation. Sixteen years after the Puritans settled Boston, they built this impressive, large manufacturing complex. At the time there were only a dozen such high-tech plants in all of Europe.

Skilled metalurgists John Turner and John Vinton were brought in to manage the fineries. Unskilled laborers cut wood for making charcoal, and quarrying the bog ore and flux.

The site's enclave setting on the Saugus River, featuring an open-air museum with working water wheels, evokes a unique experience for park visitors. These resources demonstrate 17th-century engineering and design methods, iron-making technology and operations, local and overseas trade, and life and work in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[2]

The original manufacturing site served as a training ground for skilled iron workers for what would become America's iron and steel industry. Iron making provided the infrastructure for the rise of other colonial industries. Called, "the forerunner of America's industrial giants," the site served as a center for technology, innovation and invention. The site interprets early industrial manufacturing, with its enduring social, political and environmental ramifications.[3]

Site reconstruction and restoration

The blast furnace, forge, rolling and slitting mill, warehouse, and dock area are all reconstructed on original sites and are based upon extensive archaeological excavations done between 1948 and 1953 by Roland W. Robbins. Hundreds of court records, inventories, and accounts of the original iron works were also consulted to produce a full-size (albeit, conjectural) model of the seventeenth century iron works. The "Iron Works House" is a timber framed, 1680s mansion house, still standing on its original location. It was constructed about a decade after the iron works ceased production.[4]

Between 2005 and 2008 the historic site underwent significant renovations. The 1917 museum building (a chicken coop, turned, blacksmith shop, turned museum) underwent major restoration work and new exhibits were installed during the winter of 2006-2007. Most areas reopened in fall 2007 or spring 2008, however the park is closed seasonally from November to March.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  2. ^ Hartley, E. N., Ironworks on the Saugus, pp. 3-20, University of Oklahoma Press, 1957.
  3. ^ Carlson, Stephen P., First Iron Works: A History of the First Iron Works Association, Saugus Historical Society, Booklet No. 5., Saugus, MA, 1991
  4. ^ The Saugus Ironworks Restoration, First Ironworks Association, 1951.

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  • Category:National Register of Historic Places
  • Portal:National Register of Historic Places