Where There's Ore ~ There's a way!

History is a huge part of the way we live today ~ It is amazing to me how the early colonist came to this country and thrived with hard work and determination.  Do we still have that drive today?

We visited the Saugus Iron Works National Site here in Saugus Massachusetts and our history lesson continued on the beginning times of this grand country of ours.

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, founded by John Winthrop and in operation between 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.

Here was built the first successful plant for the integrated production of cast & wrought iron in the new world.  When John Winthrop found significant ore deposits in the Boston area, he was offered incentives by the Massachusetts government to establish the Iron Works.

After the initial effort failed Winthrop was replaced by Richard Leader, who chose the site on the Saugus River for it's water power, water transport, woodlands and raw materials. The Saugus works was producing iron products for Massachusetts and England.

The people who worked at the works were not Puritans settlers but artisans from England and Wales, brought to Massachusetts as indentures servants.

In the early 1650's it was having financial problems which it could never recover from.  The last recorded blast was in 1668.  Despite it's short life, the Saugus Iron Works introduced a complex and demanding technology into what was still a  roughhews world.

Reflections of Saugus Iron Works

After we finished our visit at Saugus iron Works we took a drive over to Lynn, Massachusetts where we drove by to see my childhood home.  It brought back a ton of memories and was so glad the house looked like it did in the olden days.

It was another GREAT day in our adventures ~It is nice visiting where I lived as a child.  I also got another Passport Stamp for my book! YaY♥

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!