Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-11-11
Tho Spathic Iron Company, Ply.
mouth. Y Vermont.

More than thirty years ago Isaac Tyson
of Baltimore, Maryland. commenced tn,
manufacture of cast iron in the town o.
Plymouth, and having built large bias,
furnace, store, and several dwellings 70,
his miners and workmen, the place and
Post Office received his name and wa.
called Tyson Furnace. The work Of
mining and smelling orc was carried on
for several years. but never proved profit.
able to Mr.. Tyson, and for many years
past the works have been going to decay
The ore to which Mr.. Tyson's attention
was first called was brown hematite
which was found in extensive beds near
she s~rnaoo- With this hematite, O,
brown iron ere, there was associated
another mineral, the black oxide of man.
ganese, and in some instances they were
80 intimately blended that il was impos.
sible to separate them. The superintend-
emit of the works at that time was evid.
emily ignorant of the real character of the
manganese and supposed it iron ore.
He put the adulterated ore, and even
the manganese into the furnace az though
it were all pure iron ore. The results. of
course, were not satisfactory. The quail
ity OF the iron was not good and the per-
centage Of yield was quite too small.
10 obviate these difficulties ore was
sought for in other places, for the superin.
tendent knew that by mixing different
ores of iron the product is usually better
than an average of each. 1t was found
that vein of speoular iron ore occurred
in the north part of Plymouth and one of
spathio ore in the south part of the town.
These veins were worked and the ores
from them mixed with the helaatite, but.
if possible, the results we-s less satisfac.
tory than before.
Stove platea and pig iron were cast
from tho metal produced; but the former
were worthless, for they were so hard
that no drill would penetrate them. The
pig iron too, was considered of no value,
for no one would buy pig iron for or
binary castings that presented such a
crystalline structure as that did. The re-.
suit was that the stove plates were mostly
thrown aside and the pigs remained I'M
sold for years. The works were abandoned
and it is said tina, Mr.. Tyson sunk nearly
or quite 100000 IN ths enterprise. Some
years after Mr.. Tyson had suspended his
work at the furnace, party who was
manufacturing burglar proof safes pur.
chased, at very low price, the pig iron
then on hand, to use as lining for. their
safes. For this it seemed admirably
suited, for no burglars drill could pene.
trate it.
For years this bed of iron remained nm.
worked and almost unknown except to
such mineralogists or BIOLOGISTS as went
thither to obtain cabinet specimens Or
study its peculiar characteristics.
About two years ago, this furnace, and
the property connected Herewith, passed
into the hands of the present owners the
Spathic Iron Company. Many of the
members Of this company are connected
with the celebrated mandatory of edge
tools of Collins & Co., in Collinsville,
The desire Of this company to use steel
Of American manufacture, induced them
TO purchase this mine and institute ex-
periments to test its value. These ex.
psrimsnts were highly satisfactory and
were deemed sufficient to warrant the
owners in more thoroughly testing the ex-
tent and quality Of the ore vein and
erecting roasting kilns and smelling
furnaces for the reduction Of the ore tol
cast steel
The only possible ohsncs for failure, III
he work Il jadioiousl damaged, It sssnsI
10 %, must result from the sulphur orl
The sulphurst Of iron. that Il closely - |
uociaasd With much Of the iron. To rot |
ID Of this sulphur, the Company hasI
Hestsd thsss psEpstual kilna . azssnusal
NJ ~ - = thsewA n ct ~ Up; enA |
~ Aaving hssa hsatsd suAaicisaxay toI
1l6oagags tie sulphur and nst enough 10 |
- ~ ~ Il = drawn sst II ~ 49,
IN wish nest a the salpAaf tska ct |