Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-05-01
written Tor the Rutland Herald.l
The Iron Interest OF Rutland
COUNTY

written TOR the Rutland Herald.l
The Iron Interest OF Rutland
County.
Since the high prices now ruling for
iron, the Tinmouth ore beds begin to at
tract the attention of capitalists and iron
manufacturers, and we learn that quite
recently several gentlemen, who mean
business, have taken leases of those
farms in TinmOuth, Give in number)
on which abounds an inexhaustible sup
ply of the best and richest brown hema-
tite iron ore. This ore makes a superb
or iron for car wheels, and for other
uses, where a soft and tough iron is re-
CURED The intention of the parties
lately having leased these valuable ore
beds, Is to erect blast furnace on the
railroad at Wallingtord village, dis
lance of from two to three and half
miles from the mines, and there convert
the ore into pig iron, and in addition, to
sell and ship the ores to furnaces in other
parts of the country, as hematite ores
are always in demand to mix with mag
netic ores, which greatly improve the
quality and price of iron. And in this
connection it might not prove uninteI-
esting to the public to lay before them
brief account or history of these Tin
mouth ore beds, and former furnaces
and FORCES, and by whom carried on, etc.
Toward the latter part of the eigh
teenth century, there were In all three
blast furnaces built and III operation
smelling these Tinmouth ores. The
first furnace was built in the Southwest
part OF Clarendon, near Tinmouth line,
about the year 1885, by Allen Shepard
son, and managed and carried on by
him for several years, his supply OF ore
then coming from three Of these ore
beds. the Chapman, Train and Smith
beds. A little later there was anot her
furnace erected in Tinmouth by Messrs.
Allen & Willard, at or near the farm
now owned by Ahsalom Noble, in the
north part of Tinmouth. This furnace
was for many years carried on by Allen
& Willard The ores used were the
same as those used for the Sheparlson
furnace About the year 1890 a third
furnace was erected and managed by
Abncr Perry. This also was located
near Absalom Mobiles, and in 1915 the
fourth blast furnace was erected near
Tinmouth Center, by Wait Rathhone,
and soon after VIM Vaughn became
partner with Mr. Rathbone, and under
the firm name of Rathbone & Vaughn,
they carried on the business quite eX-
tensively until 1881 the latter furnace
when in full blast, smelling fifty tons of
ore daily. And in addition to these four
furnaces there we're during the same
time three FORCES erected in Tinmouth,
including one built by Judge Chapman,
at a very early day, in the south part of
Tinmouth John Norton of Tinmouth,
now So years old and in good health, was
the master mechanic in the construction
of the Rathbone s. Vaughn furnace in
1916; and Calvin Brewer, 81 years old,
and now living in Tinmouth, nearly 40
wears ago drew ore from the Chapman
bed to these furnaces, and was also III
the employ of Rathbone & Vaughn as
book keeper from 1922 until 1881, and
to him we are indebted for much OF this
history. The miners at that time mined
from three to five tons of ore per day,
to the man, and four men have been
known to average 30 tons per day. AS
these Tinmauth ore beds and furnaces
were among the first, if not the first, in
operation in Vermont, and at that early
period, with no railroads or canals, the
products of these furnaces were in de-
mand all through Vermont, and also
largely in adjoining States, including
New York. At first only hollow ware was
east. such as pots and kettles and potash
! kettles and every kind of small articles of
| hardware that is in demand for household
| uses. But later the manufacture OF stoves
! was extensively carried on at these fur
ncces in Tinmouth, and as SOON as the
| canal was in operation from Whitehall
| to Troy, about the year 1925, pig iron
! was hauled from Tinmouth furnace to
| Comstock's landing, and sent by water
to New York. Besides furnishing the
four furnaces in Tinmouth from these
ore beds, large amount OF the ore has
been drawn away to furnaces in other
parts of the country, and more recently
several thousand tons of this ore has
been mined and drawn to railroads and
shipped to other furnaces many miles
away, and during all this time pig iron
has scarcely been worth $50 per ton, and
at the present time pig iron of this grade,
made with charcoal, commands about
double the former price, or $3.50
per ton. One of these ore beds,
that known as the Judge Chapman ore
bed, makes the softest and toughest iron
known, it can almost be used as wrought
iron. The low price of iron for many
| wears. and the distance of these mines
/. from railroads, and in addition a very
! steep and difficult road from Tinmouth
to Wallingford have operated against
these mines bcing worked; but
with the price of iron nearly doubled,
and the speedy prospect of new road
being built and opened up from the west
part of Tinmouth to Wallingford depot
iessening the distance and very much
improving the grade, road that the
people of Tinmonth have long felt the
need of, as they all come to Wallingford
to trade and to the depot with the pro
ducts of their farms. Then we may ex
i meet not only the iron interests OF I'm
s mouth to grow in Importance, but Wal
, Iingford be largely benefited thereby.
= 8 ssTlNNopTH.