Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-23
AN OLD STOVE.


One of Baron Stiescl's Manufacture.
The following letter, published in the
Fulton Democrat, has certain amount of
local interest:
ELLsIAN MILLS, Sept. I, 1SSO.-AInErr
SToNER, Esq, McConnellsburs, Pa..-DEAr
SIR When about two weeks AGO Won
called my attention to a very ancient stove
plate in your possession, bearing the date
1854 aud marked with the initials III. So
1 said in my reply to your desire to know
what name those initials represented, that
l thought l could furnish you with the
coveted information.
In examining the history of irOn-making
in this country, l find only one name
among the irOl-masters to correspond to
those initials, that Of Baron Henry Will
lam Stiegcl; and Elizabeth Furnace, in
Lancaster county, the place where he oper-
ated. This furnace was built some time
previous to 1855, by John Huber, who
had inscribed the following legend on tho
| stack:
John Huber der crstc Deutschc maun
Der daS Else werk follfurcn kaun.
This translatedinto English reads John
Huber is the first German who knows
how to make iron.''
But lIuber's boast was short-lived and
he sold the furnace in 1857 to 4 company.
the head and active owner and manager OF
| which was Barom Henry William Sticgcl.
4 German of noble birth and great wealth,
who built y new furnace and carried on
the business for about eighteen years. The
other members of the company lived at Il
distance and were only silent co-partners
1t is stated that some Of the first stoves
cast in this country were made by Mr..
Stiegel and SD proud was he of his success
that he had, on some of tho stoves made
by him. the following inscription
Baron Sticgei ist der maun
Der die Ofeh michcn kaun.
Which means: "Baron Stiegel is the man
who knows how to make Stoves
Ii Baron StieSel could return to the
earth now and see the great improvement
and beauty i'll stoves at this day, he would
likely conclude that he did not know so
very much about making stoves, after all.
lt was, however. u crowning success for
his time.
account for the absence of the "W."
i'll Stiegefs name on the stove you have
because there was no space for it in tho ar-
rangcmcnt as it is there, as any one may
see.
The "frst Stoves spoken Of us made in
this country were the '.jamb stoves These
were walled into the .jamb Of the kitchen
fireplace, with the back projecting into
tie adjoining room and were without pipe
or oven. The first improvement on these
stoves probably was the g Franklin stove"
or = Pennsylvania fireplace and then fol
lowed the template stove such as the one
You have. 1t is relic of the past worth
preserving.
Elizabeth Furnace passed into the pos
session Of the Coleman family in 1916 and
SO remained until 1856, when it was aban-
doned for the want of wood, after having
been in operation 100 years. During the
Revolutionary War this furnace furnished
large supplies OF the hcll-panoplies Of
war; to the American army.
Among all the names OF early irOn-mas-
tcrs OF this country there is not one that
has the initial g II. S." except Mr.. Steig-
el, 50 that, if the stove was made in this
country at all, he must he the man.
| may add as 3 singular coincidence that
Pennsylvania, the greatest iron prOducin.
state in the Union, was one of the last OF
the colonies to begin the development Of
its iron resources. n sketch of the early
iron manufacture in this country would
be interesting, but have neither the time
nor the space to give it here and so leave
the aubject ut this point.
Respectfully yours,
JAMES Port.