The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-08-08
Personal Sketch of George =.
Whitaker, q Pioneer Iron
Master.
ph;ladelDhia Weekly Press.

Philadelphia Weekly Press.
Principle Furnace, in Cecil county,
Md, visible from the car windows of
the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Bal
timore Railroad, a few miles Northeast
of the Susquehanna, is the oldest iron
furnace in the United States. 1t was
built in 1715. The account books,
still in good state of preservation,
show that ton of pig iron sold there
in 1927 for 10. In 1921 John Cop
son, of Philadelphia, took up tract of
5743 acres of land there. The found
ers of Principle were English iron mas
tiers, merchants and capitalists. Ben
iamin Franklin's memoirs says that
Messrs. Onion and Russell, two of the
founders, occupied the great cabin of
the ship in which he made his voyage
from Philadelphia to England. The
first pig iron ever exported from Amer
ica to England-in 1918, small lot of
three and one-half tons-was made at
Principle. In 1851 Maryland and Vir-
ginia sent 1880 tons of pig iron to
England against 1919 tons from Penn
sylvania. In 1861 the eight furnaces
of Maryland made $500 tons of pig
iron, while the annual product of Eng
land herself was only 1900 tons.
Some of the ore banks of the Principle
Company, on the Patapsco, were dis
covered by Captain John Smithin 1905.
In 1927 it cost e. IS cd to make
a ton of pig at Principle. Blooms
were valued at 625 and bar-iron at
I35 per ton. A forgeman got
per ton for making blooms. Slaves
and, at least, one Indian, named "Jack,"
were employed at the furnace. The
white forgeman got twenty shillings per
ton and the slaves bonus of one shil-
ing for the same work. On holidays
the slaves were served with ruin, and
were tied to a joist and whipped when
they ran away.
Augustine and Lawrence, the father
and brother of George Washington, had
an interest in Principle, which was re-
tanned by the family until after the
Revolution. George Washington in
herited the share of Lawrence and sold
it to Augustine. When the property
was confscated by Maryland in 1880
the Washingtons saved their share.
Immediately after the Revolution a
thirty-two-pound cannon was made at
Principle and hauled by horses to Pitts
burg. In the war of 1872 Cockburn's
fleet sailed up the Chesapeake, and his
men spiked the cannon at Principle,
saying: "The Americans knew better
how to make guns than to use them.
They burned the boring mill, furnace,
coal-house, grist mill and bridge over
the creek.
The present owner of Principle is
George P. Whitaker, now more than
SO years old, but SO vigorous that he
still goes over his 10, 900 acres of land,
looks after the details of large busi-
ness and recently made important addi-
tions to his iron works, which before
had made only charcoal pig iron. He
is one of the pioneer iron masters OF the
country. Many years ago, after he,
with his brother Joseph Whitaker, and
Thomas Garrett, had bought Principle
and were making excavations, they un-
earthed the completely covered walls OF
the original furnace and brought to light
a "pig" bearing date 1922. George P.
Whitaker was born in Chester county,
Pa. He is one of the few remaining
types of the old time iron masters whose
word was law, whose influence extends
into homes and over habits and steps
not on holidays, who was the ruler oi
his realm, its banker and magistrate,
and who had to be wise, strong, inge'
nious, quick and able to control rough
men. When the Philadelphia, Will
mington and Baltimore Railroad was
built through their property, the
Whitakers reserved the right to stop all
trains at Principle. Some years ago a
limited express, laden with congress
men, going at full speed, was signaled
to stop at the little station. 1t ran
some distance beyond before coming to
a pause. Mr.. Whitaker stood on the
platform at the station. The conductor
motioned to him to come to the train.
Mr.. Whitaker motioned to the conduc-
tor to back the train to him. The
pantomime was kept up by the conduc-
| tor for some time, but finally the train
backed to the station. The incident
illustrates character which the devel'
opment of organization and the subor-
dination of the individual are making
rare. He is the largest land owner and
one of the wealthiest men in the state.
Mr.. Whitaker is one of three Pennsyl-
vania brothers who, at different times
in period subsequent to 1916, owned
either solely or in partnership with
others rolling mill at Falls of Schuy-
kill, the Gibraltar Forge near Reading,
rolling mill near Wilmington, Del,
the Cumberland Iron and Nail Works
at Bridgeton, N. J., the Phoenix Iron
Works at Phenixville, the Durham
Furnaces in Bucks county, the Saucon
Furnaces at Hellertown, iron works at
Elkton, the principle Furnace and a
furnace at Havre de Grace, in Mary
land, and the Crescent Rolling Mill at
Wheeling w. Va.
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