The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-07-08
OLD IRON
INDUSTRY
interesting Memories Of Once
Prosperous Business.
SOME ERROR CORRECTED
Letter from DR., Day Recalling
Forgotten Facts of Bennins'
tons Early History.
SOME ERROR CORRECTED

Editor The Banner. The beautifully
illustrated Souvenir of Bennington"
recently issued. contains a very seri-
GUS error in regard to the iron indus
try in Bennington in early times On
page 80 this statement is made about
1900, Moses Sage of Sage's City, now
| North Bennington, established the
[ first iron works and forge in Vermont
near Lyons knitting mill in the Lyons
district. The small stream which ran
by his furnace is called the Furnace
brook to the present day,
THE b,ds in Shaitsbury which pro-
yided his ore, began to peter OUT
and Sage offered a reward for the dis
covery of iron ore in this vicinity. a
deposit was found in the Captain
Shields district and in 1904 Sage set
up Vermonts first blast furnace near
the new ore beds. He made his son
in-law, Giles Olin Jr., his partner and
built several houses and saw mills"
Moses Sage has been SO long and
persistently called the pioneer in tie
iron industry of Bennington that IL
seems somewhat profane to question
the statement. But it is fact that
Sage was running a clothier's estab-
lishment at North Bennington for
some years after forge and blast fur
mace had been erected at Bennington.
The old Vermont Gazette published
at what Is now called Bennington Cen
ter in it's issue of June q, 1890, says:
"a few years ago not single bar of
iron was produced in Vermont. At
present there is forge in Benning-
ton"
The same paper gives list of towns
in which forges were in operation and
found. | do not know the name of the
man who run the forge in Bennington
at that time, but have several good
reasons for believing it was William
Blodgett, who dealt in iron ware for
many years. He was the captain of a
troop of horse in the town for some
time and was an industrious and pub
lie spirited man.
Two years before forge was erect
ed at Bennington one was in success
full operation at Fair Haven, 1t was
owned by Matthew Lyon, who lived at
one time in Arlington Lyon was a
man of great prominence and was
sent to Congress from this district.
He was prosecuted and imprisoned !
under the sedition act OF 1898 and |
finally drifted into the South and then
into the west where he died. In his |
advertisement in the Gazette of October |
6, 1888 ne mentioned the various kinds |
of iron ware he was making and adds |
that he was getting ready to make
hollow ware and pig iron.
Now, let US see if Sage really set |
up the first forge and blast furnace in
Vermont, The Vermont Gazette, May |
"a, 1893 says: with pleasure we in
form our readers that the erection of |
furnace is prosecuting witn vigor in
the east partof the town The owners
have the pleasing expectation that a
ledge of stone near the furnace will
answer for the hearth and from appear
ence, it is said, they have reason to
believe body of ore lies on the furn-
ace lot. Ii these expectations prove
we'll grounded the .enterprising under
takers will meet a rich reward and the
community receive essential benefit
from their laudable exertions.
The parties here alluded to were
Col Benjamin Fassett and Simeon
Hathaway. Fassett was man of
means and had bought large tracks of
land in the northeastern part of the
town. Simeon Hathaway was a
member of Captain Robinson's milit-
airy company and was in the battle of
Bennington. He died in 1904. Again
the Gazette, May 8, 1874, alludes
to the furnace in the following
| words:
"The furnace in this town is now in