The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1951-09-20
Horse and Buggy Days
BY OLDTIMER

Here is some interesting informa-
ton about a 400-acre tract of land,
known as the Mt. Aetna Farm, To-
Gated several miles north of Beaver
Creek.
Ore was extracted from the short
spur of mountain located here and
from other places in the neighbOr
hood Holes in the ground toward
South Mountain, in the neighbor-
hood of Smoketown and Bagtown,
offer remote evidence that iron ore
was gotten there. Water, five or six
feet deep, now fills these depressions
in wet seasons. This is also true on
what was formerly the Edward
Stottlemyer farm. Here today you
can see one or more abandoned
mines.
We use the word mime" reserved
ly. Properly speaking, the ore was
taken out of the ground by digging
down from the surface. Most likely
there is still iron ore Whereabouts
today.
At Mt. Aetna was located the old
Hughes furnace where template
stoves, common in many homes in
days gone by, were made from the
iron found in locality. These old
stoves were composed of ten pieces,
hence their name. You could put
half a piece of cord wood, or a
large chunk of coal in it, and it
would keep fire for hours, and even
over night by covering the Goals. 1t
is said of these useful old stoves
that they were held together with
rods and that if rod or two broke
the end of the stove would fall out.
Be that as it may, these old stoves
were luxuries in those days.
Court House records show that the
farm, or part of it (the whole tract
of land at one time constituting
1900 acres), was decided to John
HORNE in 1927 by William Price
and Franklin Anderson, trustees. In
1911, it was decided to William F.
Towson, Arthur L. ToWson and
George P. Spessard, the purchase
price being $17,24922. Later on it
was purchased by John Marshall.
In addition to the old furnace,
John HORNE operated a distillery in
close proximity to where the old
furnace stood. A story is told of
some men banding together one
night to get some free liquor-and
they did. The whiskey was in bar
rels on a second story. The men
bored hole up through the floor
and into one of the barrels. AS the
whiskey poured down the men
caught something like five gallons
A lot went to waste that they could
not catch, but they had enough and
made off with it.
A fatal accident happened near
the old distillery. Hezekiah Easton
was riding horseback and as he APP
preached a patent gate that it was
possible to open without dismount-
ing, the horse baked and threw
Easton over the gate, breaking his
neck.
There were grouped about the old
furnace and still-house, a number OF
small houses in which lived at least
some of the men employed there and
their families. These houses were
still standing the last time was out
that way, as well as piles of old Stag
the refuse of the furnace.
The Hughes were the most con-
spicuous iron manufacturers in the
country at that time. They built q
furnace at Black Rock, several miles
southeast of the Mt. Aetna furnace
before the Revolutionary War. This
was their first furnace, the second
being the one at Mt. Aetna. At the
Black Rock furnace, cannon were
cast for the Colonists in their strug-
gle for Independence This furnace
was in the neighborhood of Smoke
town (now Mt. Lena) and Bagtown
In that neighborhood there is still g
field which for many years was
known as the Cannon" field.
The pioneer of the Hughes family
was Barnabas Hughes, who emigrat.
ed from Donegal, Ireland, in 1850
He died in 1880. Many of the can.
non used by the Continental Army
were cast on their FORCES, located al
various places. One of their FORCES
was at Mt. Alto, Franklin County
Pa.
Barnabas Hughes, Jr., son of the
pioneer, married Miss Beltzhoover
of Hagerstown.