The Moss waterfalls and Moss Jernverk (summer 1800), painted by J.W. Edy. The power from the waterfalls was one of the main reasons for the establishment of an ironworks in Moss.
No. LXVII. MOS ABOVE THE BRIDGE. At an elevated spot, on the ruins of an old saw-mill, this view of the town of Mos was taken ; where the waters of an extensive lake, called Van-Soe, enter it in a never-failing stream, down which vast quantities of timber are continually floating from the forests in the vicinity of the lakes above, to the booms about this place. Immediately under the bridge a quick descent occurs, forming a considerable and beautiful cascade. The water, by an ingenious arrangement of shutes or tanks formed of timber, is conducted from wheel to wheel through thirty saw-mills, the noise of which, with the roaring of the cascade, deafens the ear. The streams for the use of the furnace and forges, are carefully conducted in the wooden troughs, seen on the right, and are transmitted to them after turning a grist-mill, and passing through an aqueduct over the high road. The large house was one of the temporary residences of the late Honourable B. Anker ; beyond it is seen the smoke from his extensive iron-works, which occupy the whole space on that side down to the margin of the bay. Over the bridge, which is very compactly built of timber, for carriages with heavy loads, the road from Christiania joins the town of Mos. It is very amazing to look down from it, on the cascade, and on the numerous moving objects below, with the water roaring and foaming among them. There is a smaller bridge for foot passengers, half way down, near the house of an ingenious dyer, who has discovered that these waters possess the great requisite for producing and fixing the rich and brilliant scarlet colour on cloth, previously unknown in Norway. The specimens are equal to any in Europe. The principal street, commencing at the bridge, is inhabited chiefly by shopkeepers ; other streets branch off to the church, and toward the side of the bay. Mos, though not a large town, contains many good houses, particularly in the two quarters above-mentioned. The situation vies with any in Norway; the soil is productive ; the views in every point are interesting and pleasing ; the roads are good and of gentle ascent; provisions are abundant and reasonable ; and the inhabitants are frank and hospitable. The church is a large brick structure, with a lofty tower and spire ; it is handsomely decorated within, having a grand altar between two massy pillars. The devotional ceremonies of the Lutheran religion are performed here on Sundays, in a solemn and impressive manner, to a very numerous congregation, collected from miles around. Some of the natural beauties of the large peninsula of Ielon are seen over the bay, presenting the luxuriant appearance of the most studied park scenery, in ornamental villas, woods, groves, lawns, and cultivated grounds, as far as the eye can reach. The sandy isthmus, which forms the access to it by land, is immediately beyond the houses near the church ; it is elevated only a few feet above the level of the water, and is so narrow, that during certain strongwinds, the road over it is rendered almost impassable, being entirely overflowed by the surf of the sea below, or from the bay above.