Herb Winer, History of the Great Mountain Forest

and $heei> raising created an U):maual demand f or cheese bams and tanbarketlr'ly in the nineteenth century. targe- seal e operations, !'J\"i,-rar!l;y r orcharcoal \1QOO and l umber, ooean t o d~vclop in ~.alisbur;y nnd ('.a.~. n duringthe eichteentb e9nt ury. ffowover, the great wave of av.:tonsi.V(l oxploita•t1cm did not reach the Forest 1tsel r until at-ter 16li5. Al though most. of the early eettlers viewed tbe f orest irtmaril¥as an obstacle to be r educed; f orest '.'ll'oduets played a major role in t.bel rdomestic econ0l!J¥. As Van Y'lagenan (l953t 103) has pc.ttntet1 out., the Go1denAge of' Homaspun might aqually well be called the :?ooden Age. ::'rem tlleW'Of!iden cradle t o the w~n cof'fin, man wa& eheltft'ed by wood, warmedby m>od, and dependent upon the f orest f ar ~ other vlta.:t needs •.Every farmer spent a substantial proportion or his tioe in wortdng uptuelwood, e s pecially if his l'f'oodlot l'1'll8 at a diAtaneo from hie homo.All opecie6 or treee n r e used, with the general ~,t·Lon of Wbit opi.no, chestnut• and other speoi~s inore valuable for spenial purpo&e84When possible, however, preference wa~ given t o h1.ckar;y,. oatt, and otbardense bardwoods . 1212 Booides meting their osm needs, parents were obliged to prorldet¥lwood for the coamon schools, Horaee Buabnell (l6Sl.1 119) rooalledf.b&.t \"the good father s Of SQDSO t eatif'ied the opinion tJli)y hnd Oftheir children by bringint ttJie round l oade or b1ckary wood t:0 we.rm~ (at school] , 1'bile s~ others, I ~t to oq,, br\"ou1~bt on]Jrooant.y, •araga , 111-loold.n8 heaps o! er$'en oa~. 11htte bir~ti. andtoohel!dock. Indeed, about all biokerlngs o! ~lit:f QtlQll.f; thechildren centered 1n tba quality af th& wood pt.1~0

eootioms of COD!'~cticut seld<:;i: arose in tho thinly auttlod Foroot region.'.thcro is evidence or aooe concern over potential ohorta.'!Qs of f110l 11oodin tho r ogion (. art n, 1949: 9) , but m:ne that t1ey ever ~tcri311zed. Chestnut was widel.7 used ror rail fences (uri~ the cigbtee!'lthcorxtury. The immediate effect of this practice was to ccroaco thea.mount ol cheGtn.ut i n and near &l'e&.5 el.eared for amculturc. By 1612tbe scarc1t.y or chestnut in :;oshen had beoomo the majox- roo.son r or theshift to stone walls tor f\"eneing pastures and fields ('iortoa, 191'9• 12).In tho l ong run. the early cutting of chezttnut, f ollowed by vigorouseprwting, was one reasoo t or its in.creased abundance durine thon1netoentb centll%'J', compared trith ita po.sition in tho pre-co1onial f orest. '!aple sugar was the o..\"lly sugar that most fa.'!tl.lies used duringthe h spun age. mple sirup and eug.!r were producod thr~J.t theForest region, but prineipally 1D Norfolk, wbeN tho ouga.r mlp1e wasoo:Jt ab\JDdant and the cllnate most t avorable to high sap ylsldo. Uosttarmre lllDH!T boxed the ~s ae they occurred in the torost, but af.ew developed produottvo ~ orchards by thinnine stnnds that contained.a high proportion oi' sugar l';JQ{)le. Sugar proouction in ticr f oll: furnisheda crop that wae exchanged !or grain tn Canaan and Saliebury. 13 ln 177uNorfolk produced about 21,000 pounds of aapl <l ~ar (r:'CXtcr, 1901.t ): 121),ar.d not until ar r 1850 di d sugar production drop bclalt 15, 000 poundspor year.th In IJosl'len and ot.lier towns l ess suited to S\Ju-.U-·.ng productionl ) ?bCIDU Robbins, \".l century aor:non, preached Dececber 25, lauh, at mr1'olk\" ( ~ quoted by Crissey, 1900t 145) .14 i'roduotion in 16S9 trao 8,43S pounds, and i n 1869 only 3, 020 pounds (i\".rcm ortginal u. s. Census returns, Connecticut Stcto Library).

147dOclined sharply early 1n ~ho ninetoenth century (t«rton, 19491 9) . orPotaeh l'tnS another i ndispensable 11l(!J\"Gdient tho haoespunm.--a. 15 Wood ashes ·or nvalJ.S.ble on every farm~ anc! tr10y often onabl e-da for:mr to gain a cash ret urn f rom lllnd clearing. Tho potru:;h l:ottle andtbo sap tub were frequently li~oo in an early tl'i)') of wa~t.o ut-llir.ation,in ~ioh the aebes of ood bttrned to boil oOlrn mple oap ' cnm raw materialtor tbe extractt.on or potaah. Hewn timbers and j<d.et.s rra d all the early hotJS11ta ;n ther arest t-egion. Houses were roofed wtth shingle~ s plit at h , • ~blocks or straight-grained cho8t nut .. whlto p'ne, anrl &:Jh ( ~u~lps, 1917127). rerore the nlneteonth oontur,., alm0st all the coopcr \"l59 200 fur-niture >'tU also bome made. A few earl.y t:r.ama bau-sos n r e probably eO\'eretl r.·1t.\"> riven clap-boards. Saa3 lumb&r was also prod\lced by pit-enina,1 aocordi.nc to aCanmall tradition (Starr, 19261 170) . But tbeM priJ:dt vc techniquoawero r apidly dlaplaced bf smm.\lls, Which were usual.l3 ~ tho i'intT'J.11.nge 1ndustriea t o ~ estGbliShed. turiog the early ,,.,ars o! settl9118Dt, tO!fll ;a\"<>P?\"\"lotcrs of tenencouraged thG buil d na or samntlls by offering vur~ous i.\".lducot:ient.s tolS Crude {ctr black) potash wae m de by leaching • ood nsbca rind boiling dOlnl the 119 eolutton, l otn'ili8 a r esidue chi Gfly eompoa d or hydrous potassi um carbonate ( ?t2C03.1-l/2!J20) and organic Lr.tp1.trit1ca . '.Mlia process was often carried on at ho • Parer gradeo of tho Gnhydrous salt. called pearlash, lrere produced in v'!.llaeo pota$heiries1 'Where tho crude potasb was cal.c!ned. In t he Forest r<:g;ton p0tas'1 and pG41'lasb wer e used -.ai:ll.y in mald.n'! ooap and far soour.:.r-.c ,.,ooi . Poarlaab was also aold for ether manutacturing purpooon.

lh8a~ who would 1Jlpron tho p.ri:vilege, which meant da..G.ng a etream anderee'tlng a .Ul. Ae the population increased-and With 1t the demand f arl~peoial i nducements Yere no longer neceeeary. By 1790 there wretbree sa.wm1ll1 in Goshen, tour each in Sali sbury and Norfolk, and five inr.anaan (see plate x).16 TbeH up-and-dOlnl satmd.lls ( figur e s 1 7- 18) were a great inlprove-mnt over pi t-eawtn&, but they ware primitlve affair s Gad their outputeel.dee exceeded l,SOO board feet per day. 17 Vari ous inlprove:~te 1fe?\"edwoloped during the ei ghteenth century, notabl y the arldition of bladesto the frame, making a gang saw. This modUieation did not appear in theF~ region until 1870.18 In every Uiportant respec~ Edmund nrown•seawmtll at the outlet ot Bigelow Pond, Norf olk, in 18SO was aimil.ar tothe ft.rat eaW!ld.11 i,n Norfolk, built by Cornelius Brenn in 17$0 on theBl ackben7 Rt.\"91\". Eda\md Bl'olm•e mill could operat-e for 4 ~each;year, and 1te daily production was about 950 board f'eet. 19 The f irst ate~ered sawmill 1n the F~ nade its appearanceabortly bef ore 18S.3 (plate TI!) . Steam engines wer e not c~onl.1 used16 tt'J:here le prObably no cowrt.ry in the worl d, \" wrote Ti.motey Iltight (1821-221 11 367), •where mill streams are so maeronsly and Uld.-rer- eally' di~ or grist-aille and sawmille so univorsally erected as in New England.\"l7 For an early de~ariptioo of water..;powered sawmU.l..'i, see DOUglasa (174'-Sl, 21 Sld . There 811'9 no ~borough modern studies of early aam:d.ll 118thod• and eqld.~nt. Ibe best existing aoc-<:mnt$ are thOH by m..hop (1866, l• 93-U~), Defebaugh (1906-1907,. 2t 7..S, enm), and Clark (1929t 11 17S-178 ), and Woodbury (1948). ttoodbu.r'y deaortbed tully hi• reconstruction of an ~<;JWn :t1ll. originall.T built about 17lth.18 Qr;tginal w. s. Cenaue returns t ar 18S0-1880, in the Conoocticut State UWG'J'•19 ~~. 18SO.

Plate L llorthem Lit.chtield County in 1\"190, a port.ion ot Blodgett•••Nev and Correct l'~ ot Connecticut\" (William Blodgett, Middletown, 1'192).Although the topography and drainage are shown in rather primitift fashion,this map is ot great interest tor it• accur ate representation of cul turalworks. Note especially the sa\\11lilla at Sout h Norfolk, ne&r Bi gelow f'ond,in the village of Nortolk, on Wangum Lake Brook, and on the HollenbeakRiTer at Lo.er City, Canaan. Also in operation at this tiM were ironworks on the Blaclcbcrr.y River in Norfolk, on kanpm Lake Brook just southot the Lake, and on tho Hollenbeck Riyer at Lower City. A large potashworks is shown in th• village of Norfolk; there were probably other,smaller establishments that do not appear on the map.Legends 0 Salillill o Grist mill cJ Iron worlc• a Paper mill -* Full 1n.g mill Di. Potash works'Ibio photostat, from a C0}-'7 ot the original map in th6 Yale UniYereityLibra~·~ i s at approxi.m'1tel7 the S8lle scale as the original, 1:200,000.[l - 1792J





Plate J:.-(1-1792)



: i t'Ut'O 17. An eichteenth- contury up-and-domi ear.mill. ~\lthou.~ha<>n»3What incompl ote and i deal.\zod (especially wi.th roapect to thetrees) . this en:!l\"aving shows the :n:iin fttaturo~ of a mill similar t.othoi:-..e that operated 'ln the •arost reef.on until after th~ \":ivll ·~ar.The ~aw fr.ame is shown at the top of a Flt rolce, witn the l~ movingta ta.rd t.h~ oba,,rvor , 1'hG s awyer is OOSi.do the 10~ bctn · CUtJ triohelpers ar e rolling a l oe onto t he deck f'r~ a stora.ee area 0 11 thel of t . At the l eft f orer.r ou.'l<l are stacks of green lumb(r , a.~~ngedi n hol low squares to promote raptd drying. The arrBngo100nt~ f aroort tni;; b oards fr.:>m sl abc after they ha(t been pusht!r:' <lorm the oloPGi nto t.he water nor e probably unconventional. The mill dnm anrtw'1&< !l ~ out cf vifflf, behind the mill . (The buil ril n,c on tho rieht isa blocknowse. )This mll stood on the bank of Fort Ann Creek, noar Skenosbarougb,1'-~·r. \".:ork . I t 11as ciestroyed by Amrienn t roop-1 in l7n })1ortl y a~Th00!3s Anburey dr ow the sketches from which the engl\"av ln·; \'Sao mde.( -hoto H- l , fr om f{ nburey, 1789, 1 : J.50. )Fi~ 18. Interior of an up-and-dawn sawr.d.11. 'ftio ~ fr~ wasdriven by a t rain of wooden g;earo r u..\"'l f'r '\".>m the wat~r whoo1. Ar atchet devi ce on another gear train pullod the l og forward with a-aoba tro.<e of the saw, but the operation was so slow tha.t na man ( aoul d]oat his dinner lfhil o the saw made the l ength ot the l ot:t\" ( <'!rcut t » 1876186) • Ti10 fixture on tha f r ont ooarll of the carriage is n c1\"tl1btnationsaw guide and 108 dor..The aaTJ is 6 feot l or.g, with a s troke of about 40 lru::hoa. 'l'ho tootharc spring net a~cl cut a !rorf o.f about r;/16 ineh. (A mneteontri-..century up-3nd-down mill L'l Sout h Uorfolk boasted a 88\'I dosirncd f ornari.!Ir..im lif e t bat had steel teeth wel del\"I to tho iron 1,l !lde and mrage<ito cut a hal f - inch kor f (Crissey# 1900 s 57J) . )Tho Chenr-y mi.ll was built durin~ the ei~hteenth eontury at 'l:tla.:ld1 int he t own of Hebron. It has beGtl partially reconstruoted at Ol d~turbridge Village, ~turbridze, \lassachusetts, where tM.s photop,raphwa9 taken. (Photo 27~. ) '



149unt1l late in tbe nineteenth century, When the o1rcrular suw bad also comeinto use. 'l'he water-pOW91'9d. clrcular an c ould llGl\"O thO.n dw.ble thsJ.umb3r output of its up-and-down predeee·ssor. When ~ by steam, t hemlls became independent Of S·tzteams and streami'l CAr and Could operatethroughout the .year' morlng 'When necessary to new a&ts. i?t'oduc'M.on orthetse steam sawm111s often reached S, 000 board te:et per ·dayt wM~ eo11pareet avcrabb with the produotioo of the fp remaining sm.\"Jll 11d.lls in theV~at r egion today (ne figuPO 20) . The fragmentary data assembl ed in table 17 ~eest an increasetn the number of sawmill• i n Hor f olk and Canaan up t o abw.t 1660, Lumberproduction then t ell off sharply in Norfolk. In canaa~ h~, theval.um of l umber did not decrease until after lB&o, largely because ofthe o]?6r.ation of the Hunt& t'qt:an eawmi.11 on Meekartown irook (soo platesXI!! and m).Speetes Used tor Lumber Oiwn a tree chetoe1 most of the inhabitants of the Porast regionwoul.d bave framed their hoU$Gs with oak, whitewood, or mrt.to pine, andwhite pine would al.so have been used throughout f or shiftglos, clapboards,aJla n.ooring. I n p?l&ctiett1 hawewr, their preferences \TGN stt-ongl.ymcdified by what was available. 'Iba littl e i.nforisat:!on that beCJr'9 dir-ectly' on this potnt ttuggos-ts that each part ot t he Forest region useda W!de variety ot species f <ll' general oonatruetion. Tbe s.raall amount of 1fhito pine 1n the pre-<rol,.onial f oreats waanaturally sought out and el[hau.sted, usual.17 be.tore the end of the eighteentha&utury. In 1792, Lewie V, Nort.o.n adwrtiaed an abundant. supply of white

Figure 19• A choose box, typical of th~e made in tho Forost regionfr oc about 1820 to the end of the nineteenth century. The top andbot t o.\"J of t his box aro or white pinDJ the e1dea are sawed beech andycll ort birch veneer . Cheese boxes were •nufactured in n Wido rangeof si~s. (Phot o ll-1. ):.·1cure 20. Present-day small sawmill in South Norfolk. This mlllhao been at its present l ocation since 1930. When in operation itproduces 4 to 5 MBF per day. The husk and carriage are about 40 FfJV8·1l d. Power ie auppllod by a pri.nd.t1ve gasol ine engine, mado about 1920.·!r . Fred Inman, owner anti operator of tho mill, gets most of his logefrom zero-margin cuttings an small trac'te i n southern Norfolk and no:rtl\Grn1oshcn. Lumber is sol~ r oueh green, largel y f or l 0-0al use. In.'\"'1tln alaodoes occasional custom sawing. The major opecies cut aro white pine,rod oak, bl ack oak, s ugar mapl e ,. and ye llow-..popl ar. 'lbs yol.l.os.-poplarlo[; sho»:n on the ca.rr1a~ is typical of avai lable stumpae,oa l t i s l4r oot long and 8 inchos r\"! .1.b. ( Photo 5-8) .



150pine shi~les at Mo mill in 'losben, 20 but 20 yea?\"s 13t.,ar he roportodthat. white pine was scarco (Norton, 19b91 8) . In Norf olk t ho timberthat had been al l ocated i n the t ourth rl1.V1sion of landn nas also quiokl yTABLE 17. IOMBD 01 SAVMD.LS MW !OVAL LtllmR PROJ>OOTIOR (?.IJ1) DI IKIU\"Cl.X Mm C.&riAAI, 1819-1880. • 0 I' t 0 1 k Canaan•s.,,,,,Rm Jo. ot Lmber No. ot Lmber St!ftn11 ftodwtlen ProdpgUoa1819 151839 715 1,0001845 7~ 6 1,2501850 8 1,~ 81853 7 9 618'9 6 4 1,70018'74 51880 3 617• InollXUng Horth Canaan &fl.er 18SS.Sourceaa 18191 Pea• and Nil•• (18192 242); l839i Conneot ioutSecnte!7 ot State (1839) ; 1845: Connecticut SeontarJ ot State(1846) J 1850 and 1880s orig1nel u. s. Cenau• returna, Oonnect1outStat.e Libru7J 18531 plates XII and XIllJ 185')1 Clark & Taoka·bU17' • mv topographical map ot the state ot Coaneot1out • • • ,PhlladelpbiaJ 1874s plate. IV and XVI.constllOO<l. When one weal thy resi.dont of N~folk wantorl hit;h r.:rndc pineclllpboards in 1836, ht:. order ed them fro::t a mill at ravonport,. ~;au York,rlOre than 100 mil es away (Crissey, 190Ch 513) . So':!Je otonds ()f old-fieldWhite pine had probabl y beeo!39 mrehllnt able by- the middlo or the nineteonth20 I..itchtield 'leek}T !onttor, Juno 6, 17921 u.

lSlcentuZT (Crteaey, 1900s 257). The l<*' quality ot t his t:1cbcr,_ coupledWith the ereat demand tar wbite ptne in the manutacturo or choose baxea,probabq prevented 1te \"1.de use as llDlber. Hemlock waa &lwa1'8 regarded aa Weriar to wb:lta p1ne in mostof it.a technical properties; but this did not pr.vent tho m=tensiw useor hemlock Where 1t waa abundant and other ao!twoods ecarce. • ~h of theol.Q.grawtb heralool< in the Forest reg.ton troll und~ dofoetiw, but1t was cut tor luial>er in irle\"881ng amount•, and during the n!~century hemlock wae the prlneipal product o·f •rt7 amrmillet•21Special t y Mana!aeturee ot Wood The bulk or the wood used as such in the r arest J\"Ogion wentinto lUllber and timber ror general construction. But a significant.pl'opol'tiCl'l ot certain sped••~j,cularl.7 black chorry, wtd.tewood,sugar maple, • bite ash, ,ellO'r birch, and •h-ite ptne--aus usod i n 't'&rt ouslocal industries 'Mhose products bad a wide ma.rket. Ha.rt Brook, which drd.ne Horth Pond in 'Josben, tra.a onco oalledOun Stock Brook becauae during the Revoluti on many rU'le st.ocke ft1\"ema from the. auga.r aples t.hat pe1t beside the brook ( ?anre• 18391 371Hibbard, 16971 Sl). White ash oar\" were exported tram Wincbester late inthe ei ghteenth cent\11\"7 (Bo:Yd, 18731 $05) . \"D11hmilla, \" which produced21 See Cr11M7 (190Ch 257) and \"1.denoe f r Oll the 1:-md records presentedbelow. Puring the late n1.n&t.eenth centUl\"J' it wr agstocooanoornnpe.rraYctairckewin nortbtrettern Pennsylvania and the Cat.killtell hemlock tor its bark alone. This appe:irs to ha~ created theerroneous i11PNseton that the use ot hetN.ook for 1~ be~ onlyrecentl.7. For early account s of the use ot he.:nlock f or frll!d.nl:tMterial and l UJUl>9r, see Doug1ass (1749-SJ , 2 : ;55), BelknSp (1792: 111 ) ,Warden (18191 176), and Yl.ebaux (1819, Jr 188).

tU!'Md wooden bowls, were •n&bliehed 1n Torrillgtoftt qncbesterJ and Nor-folk (Orcutt, 18781 hb6J Bo7dt 187)1 S06t Crissey, 1900t 256). In thoseW81\"!llel\" parts or the Forest region Where it o-ccurred, 1lhitc:'tood was unallTthe preferred •peoies far turnery. But this apecle~ was ext.remly rare~n lt<n\"\"!olk, and varioue other bardW'ooda were usedtThose (bowls] turned from •bite aab knots (i~o·., burl s] wereespecially ttne a nd nluable, and knots in the gre.nt old tugarmapl es, sort maples, ash, beech and birch trees were s()Ueht 1nthe roreats and brought a high price. These wooden bmrle wereturned wtt h peculiar cbisela- • • • a single lArge knot arbl ock making a Whole neet.1 (yaeytng] in .ta ~very smallone up to those Ma!'ly tw'o f eet across • • • • The grain ofsome of those tt.Jrned from knots was yery hands-Oma,, and tbebawls vwy strong and dura'ble. (Anonymous MS, (.luoted byCrissey, 1900r 2!)6. ) ·Aah tool handles were anot.ber item of co~rce, ae wen clock- plates,wt frat qual'tered bl aotc oak and ahtpped tl'oaa Norfolk t o the clookmkel\"so£ eouthe1\"ft U.tchf ield Count.,. (Crisee.y1 1'°°' S68). Cbeese eaeln1 and bone wer e the most important of all tbeeespecialty 1teaa. Their manutaotve was stimt.ted by t he thriving dairy!ndmltry ot the region. Fl\"-Olil the late eighteenth oentury1_ ~ majardairy t'OWn had at l east OM shop ttaat made packing boards and eaeke torcheeae. The round, ftneer cheese box (see fi~e 19) came into u.se about1820 (Boyd, 18th S06)1 and during the f ollowing 50 years cheese-box shopsweire often adj1111ota of ea:watlle (~tssey, 19001 2Sb-2S71 Y/11 $71) . lfhitepine waa probably the chief' species u8ed !ar tops and bottoas of theHbade, &!'ld blron, beech, aim maple tor the sides'• It ia 1mpoe•1ble tio aoeee.s the efteot or these specialty anu-tactUl\"tlla on etanda in t.he Forest l\"Ogion. Oonna returns f ar l.65o22lnd1cate22 01\"1.ginal u. s. Ceuu returns, Conneetiout State Libra:P)\".

lSl\hat one tcrk- and h09-blndie shop in Norfolk used bO UBF or ash andthat three cheeee-box ehops used SO G P of vari nu8 unnamed Bpeoies.It i s probable that auoh minor epec1ea aa black chftr'ry and whit e pine1'91\"8 redu~d ln abmldance ey oper t1ons ot the spedalty makers.'l'he Charcoal Iron Industry23 Charcoal had many uses in colonial New ~ngland. It served asa hausehold f'nel and was u.aad i n lime burning and 1n brick ld.lno. TbeeeueGs created an earl y dema!'ld t ar charcoal in and a.round the Fare~ r egion,but by t ar the moat i r.ipQl\"tont consumers of charcoal were tho furnacesand l arges of the charcoal iron industr y. Iron •kin« i n tho Fanu1t region began at Liln<! Rock, i n Salle-bury, no later than 17JU. 'rhe Salisbury distrtot rapidly became themoet important tron center 1n t he colonies ( PC11rnall 1 l776s 67) . J'uringtho J?evol ut1onary War it was t he pr1noi pal supplier 0£ a.nohors , cannon,an,1 ot her muniti ons. Arter the war, smal l f orges were established inall the towns of the Forest region, whar e p1..g ar bar iron from ~al.1.s­bury was cast or worked t nto a Wide v.ar1et y ot ar t i cles . Tn 1190 Norfolkbod one f orge and ~anaan f our, 1nclut1ing one t L~ c~ty and one nearthe outlet of '1angum Lake (plate I) . By 1819 t h8\" ~e two furnaces,eight f orges , and s even anchor shops i n Canaan and two aoti.vo f argoa 1n23 '1be history of t he Sal16bury charcoal irort i ndustry can only be touchedupon ber•!Je Tbe beat general a eaount of the 1Smndituhtr(;1r19 with oq:»b&&ieupon its eocial aspects, t a by Chard POlfera The moet 1~).1mpcrtant modern technical stud.tea are tnon o! Kei t h {1935) andff#te (1935, 194h, l9b6). Aaona t he moro ftluable oldor sources a.rethe works of Lee1ey (18S9)1 Bishop (1866), Swank (1884), and PJnehon(1899) . SuppleMntarJ' infomation iay be found in Barmm Richard•onCo. (1878), AllOfl111lCJU (l.881s 5.30-533), and Voldenke (1920).

1S4tfortolk producing \"anohora, mUl irons, cart and wacgon tiro, sl eighshoes, &o.• (Peasa and N1l$s1 1819: 241, 25!). } In the milking of charcoal iron, about 2!)0 bushels o\" charcoal(woigbing about 51 000 pounds) and alightl7 ore than 2 tons of ore were ·required for each ton of iron. Renee, econ0113' di ctated that furnaeeebe located as close as poH!.bl e to the f uol supply. Ao tho wood .avail-able f or coaling in Salisbttry grew •career, 1.t became nocees3ry to shiftfurnace operations .further from tho minee. 2h The decade be~nning in 1840appoo.ra to haw been a turning points the e;reat furnace on Riga insalisbuey W<Jnt \"out of blast, 11 l'.nd four ne1' furnace9 '1ere built in Canaan,!ncludine the Buena V1ota turnace at Lower City (fi{;'Jro 21}. In 1817, Jo years befOl\"e Buena Vista traa built , BonJaai.n SilU.-Z!Wln (182081 21~) 'Visited the f arse at RuntSTilla, 1n \"anaa.\"'1, :ind ~onralmiaee and f\lrnacee 1n SallsbUl\"Y• SUHman ~u impressed trJ the sparseqsettled •VfJ8a.r&nCO of tho Whole Fcrest region and by 1ts 1tver-.r dense t oreat,tbe entire conaumption of which would aeem beyond the ~r ol' aey popu-lation Which ia likely ner to aoOWDUlate in these rogions. \" Yet at thet ime ot s 1111111.n•e Ti•tt, some early membors ol the iron dynasty hadalready begmi to a cquire l and in out-of-the-way areas, against tho dqWhen 1t would beco. Y&lu.abl~ tn their oDer &tiona (pl.ate II) .24 \"Stone coal• did not become ~cmerc1ally availablo in the ~alisburydistrict untU after 1640. A to furnaces •ere rebuilt or specia llyconatructed to burn anthracite or a 1111.xture of charcoal and o.ntb!-a-cite. Cnt.il the develop:>ent ot the Bessemr proceso1 ~r, thelow s ulfur content. of obarcoal gave it a distinct. odvanta~ as a of too charcoal iwtutuJ1\1iaepda rtic ularly because such ron mado ' aft er 1850 . which r equired pra.oti ca fer railroad car Wbeol s :cy- su lfur-free iron. FOil\" tbia reason, the majority o! 1r !it.ors retainedtheir preference t or charcoal.

F'igurc 21. The Bue.na Vista blast f urnace, Loser Ci t y, Canaan. Thisi\irnaco was built in 1847 by the partners hip of Hunt, ~ t.r. .,l:lter the Hunt s L~n Iron •:o. I t occupied t he sito of an o:i:rly f orgeon tho bank of tha Rollenbac.l{ River (plate 'XJ eta 4s 119 (D}..120) .The vie-1·1 was takon i n the l :ite 1880•s about 10 years bof ot\"O thofurn.\"lee was cl osed.The furn.aco itself wa s in the bu.i.ldine at t he center. At tho riebt.were two charcoal etorage sheds, open at the bottom t o permit access.frOtl all sides. Tho ra:ill dam v1as out.side the view, on tho r i£rrt..The rctaint ng wall in the ri__cllt m:l.ddl~ound was part of t.'1e raill-r acc.Tho outl i ne or r.anann ~.fount.a1n appears i n the backgrown . {Photo Jt-S,troo a photograph owned by !f.r. F.rneet ~·. Blake) .Picuro 22. Tho nuonn V1.sta 1'urna<'e in 19'1. 'lb1s view was taken fromabout the nnme position as t he preceding !1.gure, but shows 0:1 s<:nmbatnarrower fiol d. The ruins of the Cu.mace are at tbs l ai\"t-. T1ie rotain-i nr. vn1ll s have craneoo only slir;htlyJ tho dam at the rte ht fortl~ound,occupying t he alto or t he bridee i n figure 21, i s of recent construction.The charcoal storage area nas supports an ewn-aged stancl of AmGricanob a.'ld black l oc ust, which orir;inat&d about 1910. ( ?l ot s-2, photon-6).



Pl ate ll. 'n\e colliers in Meekertown. 'nli s deed ot 1806 rocorda thestart ot land acquisition in southwestern Norfolk by Moses and ErastuaLyman, of Goshen, whose partnershi p later e\"YOlved into the Hunts L~anIron Company, a major user of charcoal in the Forest region lat er int he nineteenth century. At t his eo.rl.7 period the LJinana bought landtor speculation and for timber, a.a well as for charcoal wod. Judgingfrom t he consideration ($5. 33 per acre) and from su bsequent transactions,the t r act h3d probably not yet been cut. Its l ocati on is uncertain; it•pri.ncipal southem boundary waa th• Meekertown Road, and the tract waaprobably near Dlldley Pond ( plate III ) (Crissey, 19001 256).Althou~h Benjamin Beach, the grantor, was probably a sawmill operat or,he found himaelf dealing with buyers ot even great er acumen. It 81'have been a mere clerical error t hat t ho consideration was first re-corded as \"one hundred and ninet y dollars\" and t hen cha~d to \" onehundred and sixty. • Dtlt there was not hing casual or i nadvertent int he covenant at, t he end of the doscript~n, which provided that if Aid lot or land should fall short or t hirty acres, that I , t he said DenJamin, should make up the wantage by paying t hem [ the Lymans] for t.be vantage the pru~ort1on ot 160 dollsrs as the wantage 1:ie on to t hirty acres, wt if the land hold out more than thirty ~cres t he said Ly1nane are to hav~ the whole without any turther consideration. ( Nl.R 8s 474.)Asi de from this Bhrewd provision, thi\"' ~ar.ranty de-.d t y,1.Jitios th~ manyhundreds of similar documents by lfhich t1Ue t.o tra cts in t.he l'oNethae passed: its descripti Jn, omitt ing any menti on of r.i.ot es end bounds,is oharac~ristically vague, and it~ reference to an ear lier t itle-holder is mlslending. Benji.Ullin Beach bought t he t ract in lBOl trom aThomas Knapp tor $120 ( NLR 81 123), but t here i s no prior record ofKnapp as a grantee. (For other deeds that ~ have rol avance, seeNLR 7• 315, 316, 404-405; 8: 124, 450; 9• 203. )'nte subsequent hi story of t hi s t ract is lesa obscure . In 1827 MosesLyman quit-cl aimed his hnl f int e rest 1n this and other lands i n Meeker-town (453 a.crea) to his brother Er astus ( Nl.R 121 522). Shortly before1851 Er astus Lyman had tho hardwoods cut. otf tor charcoal and l umber,and in t h.gt :•e:-~r he ente red int o two contra cts for the cutti ng othemlock for bark, l umber, and charcoal wood (~ 16: 530-5.31, 48.3- 484 ).'nle land i toelt became part ot the holdings of the Hunt s Lyman I ronCompany upon its incorpor'\t i on in :::.861 (Cl.R 19: ~00-506) , and it wasprobably out ov-.!r tor coaling at least once more during the nineteenthcentur:t • •

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