Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Charcoal Kilns

Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Charcoal Kilns. A Connecticut State Archaeological Preserve. , Charcoal production was an important industry in northwestern Connecticut in the nineteenth century. , Before Pennsylvania coal became readily available, the iron forges in Litchfield County were reliant upon locally produced charcoal as their primary fuel. The low rise in front of you is one of the four charcoal kilns seen at the Lighthouse Village. Look closely and you will observe a circular trench or “gutter” that encompasses the mound. This trench serves as a fire break., Cordwood was stacked into a mound. Then, in a slow and controlled burn, the moisture was released from the wood, leaving a much lighter and more valuable, higher quality fuel., Charcoal production was a difficult, dirty, and dangerous pursuit. The kiln had to be tended to by the “collier” whose job it was to maintain the slow burn, and, at all costs, to prevent the valuable wood from being lost in an uncontrolled blaze. Lighthouse residents may have served as the colliers for these kilns., If you look carefully around the kiln, you should be able to find three more encircled mounds. These are the remnants of the long-forgotten charcoal industry in northwestern Connecticut.