From Rock to Iron

From Rock to Iron. . , LIVING OFF THE LAND , Surviving and iron making in the harsh wilderness took a combination of resources from the site as well as imports from eastern cities, along with waterpower and hard physical labor., Community , The small village of Adirondac was carved from the wilderness to house the workers who were toiling to produce iron. The community offered religion, education, and health care services in addition to basic food and shelter. , Imports , Heavy castings, tools, explosives, and other supplies that couldn't be provided locally, RAW MATERIALS , Rock - Rich iron ore veins exposed at the surface. , Forest – An unbroken mantle of virgin timber. , Soil - Fertile soil for growing food and clay soil for bricks., POWER AND LABOR , Labor , Raw materials were readily available but required an extreme amount of hard work to convert to useable elements. , Labor produced , Rock – Fractured Ore , Forest – Sawtimber, firewood , Soil - Residents grew crops and raised livestock in an effort to be self-sufficient in this remote location. , Power and Labor produced , Forest - Waterpowered sawmills made lumber for buildings , Forest - Charcoal kilns burned hardwoods to charcoal to fuel the furnaces , Rock - Waterpowered ore stamps crushed large chunks of ore into smaller pieces , Rock - Imported explosives used to blast rock from outcroppings., SMELTING , Waterpower provided blast air, mechanical drive, and cooling water to the furnace , TRANSPORT , Fruit of Their Labor , Pig iron was the end product of all the hard work, resource use, and imported materials. The final challenge was to transport the iron to eastern factories for use in making cast iron products. . This historical marker was erected by Open Space Institute. It is in Tahawus in Essex County New York