Charcoal

Charcoal. Station 8. , Charcoal fueled the iron industry. To produce 2,000 lb. of bloom iron, twice that amount of ore had to be mixed with 5400 lb. of charcoal. Smelting of iron required a similar quantity of charcoal. Ore, charcoal and limestone were heated in a stone stack, or furnace until the molten iron could be tapped off in a stream (called a sow) into troughs (called pigs)., A huge charcoal shed occupied much of the far bank of the river to keep a sufficient supply of fuel dry. Two brick charcoal kilns supplemented charcoal produced by farmers in the surrounding countryside. The bridge used to transport charcoal across the creek was known as the "black bridge.” Notice that the ground here is still impregnated with charcoal., The Crown Point Iron Company produced its own charcoal due to the fact that coal was not readily available. Because the works had a voracious appetite for fuel, settlers for miles around turned forests into farmland and charcoal. Ecology was unheard of in those days.,