Tobacco and Iron

Tobacco and Iron. . Above Falmouth, near the falls of the Rappahannock, is one of the finest and most considerable iron-works in North America. , , Johann David Schoepf, a German travelling in America in 1783-84, In 1713, Colonel Alexander Spotswood discovered iron ore deposits near the Rapidan River. While area farmers cleared land to grow tobacco, he built a furnace, to smelt iron. In 1728, Virginia's colonial government established the towns of Fredericksburg and Falmouth, to provide inspection stations for the expanding tobacco harvests. Fredericksburg became a river port, while Falmouth stood on an overland route that crossed the Rappahannock River at a ford., Tobacco brought prosperity to the region, but iron helped the Colonies become a nation. Raw iron had typically been exported to England, but by 1768 James Hunter had established a local forge three quarters of a mile upstream from here, on the north side of the river. When the Revolution came, Hunter provided arms and other equipment to the American forces. There was a second gun factory in Fredericksburg, but Hunter's was substantially larger.