Destruction and Renewal

Destruction and Renewal. Catoctin Furnace Iron Trail.

“There weren't so many negroes gathered today. Most were out gathering up chestnuts to sell for a little money.”
, Diary of John Frederick Schlegel, Moravian minister, October 18, 7801, describing enslaved workers at Catoctin Furnace (Translated from German).

Look around you and notice the trees. Most are less than 100 years old. The first three iron furnaces at Catoctin relied on charcoal for fuel: One acre of wood was needed to provide the charcoal for every 24 hours the furnace was in blast.

Cutting down the forests wreaked havoc on the land, causing soil erosion and loss of habitat for native species. American chestnut trees and huckleberry bushes that villagers had once relied on for extra food and income were gone. In the 1930s, a New Deal program gave this land a second chance. The federal government sought to transform what was characterized as unproductive land across the nation into new public parks. With beautiful vistas, clear streams, ponds, and proximity to Washington, D.C., the Catoctin forests were an excellent candidate. Government officials went to work buying up vacant land, making visits to local landowners with offers to purchase their property. Some families opted to sell and relocate. Others refused and were removed against their will. A few descendants still live in the vicinity today. How do you think families felt as they were forced to sell their land and leave their homes?, [Captions:] , (Top left) Chestnut blight, a contagious fungus, also devastated the forests by killing swaths of chestnut trees. The blight first arrived in Catoctin in 1912 and spread quickly, leaving barren landscapes like this one., (Top middle) Children collecting chestnuts. Moravian church records from the early nineteenth century indicate that African Americans at Catoctin gathered chestnuts in the fall to earn extra income., (Top right) In 1935, the Maryland State Planning Commission identified this land as suitable for a new recreation area., « Even after the furnace closed, the stave mill industry, which manufactured strips of wood for barrels, continued to clear-cut the remaining chestnuts and oaks., « The American chestnut. Chestnuts were a source of food and income for the enslaved residents of the furnace.