Birth of an Industry

Birth of an Industry. The Iron Works of The 1700's. , Iron forges came early to the Blackberry River, with the first Catalan forge built in 1739 downstream from this point. About this time young Samuel Forbes (1729-1827) arrived on the scene, first learning and then leading the development of the industry. Drawing on the high quality iron ore from nearby Salisbury, limestone from local quarries and charcoal made from the surrounding hardwood forests, the forges and furnaces of East Canaan were to play a major role in the nation's iron industry. , In 1759 Samuel Forbes and his brother Elisha built a larger forge to make anchors for sailing ships of the day. As his salesmen brought orders from ports as far away as Philadelphia, he developed standard sized products to replace the old, expensive individual designs. , Samuel Forbes joined with other partners in 1762 to build a blast furnace in nearby Lakeville. During the Revolutionary War he served as Iron Master there, making cannons so necessary in the march to independence. , The growing settlements would need nails, precious commodities pounded out by hand. In the 1780's Samuel built a slitting mill that provided a better means to produce iron nails, knives and rods. Canaan's iron products helped both to break the yoke of the British in the Revolutionary War and the War of 18 12, and to provide the iron goods so necessary during the first years of our United States. , The forges of the 1700's provided the foundation for the major development in the 1800's. Since those early forges, this short stretch of the Blackberry River has powered three blast furnaces, providing iron well into the twentieth century. Saw mills, grist mills, fulling mills and a cider mill also operated along its banks.