John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes
Note 58
To summarize the activities of the Germanna Colonists towards Spotswood's
iron industry, the First Colony developed the iron mines. Probably they
found the iron ore but proof of this is lacking. They had left the lands of
Spotswood for their own land in what is now Fauquier County before the
furnace was built.
The Second Colony had essentially nothing to do with the iron mines or the
iron furnace. They were engaged in other activities, principally farming,
grape culture and naval stores. Still there is a hint that they may have
been engaged in the iron industry briefly on a trial basis. That is, they
made charcoal. This was "shipped" down the Rapidan River to the furnace
site. The clue that they may have done this lies in a comment of Spotswood
in which he advised William Byrd not to make the charcoal at any great
distance from the furnace. He said he had tried to make charcoal across the
river and it had not worked out (charcoal does not ship well). The Second
Colony did live across the river. The activity is consistent with
Spotswood's managerial characteristics as described by his furnace manager,
Mr. Chiswell.
Who did build the furnace? Probably workmen imported from England. Some of
the Germans who came after the First and Second Colonies might have been
involved as labor. Initially the general labor at the furnace when it was
fired was could have been a mix of English and German workers. Spotswood
soon replaced these with slaves, saying he believed they could do all of the
necessary tasks if they were properly trained.
So the First Germanna Colony could say they started Spotswood down the path
leading to an iron idustry though they did not build his furnace. The
Second Germanna Colony should not make any claim to having been involved in
any part of the activity. It is entirely unproven, but some of the later
Germans may have worked at the furnace.
Dr. Charles H. Huffman, in Germanna Record Nine, published in 1966, errs in
a few points of his time schedule as given on page 110 there. He says that
within one year, in 1715, that the Germans started mining. Spotswood said
in 1716 that the Germans had been here two years and they had done no work
for him and his partners. Huffman says the furnace was completed in 1717
while Spotswood says that by December 1718 he had expended "upwards of three
score pounds" which would not have sufficed for a furnace. The following
point might be debated but it seems to be in error by a year. The Germans
left in 1719 (NS) while Huffman says 1720. Other evidence points to the
furnace being built about 1720 to 1721 and in its first firing in late 1721.
There is a lesson from this. Do not trust someone's interpretation of
history just because someone says it is so. Check it out for yourself. Mr.
Scott, in his history of Orange County, seems to have given his imprint to a
misreading of the events which others, who followed him, copied without asking
any critical questions. Scott seems to have been influenced by the earlier
writings of Willis Kemper, a descendant of the Germanna families and so
Scott may blame Kemper. A corollary to the principle of trust is to be
especially doubtful of history when it is written by a descendant,
especially when he writes it almost two hundred years after the facts.