[With Byrd and Spotswood in 1732], Spotswood said that he had iron in several parts of land, but he was using a mine thirteen miles below Germanna. This ore was a mile from the furnace. After the iron was cast, he had to cart it fifteen miles to "Massaponux" on the Rappahannock River, where it could be loaded on a ship.
Spotswood went on to say that, while he was absent from Virginia, and in England, the mines and furnace had been in the hands of Mr. Greame, as Byrd spelled the name. According to Spotswood, the mine, furnace, and plantations went downhill during his absence. [Spotswood seems to ignore that iron production increased significantly while he was in England. The last year, 1724, that Spotswood was in Virginia, he shipped about 202 tons of cast iron to England. In the following years, the shipments were 137 tons, 263 tons, 407 tons, 643 tons, 852 tons, and more than 1526 tons in 1730, which was about the time that Spotswood returned to Virginia.]
Byrd and Spotswood talked until dinner (the mid-day meal). After dinner they talked with the ladies, and walked about the grounds. The Rapidan River was said by Byrd to be so rapid that it was necessary for the ferry to be secured by a chain. He also stated the river obtained its name from the rapid currents.
On the third day Byrd and Spotswood talked more about iron, and apparently Spotswood offered to be as helpful as he could. Spotswood even went so far as to suggest they might form a manufacturer's association for their common advantage. In particular, they might set a pay scale for the workmen at what was just and reasonable.
Spotswood believed that a complete operation would take one hundred people to raise the provisions for themselves, to feed the cattle, and to do the other labor in the total operation. He suggested that a furnace might be built for seven hundred pounds if the mistakes of others were avoided. [This number is totally inconsistent with the costs that others reported. The furnace in 1622 on the James River had been built with a subscription of five thousand pounds. Mr. Chiswell, experienced in mine operations, set the figure even higher.] Spotswood noted that the cost of cartage was exceedingly burdensome.
Several wagons with iron (rimmed) wheels and many oxen would be required to cart the wood to the point where charcoal was made. The wagons were also needed to take the cast iron to where it could be distributed, and to bring back necessities such as limestone. Many more wagons were needed for the wood than for the iron, because it took about fifty pounds of wood for every pound of iron that was produced. [If the furnace produced three tons of iron per day, one hundred and fifty tons of wood would have to be brought to where the charcoal was made.]
(04 Nov 00)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.