[With Col. Byrd in Fredericksburg.]
"The furnace [belonging to Mr. Washington] is built on a run, which discharges its waters into Potomac. And when the iron is cast, they cart it about six miles to a landing on that river. Besides Mr. Washington and Mr. England, there are several persons in England concerned in these works. Matters are very well managed there, and no expense is spared to make them profitable, which is not the case in the works I have already mentioned. Mr. England can neither write nor read, but without those helps is so well skilled in ironworks that he don't only carry on his furnace but has likewise the chief management of the works at Principia, at the head of the bay, where they have also erected a forge and make very good bar iron.
"Colonel Willis had built a flue to try all sorts of ore in, which was contrived after the following manner. It was built of stone four foot square, with an iron grate fixed in the middle of it for the fire to lie upon. It was open at the bottom, to give a free passage to the air up to the grate. Above the grate was another opening that carried the smoke into a chimney. This makes a draft upward, and the fire, rarefying the air below, makes another draft underneath, which causes the fire to burn very fiercely and melt any ore in the crucibles that are set upon the fire. This was erected by a mason called Taylor, who told me he built the furnace at Fredericksburg and came in for that purpose at 3s. 6d. a day, to be paid him from the time he left his house in Gloucestershire to the time he returned thither again, unless he chose rather to remain in Virginia after he had done his work.
"It happened to be court day here, but the rain hindered all but the most quarrelsome people from coming. The Colonel brought three of his brother justices to dine with us, namely, John Taliaferro, Major Lightfoot, and Captain Green, and in the evening Parson Kenner edified us with his company, who left this parish for a better without any regard to the poor souls he had half saved, of the flock he abandoned.
"4 [October 1732] The sun, rising very bright, invited me to leave this infant city, accordingly, about ten I took my leave of my hospitable landlord and persuaded Parson Kenner to be my guide to Massaponox, lying five miles off, where I had agreed to meet Colonel Spotswood.
"We arrived there about twelve and found it a very pleasant and commodious plantation. Thc Colonel received us with open arms and carried us directly to his air furnace, which is a very ingenious and profitable contrivance. The use of it is to melt his sow iron in order to cast it into sundry utensils, such as backs for chimneys, andirons, fenders, plates for hearths, pots, mortars, rollers for gardeners, skillets, boxes for cartwheels; and many other things, which, one with another can be afforded at 20s. a ton and delivered at people's own homes, and, being cast from sow iron, are much better than those which come from England, which are cast immediately from the ore for the most part."
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.