Existing comment:
The Nailery:
"Made wrought nails and cut nails, to shingle and lath. Sold them out of the shop. Got iron rods from Philadelphia by water; boated them up from Richmond to Milton... wagoned from there."
-- Isaac (Granger) Jefferson, Recollections as reported by Charles Campbell, 1840s
In 1794, Jefferson began a nail-making operation on Mulberry Row to increase plantation revenue. Nails could be made with minimal training and required little capital outlay. Iron nailrod was shipped from Philadelphia and hammered into several sizes of nails by enslaved boys. In 1796, Jefferson purchased a nail-cutting shear, and using this, in addition to forging, the nailboys cut smaller lath nails from sheet iron. |