Existing comment:
Metalworking:
Iron was virtually the only significant industry in colonial Virginia. The first iron was produced in 1619 in Falling Creek in Chesterfield County. Iron production ceased for a century, however, when the Indian uprising of 1622 destroyed the Falling Creek furnace. In the 1700s, iron once again was forged for local production of pots and tools, and also for export to Great Britain -- 6,411 pounds in 1733 and 15,562 pounds in 1773. Before the Revolution, a few crude iron tools were manufactured at Providence Forge in New Kent County. At a furnace near Winchester, Isaac Zane, Jr., began producing kettles, pots, mortars, and pestles, firebacks and stoves. The Shenandoah Valley's economy, based on many small farms, also created a considerable demand for blacksmiths. |