Hi- I have a question that I have wondered about for a long time. Perhaps
one of the "ironmasters" has the answer. I have run across a type of grey
metal produced between 1780-1850 that seems to be rust proof- one item, a
firming chisel lost prior to the WBTS and found about a hundred years later
in a rubble stone wall where it had fallen between two of the rocks with no
apparent rust, the other, the large ringbolts in the stones above the last
lock on the downstream end of the Va canal around Great Falls that were used
to anchor stabilizing ropes down to the boat in the lock as it descended to
the river level- also rust free since 1790- the mention of titanium in the
ore from the Albemarle IW got me thinking about it- any thoughts?
Thanks-Barrett
Barrett Decker [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Brothers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Augustine Washington Seniors Will (George Washington
& Iron Works).
> Never said that George Washington didn't own an interest in iron works.
> He did. As I have stated he was a part (1/12) owner in the Principio Co.
> But with the exception of the Potomac (Accokeek) IW and associated mine
> (which were closed in the 1750s) all of the Principio holdings were in
> Maryland.
>
> Due to the laws governing ore in the Northern Neck, 1/3 of all ore mined
> was owed to the Proprietor. A number of ironmasters and owners (including
> Augustine Washington and John Tayloe), claiming that the ore in Virginia
> was not good, asked for and got permission to import Maryland ore tax
> free. As this "poor" quality ore had been successfully used by Neabsco,
> Bristol. Occoquan, Grimes' Recover, Chiswell, Fredericksville, Marlboro,
> and Tubal(and came from a variety of deposits) it seems more likely that
> it was an economic issue and not one of quality. Modern analysis of
> Virginia iron ore has not revealed any problems, except for high
> quantities of titanium in the ore used by the Albemarle IW.
>
> The "iron mines" of the day were open pit and often, per A Progress to
> the Mines, required blasting. It was not all heavy manual labor.
>
> James Brothers, RPA
> [log in to unmask]
|