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]