The Founding of the Durham Iron Furnace
In 1698, James Logan, Land Agent for William Penn, discovered a deposit of iron ore in Durham, and likely built a Bloomery Forge on site which was used until 1727.
From Bloomery Furnace to Blast Furnace: Archeometallurgical Analysis of Medieval Iron Objects From Sigtuna and Lapphyttan, Sverige.
On March 4, 1727 a stock company with 14 partners formed for the purpose of erecting a blast furnace, for the manufacture of pig iron, cast pots and pans, and to make firebacks.
To the Honourable Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, Esqrs., true & absolute proprietaries & Governours of the Province of Pennsylvania & counties of New-Castle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware a detail of the map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsylvania, Nicholas Scull, 1759
"The first furnace was built of stone in 1727. It was thirty five to forty feet square, widest at bottom, and thirty feet high. The site also included a casting house and stamping mill." (History of Bucks County, Battle 1887)
"The large leather bellows used to increase the blast was operated by a waterwheel turned by the creek. The iron was dug close by the furnace, and the charcoal fuel used in the process was made in pits, which being located close at hand, filled the air with a disagreeable odor from the wigwam-like structures which covered them, and in which the wood for the charcoal was burned." (Forges and Furnaces in the Province of Pennsylvania)
The foreman or founder, with an iron pole or bar, opened or 'tapped' the bottom of the furnace, allowing the molten iron to run into the moulds of sand below.
(National Park Service, Richard Schlecht, illustrator)
"The number of workmen needed to operate the furnace was not large. Two founders, two keepers, two guttermen, two or three fillers, who filled the furnace with alternate charges of charcoal, ore, and limestone, a “potter” who made the hollow ware, an ore roaster, and a few laborers included them all... As the work of ironmaking had to be carried on night and day, the workers labored in two twelve-hour shifts." (Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture, Bining, 1973)
Eggert, Gerald G. The Iron Industry in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Association, 1994
Lost Art of Making Charcoal
"An Iron Manufacturing Company like Durham, needed more than 70 workers to cut the trees and to supply the ongoing need for charcoal to fuel the furnace...As many as 10 or 12 colliers might be needed to keep a furnace going." Their job was to turn the chopped wood into coal. (Hopewell Village: National Historic Site, by Dennis C. Kurjack)
Charcoal production in the 18th century. Plate from Encyclopédie by Diderot and D’Alembert, 1751 – 1772.
"An average furnace would consume perhaps 800 bushels of charcoal every 24 hours...The Iron furnace produced a maximum of 350 tons of iron a year and for every ton of iron, an acre of hardwood trees needed to be burned, that was 350 acres a year." (National Park Service: Hopewell Furnace)
Plan of an American New Cleared Farm, by McIntyre, printed by John Guthrie, 1793
Mining the Iron Ore
"The number of miners employed at each mine during the eighteenth century was not large. Three or four could supply all the ore needed for a single furnace.(Pennsylvania iron manufacture in the eighteenth century, by Arthur Cecil Bining. 2d ed)
Washing ore at the Hopewell mines. Courtesy Chester County Historical Society, NPS Historical Handbook
Quarrying for Limestone
Limestone was crushed and used as flux; a necessary ingredient to process iron in the furnace. The caves near the iron furnace provided the much needed raw material.
Taking the Iron to Market
Once the iron was made it had to be transported on carts out to the Delaware, then on rafts down to Philadelphia and finally onto ships bound for England. Sometime before 1750 Robert Durham, a manager and engineer at the furnace, built the first Durham Boat based on Lenape design to transport product down the river. Durham boats were crewed by six men. By the end of the century there was a fleet of several hundred Durham boats giving employment to 2000 to 3000 men. (History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania by William W.H. Davis)
Life on the Durham Tract, 1700-1750
By 1745, there were at least 18 families living on the Durham Tract. The furnace populated by English, Scotch and Irish, but the farmland surrounding mostly German.
At this point, in addition to the school, there was a Presbyterian church, a grist and saw mill. A half dozen roads had been built during this decade connecting Durham to major cities in the north and south. (The History of Bucks County, W.W.H. Davis)
Jeffery’s 1776 Map of the Provinces of New York and New Jersey with part of Pennsylvania, showing the major roads connecting Durham with Easton in the North and Philadelphia and Bristol to the South
Enslaved Workers at the Durham Furnace
Not much is known about the early enslaved workers at Durham Furnace. However, we can speculate that the need for laborers was great and we know that at least three of the original stock owners in the Company were slave traders.
Robert Ellis, Andrew Bradford and William Allen are all listed as regular Slave importers. Ellis transported a dozen shipments of enslaved people from 1732-1741. His shipments included: "A Parcell of Negro Men and Women" October 11, 1733, "25-30 Negro Boys & Girls" August 7, 1736, "40 odd Negro Boys & Girls ," June 23, 1737.
Lack of experienced iron workers and unskilled laborers constrained the growth of early iron works across the colony. Recruitment to isolated iron plantations was difficult. In 1727, Iron Furnace operators petitioned the Pennsylvania legislature for a waiver of duties charged on the import of slaves, to help alleviate the shortage of manpower.
"The Petition for sundry Persons concerned in the Iron-Works, setting forth, that the Difficulty of getting Labourers, and their excessive Wages, are a great Discouragement and Hindrance to their Undertakings, praying that Negroes may be imported or purchased for the said Works Duty free." (Pa. Journal of the HoR-1726-1744)
Second Half of the 18th Century
In 1755, George Taylor leased the Durham Furnace from the owners in partnership with another ironmaster, Samuel Flower. Taylor moved with his wife to Durham and assumed day to day operations of the furnace.
Taylor built his manor house close to the furnace. Around 1755, Taylor is known to have supplied cannon shot to the Provincial government, for the French and Indian War.
When his lease on Durham Furnace ran out in 1761, the partnership with Flowers dissolved and Taylor moved on to ventures in Easton.
Another ironmaster was James Morgan. His father and grandfather immigrated from Wales and settled in Radnor, near Philadelphia. He was born in Durham in 1702. He traded in metal goods, was an ironworker in the early years of the forge and rose to ironmaster by the 1760s.
On the night of April 8, 1768, a fire broke out at the Furnace which destroyed the bridge-house, casting-house, and bellows.
This illustration is from Diderot and Alembert, Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, les Arts Liberaux, et les Arts Mechaniques, 1765
The Furnace Partnership is Dissolved
By December of 1773, none of the original Durham Furnace partners had survived. At that time Lawrence Growdon of Trevose was the largest individual owner of the property. He divided his estate between his two daughters, Elizabeth and Grace. That part of the property containing the iron works, mines and quarries was partitioned to Joseph Galloway in right of his wife, nee Grace Growdon. (The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, by W. W. H. Davis)
Engraving of Joseph Galloway by Thomas Emmet, 1885 - Photo image obtained from:The New York Public Library, digital gallery, Gwillhickers, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110444734
Under Galloway, the Iron Works were leased once again to George Taylor in 1774 for five years. Taylor by then had entered public life serving as a justice of the peace in Bucks and Northampton Counties. In 1764, he was elected from Easton to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly.
Durham Township is Formed, 1775-1780
After several failed attempts, finally in 1775, the petition to form Durham Township was approved. The family names on the petition included: Jacob Clymer, Henry Houpt, George Taylor, George Heinline, Wendell Shank, Thomas Craig, Michael Deemer, William Abbott, Francis Wilson, Daniel Stillwell.
In addition to the Durham Furnace and its surrounding community, we know that by 1774, Thomas Pursell had erected both a steam powered saw mill and a grist mill in the Township on the site that would become the town of Monroe. Also in 1774, Wendell Shank a Blacksmith built a log house barn and blacksmith shop. Robert Durham was building his boats at the mouth of Durham Creek. (The History of Bucks County by W.W.H. Davis and Riegelsville People Places and Events)
Side plate for a ten-plate draft stove, Side, "Fox and Fowl of Durham", 1770-1790, Backhouse and Company, Mercer Museum Collecrion
War of Independence
On April 19, 1775, the first battle in the war for American Independence from British rule was waged at Lexington and by June, Congress had authorized the creation of the Continental Army. In July, Congress had declared a State of Rebellion and George Taylor attended the Provincial Convention. Taylor was among the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Less than a month later Taylor was made Colonel of the Third Battalion of the Bucks County Militia
During the Revolution, the furnaces of southeastern Pennsylvania were busy casting cannon, shot, and iron wares for the Continental armies.
In August of 1775, George Taylor secured a contract with Pennsylvania’s Committee of Safety for cannon shot. On August 25, with a shipment of 258 round balls weighing from 18 to 32 pounds each, Durham Furnace became the first ironworks in Pennsylvania to supply munitions to the Continental Army and continued to do so throughout his Tenure. (Minutes from the Meeting of the Council of Safety)
Durham, now a Township was represented on the Bucks County Committee of Safety. A note in the minutes of the council from July of 1776 indicates that Thomas Long from Durham was appointed to distribute to distressed families whose husbands were in service an allowance. In 1780, George Heinline from Durham Township was made Captain of the 8th Company, Second Battalion of the Bucks County Militia.
Not everyone chose to side with the Patriots. Joseph Galloway aligned himself with the Crown and his estates, gained through marriage to Grace Growden, were declared forfeited to the Commonwealth. This included their home and properties in Philadelphia as well as the Durham property which was confiscated in 1778.
Joseph was forced to flee to England for his safety, but Grace remained to try and save her inheritance, arguing with the courts that the property was hers and she remained loyal to the American cause. Though she was turned out of her home, she never gave up the fight for her rights taking her claim to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. One of her last acts before she died (February 6, 1782) was to execute her will. She created a trust for her estate (should it ever be reclaimed) naming her daughter, Elizabeth as beneficiary.
Diary entry of Grace Growden Galloway April 20, 1779
"Tuesday the 20th [While visiting a neighbor, I] got My spirits at command & Laughed at the whole wig party. I told them I was the happyest woman in twown for I had been striped & Turn’d out of Doors yet I was still the same & must be Joseph Galloways Wife & Lawrence Growdons daughter & that it was Not in their power to humble Me for I shou’d be Grace Growdon Galloway to the last & as I had now suffer’d all that they can inflict Upon Me I shou’d now act as on a rock to look on the wrack of others & see them tost by the Tempestuous billows while I was safe ashore; that if My little fortune wou’d be of service to them, they May keep it for I had exchanged it for content: that a Wooden waiter was as Useful tho not so sightly as a silver one; & that wou’d Never let these people pull Me down for, While I had the splindid shilling left, I wou’d be happy in spight of them . . . . I am not sorry at anything I said for I now defye the Villans."
Painting of Grace Growden Galloway by Thomas Stokes, Ireland
The Durham property was sold to Richard Backhouse in May of 1779. Backhouse formed a company with Colonel Isaac Sidman, Colonel Robert Lettis Cooper and Colonel George Taylor to run the Iron Works.
Under their auspices the Durham Furnace continued producing cannonballs and shot for the Continental Army. According to letters between Backhouse and Taylor during this period we know that despite its support of the war effort, the Furnace was still creating common household items like pots, skillets and kettles.
George Taylor was able to complete his five year lease on the Durham Furnace. He then moved on to co-own the Greenwich Forge in New Jersey. James Morgan served Backhouse as ironmaster until James passed in 1782.
According to Backhouse's records, the Durham Iron Works employed around 200 people annually during active months during the 1780s. Around 30% of these were seasonal or contract workers, especially among woodcutters, colliers, and mine helpers. “The total of 209 annual workers at Durham does not include an unknown number of sons, daughters, wives, etc. who helped cut wood, make charcoal, or engaged in other work attributed to listed employees.” It is estimated that the iron works drew labor from a radius area of 12-15 miles around the furnace. (“Working Agreements: The Use of Subcontracting in the Pennsylvania Iron Industry 1725-1789,” Michael Kennedy, 1998)
Production during this period was impressive. From 1780 to 1781, David and Daniel Stover, John Lerch and Joseph Frey hauled 4,6 and 9 pounder balls from the furnace to Philadelphia on boats consigned by Colonel Sidman. During one week in 1782, 12,357 solid shot was sent to Philadelphia.
Left, a British 16-pounder, circa 1775, illustrating the different parts. Right, a cut-away view of the same gun.
The workmen at the Ironworks were not permitted to leave their employment or to march with the militia without the permission of the Council of Safety. This included the enslaved Negro workers and their families, despite the 1780 act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In Bucks County as a part of this act, 520 enslaved persons were registered in the initial document, Bucks County Register of Slaves, 1783-1830. Two owners are listed in Durham, and both were involved with running the Durham Iron Furnace. Richard Backhouse held three enslaved females.
Pennsylvania U.S. Tax and Exoneration for Durham Township notes Richard Backhouse as having "3 Negroes" in 1786
Ironmaster James Morgan listed seven individuals as enslaved, possibly an extended family: Jack, male 38; Tim, male 20; Sam, male 17; Nat, male 5; Bet, female 40; Deb, female 24; Sue, female 20.
An interesting story comes to us from James Morgan’s Slave Register entry. Next to the list of these enslaved people’s names is a bracket pointing to an annotation in the same handwriting: “Supposed to be in New York with the Enemy.” Referring to the Durham Furnace, the History of Bucks County states, “Twelve slaves were at work there in 1780, five of whom made their escape to the British at New York.” At another place in the same book the author states “six of the seven” fled to New York.
Samuel Fleming, 20, stout fellow. Born free, lived with James Morgan, Valley Forge; left him 5 years ago. was listed on board a Canada Bound the Clinton, bound for Annapolis & St. John's Lt. Trounce. Could Samuel be the enslaved person noted as belonging to Durham Furnace's James Morgan?
So great was the scarcity of labor that the ironmasters of Chester, Lancaster, and Berks counties were permitted to use prisoners of war at their works.
Under this authority Hessians were employed at Elizabeth Furnace, Mary Ann Furnace, Durham Iron Works, Charming Forge, and at other ironworks. (Forging America: Ironworkers, Adventurers, and the Industrious Revolution by John Bezis-Selfa)
A letter to Richard Backhouse about the availability of Hessian Prisoners of war available for employ at the Ironworks (Durham papers, BCHS)
In 1782, Backhouse dissolved the partnership, remaining in sole charge of the company. An advertisement for that year describes the tract as having: "a furnace now in blast and in good working order, the mine convenient to the furnace...three farms in good repair...60 acres of meadow...and a good number of small tenements for workers to live in."
Richard Backhouse rose to promise in other ways. in July of 1783 he was elected to the Bucks County Committee of Safety to represent Durham Township.
The Township of Durham Grows, 1780-1800
By the early 1780's there were 2 towns in Durham Township: Durham and Lehnenberg (later known as Monroe). The Township population included “360 whites, 4 blacks and 33 dwellings.” Among the buildings was Thomas Pursell's saw and grist mill built in 1774. Backhouse and Thomas McKean opened the first store in 1780 which remained open until 1792. Three ferries were operating in Durham Township: Pursell's Ferry at Monroe, the Shanks opened a Ferry at what would become Riegelsville and the Stillwell Ferry at Durham from 1779 -93. (The History of Bucks County, W.W.H. Davis)
By 1790, the nation's first energy crisis became evident. The impact of this shortage was one of the key factors in the closure of the Durham Iron Works. The forests needed for charcoal had vanished. Alternative fuels like bituminous coal could be imported from England at great expense.
A judge confiscated the Furnace in 1791, ending Backhouse's tenure as superintendent and forcing the closure of the Furnace.
This advertisement offers the Durham Iron Works tract for sle and describes it as having "7 good farms...to one of the farms belongs a ferry, for crossing the Delaware." Independent Gazetteer, November 4, 1790
The old century ends with the Iron Works closing, but the new one begins with a win for women's rights.
Though Grace Growden Galloway, the wife of Joseph Galloway, had passed in 1782, her long battle to overturn the confiscation of lands which she argued were hers and not her husband's continued in the courts. In 1806, more than 25 years after Grace's death, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in her favor, and the estate was returned to her family and was eventually passed down to her daughter, Betsy and on Betsy's death two years later to her granddaughter, Grace Ann (Roberts) Burton. This marked one of the the first cases of women's rights to be decided in the United States.