The first iron works in Connecticut were erected at New Haven in 1658 by Thomas Clarke, John Winthrop and others. They con sisted of a blast furnace and a refinery forge.
In Rhode Island iron was made at Paw tucket in. 1675, that is soon after its settlement 1636) where a forge was erected by Joseph Jenks, Jr.
There is no evidence of iron having been made in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont before the 18th century. During the latter part of the 18th century, however, numerous forges were in operation in New England and its iron industry was very prosperous.
Iron works were built in New Jersey at Tinton Falls, near Shrewsbury, in 1682 by Henry_ Leonard of Massachusetts, where mag netic iron ores from northern New Jersey were probably smelted. Other works were erected near Morristown and at several other places between 1710 and 1770. A forge at Troy was still in operation in 1860. These works consisted chiefly of bloomaries.
During the latter part of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, Massachusetts and New Jersey were the chief producers of iron. In the latter State the manufacturing conditions were exceptionally favorable because of its deposits of rich magnetic ores, its wooded hills and its many mountain streams. Bloomaries were chiefly used and in some of them the blast was created by the trompe or water blast. During the second half of the 18th century many blast furnaces and other iron works were built in New Jersey and its iron industry was very active.
In 1802 there were 150 forges in New Jer sey, yielding about 3,000 tons of iron yearly, while pig iron was made in 13 blast furnaces. Four rolling and slitting mills were also in operation, chiefly for the manufacture of nails. Tfie last charcoal blast furnace was built in 1862, but was soon abandoned, anthracite hav ing by this time replaced charcoal as a blast furnace fuel. Bloomarles no longer exist in New Jersey, but in 1890 several forges were still in operation for the manufacture of blooms from pig iron and scrap.
Not until 1692 do we find any mention of iron having been manufactured in Pennsylvania. In 1717 a forge was erected on Manatawny Creek in Berks County, and another known as the Coventry Forge on French Creek in Chester County. The latter was still active in 1856 making blooms from pig iron, but was dis mantled in 1870. The ruins of this early Penn sylvania forge still exist. In about 1720 the Coiebrookdale furnace in the township of that name on Ironstone Creek, north of Pottstown in Berks County, was built and was still in operation in 1793. The Durham furnace on
Durham Creek in Bucks County was erected in 1727. This furnace was between 35 and 40 feet square and about 30 feet high. It made from the start pig iron to be converted into bar iron. It remained active until 1791 and was torn down in 1829. In 1848 and 1851 two furnaces were built at Durham using anthracite as fuel. They were torn down in 1874 and replaced by a large blast furnace. Many forges and fur naces were built in Pennsylvania during the first half of the 18th century, notably in the Schuylkill Valley and in the eastern portion of the State. Among these may be mentioned the Glasgow Forge near Pottstown, the Spring Forge in Berks County, the Green Lane Forge 20 miles above Norristown, the Pine Forge and the Mount Pleasant Furnace, respectively, 5 and 13 miles above Pottstown, the Oley Forge on the Manatawny, the Reading Furnace and the Warwick Furnace both on French Creek. The Warwick Furnace remained in operation until 1867. Guns were cast at this furnace during the revolution for the Continental army. The Vincent Steel Works were erected on French Creek in 1750, and the Windsor forges on Conestoga Creek near Churchtown in about 1742. The latter were still in operation in 1848. The Mount Joy Forge at the mouth of East Valley Creek was in operation in 1751, when it was using pig iron supplied by the Warwick Furnace. The Valley Forge and other mills were built soon after the Revolutionary War near the Mount Joy Forge. They were abandoned in 1824. To complete this short sketch of early iron making in Pennsylvania, the following works should be mentioned. A. forge built in 1740 on Hay Creek, the Hopewell Furnace on French Creek which continued its operations until 1883, the Roxborough, later known as the Berkshire Furnace built at Heidelberg in 1760, a rolling and, slitting mill and a nail factory at Birdboro about the time of the revolution, the Charming Forge in Berks County in 1749 which remained active until 1887, the Moselen Forge in Berks County,. the Gulf Forge in Montgomery County, the Union and Pottsgrove forges in the Schuyl kill Valley, the Oley Furnace built in 1765 north of Reading and which remained in operation until 1886, a forge on Crum Creek near Ches ter erected in 1742, the Sarum Iron Works in Delaware County, built in 1742, to which was later added a rolling and slitting mill.