Furnace Operations - Labor - Cockeysville, MD
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 39° 29.687 W 076° 41.325
18S E 354787 N 4373046
One of many historical markers at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Maryland.
Waymark Code: WM17RK7
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 03/29/2023
Views: 2
The plaque says, "Making it Work
Located on site were most of the resources necessary to support the production of pig iron, including iron ore, water, and marble stone. Anthracite coal transported on the North Central Railway from Pennsylvania was used as a fuel in the smelting process.
Labor
Most of the labor force was composed of Irish and German immigrants and emancipated slaves who generally worked as teamsters. Work was hard, often dangerous and generally dirty.
Miners
Using hand tools they dug iron ore out of the ground and loaded it in mule drawn carts.
Fillers
One of the hardest tasks in iron making was that of the filler who wheeled heavily laden carts loaded with iron ore, marble, and coal to the furnace stack. Fillers endured heat, smoke, and cinders coming from the stack.
Founder
The success of the iron making operation depended on the experience, skill, and judgement of the Founder. He was responsible for maintaining the correct smelting temperature, and for determining when the molten iron was ready to be tapped.
Cuttermen
Guttermen prepared the sand bed on the casting house floor by digging channels into which the molten iron would low. Once the molten iron hardened, guttermen pried the iron pigs out of the channel and stacked them for transfer by the teamsters.
Teamster
Contracted by the company, teamsters who owned their own wagons and mules hauled furnace ingredients to the work site and finished iron pigs to market."
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