Saugus Iron Works

Tim Murphy
May 4
11 min read

“American history forged in fire” – a fitting epitaph for the Saugus Iron Works, the first fully-integrated iron production and refinement facility in the New World. Despite its brief existence, this pioneering enterprise sparked one of America's most enduring and lucrative industries.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE NEW WORLD

"[F]or we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us…”

- Governor John Winthrop, 1630

On March 4, 1629, King Charles I of England issued a royal charter establishing the Massachusetts Bay Company, a joint-stock trading enterprise that superseded the defunct Dorchester Company and its initial settlement in present-day Salem, Massachusetts. While the Massachusetts Bay Company was commissioned as a commercial venture, most of its stockholders were Puritans—English Protestants who sought to eliminate Catholic vestiges from the Anglican Church. Advocates of Calvinist theology, the Puritans believed in unconditional election—where God himself predestines certain individuals to receive eternal salvation—and strongly emphasized religious piety and moral rectitude in their daily lives. Unlike the separatist Pilgrims, who had established the Plymouth Colony nearly a decade prior, the Puritans aimed to reform the Anglican Church from within.

Notably, the Massachusetts Bay Company charter lacked a critical clause mandating that its board of governors remain organized in England. Several stockholders leveraged this omission by signing the Cambridge Agreement on August 29, 1629. This adjudication stipulated that governance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would reside within New England itself, rather than under absentee authority in London. To facilitate local control, company leaders were expected to emigrate to Massachusetts. Those unwilling to resettle in the New World were divested by their fellow proprietors. With its headquarters and principal stakeholders organized within the colony, Massachusetts Bay achieved a significant degree of governmental autonomy legitimately sanctioned by the English Crown.

In April 1630, John Winthrop—the inaugural governor of Massachusetts Bay—and his Puritan congregation set sail for the New World, intent on establishing a theocratic commonwealth of refined Protestantism where their Calvinistic convictions and righteous social principles would cultivate an exemplary society for global emulation. Winthrop’s convoy reached Salem’s shores on June 12, 1630. Later that September, they established the settlement of Boston, a toponym derived from their origins in Lincolnshire, England.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony experienced substantial population growth during its first decade of settlement—a period known as the “Great Puritan Migration.” This Puritan exodus from England sharply increased after 1633, when Charles I appointed William Laud as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud’s theological inclinations resonated with Arminianism—a branch of Protestantism that rejected strict Calvinism and emphasized free will in achieving salvation. He imposed controversial “Laudian Reforms” that mandated greater uniformity within the Church of England and spurred heightened persecution against dissidents and nonconformists, including Puritans. Additionally, Laud’s deliberate efforts to restore the aesthetic grandeur of pre-Reformation churches was perceived by Puritans as an attempt to revive Catholic practices within the Anglican Church.

Laud’s campaign against nonconformity intensified in 1637 when Puritan writers William Prynne, Henry Burton, and John Bastwick were arrested for publishing pamphlets critical of the archbishop’s ecclesiastical authority. For their transgressions, the three men had their ears cropped and cheeks branded with the letters “SL,” signifying “seditious libeller.” This punitive spectacle of public humiliation was considered exceptionally egregious and further inflamed the growing resentment staunch Protestants felt towards Laud and the trajectory of the Anglican Church.

The Great Puritan Migration came to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642. According to twentieth-century historian James Kendall Hosmer, “immigration suddenly ceased…the grievances which had driven into exile so many of the nonconformists no longer pressed heavily” amidst the unfolding domestic conflict. Alongside a drastic decrease in colonial immigration, an estimated 7% to 11% of colonists, including nearly one-third of clergymen, returned to England to participate in the English Civil War. Conflict-related instability and logistical disruptions drastically decreased transatlantic commerce, impacting the supply of essential cargoes like iron.

Iron was indispensable for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, essential for the production of nails, horseshoes, cookware, and weapons. The manufacturing infrastructure required for iron production was not yet established in the New World, making the colony entirely dependent on imports from England. Even prior to the English Civil War, iron prices had been increasing due to dwindling timber resources and overwhelming demand created by the ongoing Thirty Years' War in Europe. The economic crisis precipitated by the English Civil War further exacerbated iron’s scarcity and expense in Massachusetts.

The colonial government became interested in developing Massachusetts’s abundant natural resources. In 1641, the General Court of the Colony enacted an ordinance entitled “Encouragement to Discovery of Mines.” This legislation granted anyone who discovered mineral deposits exclusive rights to extract and utilize those resources for a period of 21 years.

During the summer of 1641, John Winthrop Jr.— a distinguished scientist and son of the colonial governor—discovered significant iron ore deposits near Boston. The abundance of local resources and clear demand for iron goods presented a compelling business opportunity. Recognizing this potential, Winthrop Jr. sailed to England to recruit capital investors and a skilled workforce. For ironworkers facing unemployment at home, New England represented a new, and potentially lucrative, economic frontier. Likewise, English merchants and financiers viewed Massachusetts’s massive timber reserves as a promising indicator for success. Approximately two dozen investors created the Company of Undertakers of the Iron Works in New England, entrusting Winthrop Jr as their managing agent in Massachusetts.

In 1642, Governor Winthrop and the Court of Assistants granted the Undertakers a 21-year monopoly on ironmaking within the colony and issued generous land grants, tax exemptions, and waivers on mandatory military service. However, the agreement explicitly stated that the ironworks was obligated to satisfy local needs before exporting any products. This provision ensured that Company profits were subordinate to the well-being of the commonwealth.

That same year, Winthrop Jr. selected a site in Braintree (present-day Quincy, Massachusetts) as the location of the colony’s first ironworks. Though completed in 1645, the Braintree Iron Works was largely unsuccessful due to insufficient iron ore and inadequate water supply to power machinery. Consequently, the Company of Undertakers, extremely dissatisfied with Winthrop’s misguided stewardship, replaced him with Richard Leader, an English merchant who possessed greater ironmaking expertise.

After surveying numerous sites, Leader chose a location in Lynn, Massachusetts, situated along the Saugus River, whose banks were abundant with “bog myne”—an iron-rich substance called limonite. Furthermore, the area’s topography provided a natural terrace that dropped precipitously towards the floodplain below, providing sufficient elevation to power the planned ironworks’ waterwheels with manmade dams and canals. Construction commenced in 1646, and the “Hammersmith” blast furnace became operational the following year.

IRON PRODUCTION AT HAMMERSMITH

Early blast furnaces functioned on intensive production cycles called campaigns—continuous smelting periods lasting anywhere from two to eight months. Before each campaign, a slow-burning log fire thoroughly dried out the furnace’s sandstone interior. This procedure, lasting three to six days, was critical to eliminate any residual moisture, as the rapid accumulation of steam within a superheated furnace posed significant risk for catastrophic explosions. Once completely dry, a waterwheel-powered bellows blew air into the furnace to oxygenate its smoldering charcoal fuel, allowing the internal temperature to reach nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the furnace reached smelting temperature, iron ore and flux—a substance that reacts with impurities at high temperatures to create a readily removable waste product called slag—were introduced through the kiln’s aperture. While limestone was a common flux in European production, the Saugus Iron Works utilized gabbro, a calcium-rich igneous rock residual to the Nahant coast. During the reduction process, dense molten iron collected at the bottom of a crucible, while lighter slag byproducts were regularly removed from the surface. Once cooled, workers disposed the solidified slag at the river’s edge. For each ton of iron produced, four to six tons of slag were discarded.

Once or twice daily, the founder “tapped” the furnace, releasing molten iron from the base of the crucible. While some of this fiery liquid was directly ladled into specialized molds to create finished goods, like firebacks and sturdy cookware, the majority of the yield was cast into crude bars called “pigs” or “sows." These bars, typically weighing between 250 and 300 pounds, possessed a very high carbon content, which made them hard, brittle, and unsuitable for most applications without further refinement.

At the forge, sow bars were transformed into more malleable and durable wrought iron “merchant” bars through repeated heating and cooling in the finery hearth. This temperature cycling helped burn off much of the excess carbon. Eventually, the red hot iron formed a spongy mass called a loop. This loop was transferred from the hearth to a cast-iron anvil, where repeated blows from the forge’s 500-pound, waterwheel-powered trip hammer helped shed the charcoal crust and slag particles coating its exterior. The loop was further consolidated into a rectangular "bloom,” then cut into smaller "half-blooms" for easier handling and refinement in the chafery hearth. The final product was an elongated merchant bar, the primary good of Saugus Iron Works.

Some merchant bars were further processed at Hammersmith’s Rolling and Slitting Mill, one of only a dozen such facilities to exist at the time. Inside the mill, wrought iron bars were reheated in a reverberatory furnace and passed through rollers—dense iron cylinders powered by two large overshot waterwheels—forming flat stock of desired thickness, useful in the manufacture of axes, saws, wagon tires, and other tools. Some flats were slit by large shears, creating highly desirable nail rods. These semi-finished goods were transported downriver to Boston and distributed throughout English landholdings in North America, from Newfoundland to Barbados.

THE HANDS THAT FORGED HAMMERSMITH

Many laborers at Hammersmith were indentured servants for the Undertakers—who bankrolled their transatlantic passage—and lived in company-owned tenements east of the Saugus River. Throughout its operational history, the ironworks employed approximately 35 full-time skilled workers and an additional 185 seasonal personnel. Due to the specialized nature of ironwork, indentured servants at Saugus often negotiated relatively advantageous labor contracts and shorter service periods compared to unskilled bonded servants. Typically, these ironworkers became “independent laborers” within seven years.

It is important to distinguish “independent laborers” from "freemen" within the hierarchal social and theocratic structure of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While independent laborers encompassed a broad spectrum of working-class individuals, freemen carried specific religious connotations and sociopolitical privileges. Freemanship was contingent upon church membership, which was inextricably linked to the right to vote. Saugus ironworkers were largely disenfranchised in that regard, since many were motivated by financial incentives rather than religious convictions. Consequently, their livelihoods often conflicted with Puritan ideologies.

Puritan leadership closely regulated Massachusetts Bay’s sociopolitical environment through strict oversight of personal conduct and religious observance. Several “heathenistic” Saugus workers were brought before local magistrates for drunkenness, absence from church, swearing, and violating sumptuary laws. Other laborers faced more serious infractions, such as assault, domestic violence, and attempted murder. Governor Winthrop foresaw potential challenges introducing these “unruly” workers into his Puritan community and petitioned for mandatory religious instruction; however, the Undertakers denied his request.

In May 1650, Richard Leader resigned from his position at Saugus Iron Works. His departure stemmed from persistent complaints and disagreements with the Undertakers. John Gifford was appointed as Leader’s successor.

One of Gifford’s earliest managerial tasks involved integrating Scottish prisoners-of-war into the Saugus workforce. Many of these men had been captured following the Battle of Dunbar on September 3, 1650; a decisive engagement where 21,000 hastily conscripted Scottish Covenanters—who supported the restoration of the English monarchy—were defeated by Oliver Cromwell's 12,000 Parliamentarian troops. Approximately 3,000 Scots lost their lives during the engagement while the English sustained only a few dozen casualties. Cromwell’s victorious army forcibly marched nearly 5,000 Scottish prisoners-of-war to Durham Castle and Cathedral—an arduous hundred-mile journey that claimed an estimated 1,600 lives. Many more succumbed to starvation and disease inside Durham’s prisons.

Burdened by the Scottish blight, English authorities sought solutions for their disposition. John Becx, the principal investor in the Saugus Iron Works, proposed their forced indenture in Massachusetts. Sixty Scottish prisoners were subsequently transported to Boston, arriving in December 1650 aboard the ship Unity. These individuals primarily participated in nonskilled labor, receiving only basic living necessities for their efforts. The Puritan minister John Cotton defended the practice, writing “The Scots, whom God delivered into your hands at Dunbarre (sic), and whereof sundry were sent hither, we have been desirous (as we could) to make their yoke easy.” By 1653, only 37 Scottish prisoners remained at Saugus.

Despite reaching peak production under Gifford, the ironworks also incurred its heaviest debts. Concerned about Gifford's "imprudent" spending habits, the Undertakers appointed four local commissioners—Robert Bridges, Joshua Foote, Henry Webb, and William Tying—to supervise the Saugus operation, effectively functioning as "de facto owner-managers.” In 1653, Gifford filed multiple lawsuits against the Undertakers, claiming delinquent salary, unpaid compensation for company expenses, and breach of contract. The Company countered with their own extensive litigation, accusing Gifford of fraud, embezzlement, and falsification of business records. This cascade of contentious legal conflict destabilized the Saugus Iron Works; production faltered and company creditors seized the operation. In October 1657, the Massachusetts General Court revoked the Undertakers’ monopoly on iron, citing their insufficient supply and inflated prices. The Saugus Iron Works languished for over a decade before its blast furnaces were permanently extinguished in 1668.

“A SHRINE TO PIONEERS OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY”

The restoration of Hammersmith began with a case of mistaken identity. While centuries of neglect had gradually deteriorated the original industrial complex, one seventeenth-century structure remained standing: the “Ironmaster’s House.” This building—which served as a tenement for mill workers during the nineteenth century—was believed to date back to the ironworks’ active period; however, later dendrochronological analysis revealed that its construction actually occurred during the 1680s, two decades after Saugus shuttered. Motivated by this misconception, local historians fought for the home’s preservation.

In 1915, William Sumner Appleton—founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA)—facilitated the property’s sale to Wallace Nutting, a prominent antiquarian and skilled photographer. With the help of architect Henry Charles Dean, Nutting restored the building to its original seventeenth-century appearance and utilized the space to showcase his extensive catalogue of colonial furniture reproductions. Nutting’s endeavors at this property helped popularize the Colonial Revival Movement, which inspired a renewed appreciation for early American architecture, décor, and cultural arts.

In 1941, the Ironmaster’s House was acquired by the Henry Ford Trade School Alumni Association, which intended to relocate the structure to Greenfield Village—an open-air American history museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The prospect of losing such a significant historical landmark sparked overwhelming disapproval from the Saugus community. After extensive solicitation, Ford agreed to relinquish the purchase if the Trade School was compensated for its incurred expenses. In 1943, the First Iron Works Association (FIWA)—a newly-formed grassroots preservation society established by William Appleton—launched a successful fundraising campaign that generated nearly $12,000. This sum, collected primarily through small individual donations, enabled FIWA to purchase the Ironmaster’s House and ensure its preservation in Saugus.

A major philanthropic contributor to this preservation campaign was Quincy Bent, a former vice president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Though initially unimpressed with Ironmaster’s House itself, Bent found particular significance with an adjacent slag pile, indicative of the lost ironworks. Recognizing the site’s latent historic potential, Bent successfully petitioned the American Iron and Steel Institute to provide financial support for a thorough archaeological investigation.

In 1948, Roland Robbins—an amateur archaeologist who received public recognition for locating Henry David Thoreau’s house at Walden Pond—performed preliminary excavations at the Saugus Iron Works site. Over the next few years, Robbins’ archaeological team unearthed some remarkable relics including a five-hundred-pound hammerhead, a large section of the wooden waterwheel, and the structural remnants of the main ironworks buildings. These discoveries directly guided the Saugus Iron Works Reconstruction (1951 – 1954), an ambitious $2.35 million project that rebuilt the colonial-era industrial complex upon its original foundations. The Saugus Iron Works opened to the public in September 1954 and was acquired by the National Park Service fourteen years later.

Despite its significant contributions to American industry, Saugus remains one of the least-visited historic sites within the national park system. The current complex—which includes a reconstructed Blast Furnace, Forge, and Rolling and Slitting Mill—provides compelling insights into seventeenth-century industry and engineering innovations. Complementary structures, such as the Blacksmith Shop and Dock, reveal the broader scope of daily life at the ironworks. The visitor experience is further enhanced by the Iron Works House and museum, which feature informative exhibits about local Native American history, early ironmaking processes, archaeological recoveries, and the sociocultural landscape of Hammersmith.

The legacy of Saugus Iron Works extends far beyond its physical remnants. It was the birthplace of American iron manufacturing; an industry whose subsequent growth and innovation fundamentally reshaped the nation's socioeconomic landscape. Rescued from obscurity, Saugus endures as a tangible testament to the modest beginnings of American industrialization.