A small, primitive hearth or furnace, where small amounts of iron may
have been smelted during the early part of the 17th century, was
uncovered during archeological explorations in 1955. A few miles upriver
from Jamestown, at Falling Creek, the English built their first iron
furnace in America in 1620-21. Iron was smelted in the furnace, and a
few tools were forged--the first iron objects made in the New World by
the English. In 1622 the Indians massacred the ironworkers and their
families, and destroyed the furnace. Although it was never rebuilt, its
importance cannot be overstressed, for the Falling Creek site can
rightfully claim the honor of being the birthplace of the American iron
industry.
[Illustration: A FEW OF MANY TOOLS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE
USED FOR TIMBERING: FELLING AXES, A HEWING AXE, ADZE, HATCHET, WEDGE,
AND SAW FRAGMENT.]
[Illustration: MAKING "TRIALLS" OF IRON. EVIDENCES OF AN EARTH OVEN OR
SMALL FURNACE WERE DISCOVERED AT JAMESTOWN DURING ARCHEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS. SMALL AMOUNTS OF IRON MAY HAVE BEEN SMELTED IN THE FURNACE
DURING THE EARLY YEARS OF THE SETTLEMENT. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney
E. King.)]