“Bog iron is a form of impure iron deposit that can develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidations of iron carried in solution”. Why is this of interest to Rochester history?
The iron -bearing groundwater that helps to create bog iron typically emerges as a spring or bog of which Rochester has many. The presence of bog iron in the regions’ swamps, ponds, lakes and rivers was one of the reasons that the Proprietors and other settlers were interested in purchasing the lands of the area that would become Old Rochester.
The existence of bog iron led to the creation of several foundries or furnaces in the area. The iron ore, naturally occurring, would be retrieved from the water using long handled tongs. Depending on the depth of the water this could be dangerous. More than one drowning has been attributed to the attempt to bring up ore.
Lake Quitticus had probably the largest deposits of ore, but several sections of Rochester had foundries on ponds or streams. In 1725, Major Edward Winslow of Snipatuit was given permission to set up an iron mill “on the Mattapoisett River”, but it doesn’t appear that any iron work was done there. However, north of there at the site of the Hartley Sawmill, there are traces of an old “iron industry” and this is most likely where Major Winslow’s iron works were located.
At an early date, there was an iron works mill at Leonard’s Pond, known as Sippican Mills. By 1821, in that location, there was a forge, a trip-hammer and a foundry, all on the Sippican River. The trip-hammer converted the recovered ore into “blooms”(masses of iron of oblong shape.) The blooms were sent onto Wareham to be made into nails.
Another active area of iron work was in North Rochester. It began with a mill contract between Abisha Tinkham of Middleboro and Benjamin Coombs of Rochester who were first owners of a sawmill-gristmill dam on the Black River now known as the Black Brook. Both men agreed to join with others, including Joseph Peirce and Hopestill Bisbee of Rochester to build a dam for “making and casting hollow ware or cast iron”. At the Stillwater Mills, the blast furnace became known as “Stillwater Furnace.” The Stillwater name came from the slow passage of the water in the river. It moved so slowly that you couldn’t hear it.
This furnace operated only in the winter when the water levels were high. The crude ore was melted in a “pudding” furnace and iron castings were made. By 1778, the Stillwater Mills, including the smelting furnace, the gristmill and shingle mill were earning healthy profits for the men who owned them. In the early 1800’s the mills employed 40 men.
Over the years the original owners sold to others. They were able to operate the furnace successfully until the supply of bog ore was used up. The furnace closed and by 1818 it was torn down. After that, various people bought the remaining mills at auction. They were fitted with turbine wheels and operated as sawmills cutting logs into boards.
The end of this industrial era came when the City of New Bedford took over Great Quittacas to create a drinking water reservoir. The buildings were demolished because it was feared they would hurt the purity of the water.
The picture shows all that remains today. Hidden by water, trees and bushes is the foundation of the furnace. Our current exhibit (available to visit by appointment) contains a map showing the various locations of the mills which over the years were a source of jobs to many.
By Connie Eshbach