Forged Forests: Landscapes of Iron in Salisbury, Connecticut

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Between 1762 and 1847, Salisbury Connecticut was home to Riga Ironworks, one of forty nearby blast furnaces which processed iron ore for highly prized cannons and anchors, among other objects of an emerging United States militarism. During this time, the Riga furnace supported a thriving town’s economy and identity. Today, the rural landscape is dotted with relict hearths, evidence of grueling charcoal-production that fueled the industry. Research in the surrounding region has considered the craft of ironmaking itself, as well as traces of relict hearths in forest sediments. In this paper, I consider the historical ecology of collier work, analyzing relict hearth charcoal in the context of landscape level forest change at and after the height of New England’s iron industry. Framing my landscape investigations with local histories, I present charcoaling as a transformative social and ecological process with equally enduring impacts on local forests and understandings of the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow