Katahdin Iron Works
Encyclopedia
Katahdin Iron Works is a Maine
state historic site located in the unorganized township of the same name. The state's property contains Gulf Hagas, a canyon on the West Branch
of the Pleasant River
that is a National Natural Landmark
. About a mile and a half downriver is another national landmark, "The Hermitage", a roughly 35 acres (14.2 ha) grove of large Eastern White Pine
trees that is preserved by The Nature Conservancy
. In 2003, the Appalachian Mountain Club
acquired a 37000 acres (14,973.4 ha) property upriver from Gulf Hagas that it named Katahdin Iron Works.
gossan
, a form of iron ore, was discovered on nearby Ore Mountain. The gossan was the primary source of mined ore. It overlaid a pyrrhotite
deposit of iron sulfide ore. Assuming the depth matches the known surface area, this deposit would be among the world's largest sulfide
deposits. However, the rural location and poor quality of the ore continues to make it uneconomic to mine.
Piscataquis Iron Works Company enlarged the mining operation in 1876 to the most significant iron works in the state. Eighteen beehive kilns converted wood to charcoal
for a 55-foot high rock blast furnace
producing about 2,000 ton
s of pig iron
annually. A company town
was constructed where the West Branch of the Pleasant River flows out of Silver Lake with a town hall, school, post office, cooperative store, and homes for 200 families. The 19-mile (31-km) Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway was built in 1881 to connect the town with what would become the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
at Milo, Maine.
The Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railroad was leased to the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad in 1887. Annual conversion 10,000 cords
(36,000 m³) of wood to charcoal exhausted local forests by 1888. Iron with lower sulphur content became available from Michigan. Most of the smelting equipment was shipped to Nova Scotia
in 1890. The Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad became the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in 1891. The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad discontinued train service to Katahdin Iron Works in 1922; but Katahdin Iron Works postmistress Sara Green operated a flanged-wheel automobile over the abandoned tracks until the rails were removed in 1933. The state has restored the blast furnace and one of the beehive charcoal kilns; these and some of the foundations for other buildings are all that remain of the mill and village.
Records from the mill can be found at the University of Maine
's Fogler Library.
. The river falls 500 feet (152.4 m) in the canyon, including multiple waterfall
s. It is sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of the East". It is an eight mile (round trip) side trip off the 100-Mile Wilderness
section of the Appalachian Trail
.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
state historic site located in the unorganized township of the same name. The state's property contains Gulf Hagas, a canyon on the West Branch
West Branch Pleasant River (Piscataquis River)
The West Branch Pleasant River is a tributary of the Piscataquis River in Piscataquis County, Maine. From a location north of Fourth West Branch Pond in Shawtown , the river runs about counterclockwise around the White Cap Mountain massif, then about southeast to its confluence with the East...
of the Pleasant River
Pleasant River (Piscataquis River)
The Pleasant River is a tributary of the Piscataquis River in Piscataquis County, Maine. From the confluence of the East Branch and West Branch in Brownville, the river runs south and southeast to its mouth on the Piscataquis in Medford.-References:**...
that is a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
. About a mile and a half downriver is another national landmark, "The Hermitage", a roughly 35 acres (14.2 ha) grove of large Eastern White Pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
trees that is preserved by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
. In 2003, the Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
acquired a 37000 acres (14,973.4 ha) property upriver from Gulf Hagas that it named Katahdin Iron Works.
Iron Works
In 1843, a limoniteLimonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
gossan
Gossan
Gossan is intensely oxidized, weathered or decomposed rock, usually the upper and exposed part of an ore deposit or mineral vein. In the classic gossan or iron cap all that remains is iron oxides and quartz often in the form of boxworks, quartz lined cavities retaining the shape of the dissolved...
, a form of iron ore, was discovered on nearby Ore Mountain. The gossan was the primary source of mined ore. It overlaid a pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite is an unusual iron sulfide mineral with a variable iron content: FeS . The FeS endmember is known as troilite. Pyrrhotite is also called magnetic pyrite because the color is similar to pyrite and it is weakly magnetic...
deposit of iron sulfide ore. Assuming the depth matches the known surface area, this deposit would be among the world's largest sulfide
Sulfide
A sulfide is an anion of sulfur in its lowest oxidation state of 2-. Sulfide is also a slightly archaic term for thioethers, a common type of organosulfur compound that are well known for their bad odors.- Properties :...
deposits. However, the rural location and poor quality of the ore continues to make it uneconomic to mine.
Piscataquis Iron Works Company enlarged the mining operation in 1876 to the most significant iron works in the state. Eighteen beehive kilns converted wood to charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
for a 55-foot high rock blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
producing about 2,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
annually. A company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
was constructed where the West Branch of the Pleasant River flows out of Silver Lake with a town hall, school, post office, cooperative store, and homes for 200 families. The 19-mile (31-km) Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railway was built in 1881 to connect the town with what would become the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
at Milo, Maine.
Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Locomotives
| Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amoskeag Locomotive Works Amoskeag Locomotive Works The Amoskeag Locomotive Works, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, built steam locomotives at the dawn of the railroad era in the United States.... |
4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels... |
1852 | originally Maine Central Railroad Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S... #43; named Black Moria; became Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad #6; retired 1899 |
|
| 2 | Hinkley Locomotive Works Hinkley Locomotive Works Hinkley Locomotive Works was one of a number of railroad steam locomotive manufacturers of the United States in the 19th century.-History:The company that was to become known as Hinkley Locomotive Works got its start in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1831. Holmes Hinkley and his partner Daniel F... |
4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels... |
1868 | 867 | named Argyllite; retired 1887 |
| 3 | Manchester Locomotive Works Manchester Locomotive Works Manchester Locomotive Works was a manufacturing company located in Manchester, New Hampshire, that built steam locomotives in the 19th century. The first locomotive they built was for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in March 1855. In 1901, Manchester and seven other locomotive... |
4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels... |
January 1884 | 1172 | purchased new; became Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad #7; then Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Bangor and Aroostook Railroad The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces... #209; scrapped 1914 |
The Bangor and Katahdin Iron Works Railroad was leased to the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad in 1887. Annual conversion 10,000 cords
Cord (unit of volume)
The cord is a unit of measure of dry volume used in Canada and the United States to measure firewood and pulpwood. A cord is the amount of wood that, when "ranked and well stowed" , occupies a volume of...
(36,000 m³) of wood to charcoal exhausted local forests by 1888. Iron with lower sulphur content became available from Michigan. Most of the smelting equipment was shipped to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
in 1890. The Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad became the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in 1891. The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad discontinued train service to Katahdin Iron Works in 1922; but Katahdin Iron Works postmistress Sara Green operated a flanged-wheel automobile over the abandoned tracks until the rails were removed in 1933. The state has restored the blast furnace and one of the beehive charcoal kilns; these and some of the foundations for other buildings are all that remain of the mill and village.
Records from the mill can be found at the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
's Fogler Library.
Gulf Hagas
Gulf Hagas is a two and a half mile (4 km) long water-formed canyonCanyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
. The river falls 500 feet (152.4 m) in the canyon, including multiple waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s. It is sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of the East". It is an eight mile (round trip) side trip off the 100-Mile Wilderness
100-Mile Wilderness
The Hundred-Mile Wilderness is the section of the Appalachian Trail running between Abol Bridge just south of Baxter State Park and Monson, Maine, USA. It is generally considered the wildest section of the Appalachian Trail. This section of the A.T. is crossed by several logging roads and is...
section of the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
.
External links
- Site webpage from Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
- History from Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
- Gulf Hagas Information from North Maine Woods, Inc.