East Penn Forge
The forge was established by Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) and Samuel Helffrich in 1828[1]. The land for the forge was purchased in East Penn, Carbon County, near Pennsville[2]. After Helffrich's death in 1830, Balliet purchased his share in 1832, bringing his land total to around seven hundred acres[3].
Samuel Lewis 1805-1897 was the manager of the forge and the Lehigh Furnace from 1828 to 1832[4]. Charles H. Nimson, husband of Elmira S. Hallman, who was the granddaughter of Stephen Balliet (1753-1821), purchased the forge from the Balliet estate in 1857[5] and was listed as an ironmaster in the 1860 census[1][6].
Forge Statements
In an 1850 survey of the ironworks in Eastern Pennsylvania, two forges were listed as being operational in Carbon County[7].
In 1866 it was reported that the "Pennsville" Forge had four forge fires (though only one was in use) and two hammers. The forge was driven by water[8]. In 1849 the forge made fifty tons of bars. In 1850 the forge employed twenty-four men and boys and a total of four oxen, horses, and mules[9]. The lives of the Balliets and other owners varied from the Lives of Workers. In 1855, the forge made eighteen tons of blooms and twenty-seven tons of bars[10].
Notes
- ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
- ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
- ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
- ↑ The Allentown Leader 1897, 1
- ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 723
- ↑ United States Census 1860
- ↑ Convention of Iron Masters 1850, 135
- ↑ Lesley 1866, 172
- ↑ Convention of Iron Masters 1850, 138
- ↑ Lesley 1866, 172
Reference List
- Convention of Iron Masters. 1850. Documents Relating to the Manufacture of Iron in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: General Committee. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000958393.
- Lesley, Peter. 1866. The Iron Manufacturer’s Guide to the Furnaces, Forges and Rolling Mills of the United States; with Discussions of Iron, Etc. New York,: John Wiley [2].
- Mathews, Alfred, and Austin N. Hungerford. 1884. History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts & Richards.
- The Allentown Leader. 1897. The End Has Come. Samuel Lewis, Pioneer Iron Master, Passes Away, July 31, 1897.
- "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBSD-C2B?cc=1473181&wc=7QL9-Y6C%3A1589434177%2C1589434982%2C1589435676 : 24 March 2017), Pennsylvania > Carbon > East Penn Township > image 1 of 22; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).