Collier huts
While producing charcoal, colliers stayed in temporary huts they constructed located near their hearths[1]. Colliers tended to multiple charcoal hearths while they lived on the mountain[2]. Each hearth took approximately two weeks to complete. A collier would mind a hearth closely for the first couple of days; after that, he would spend time starting a new hearth. Colliers could typically tend up to eight hearths at a time[3].
Construction
Collier huts were conical[4], with a base eight feet across and ten feet high[5]. Three inch poles that sloped inward[6] and were bound at the top were used as the basic structure for the huts and the spaces between the poles were filled in with smaller pieces of wood. Leaves and soil were packed in to act as insulation by filling in the gaps between posts[7]. Additionally, collier huts consisted of: a hearth; a small door, which hung on framework[8] and was approximately four to six feet in height[9], and cots constructed out of logs[10]. When identifying the remains of a collier hut, important features to look for are: a trench; a berm, which may have an opening where the door would have been; and a circular depression in the center of these[11].
Location
A collier would construct his hut in a location as central to the charcoal pits he was burning as possible, and would have laid out the hut so that the wooden door, which was large enough for one man to fit through[12], faced the pits[13]. Throughout the charcoal production process, the charcoal hearths required constant tending to throughout the day and night. If a collier let the fire consume his wood completely, he would be charged for its loss; so proximity to one's hearths was very important[14]. The indication of a good collier was one who obtained a high-yield of quality charcoal from the wood he used[15].
Notes
- ↑ Walker 1966, 242
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Peate and Walton 1958, 58
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Peate and Walton 1958, 58
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Peate and Walton 1958, 60
- ↑ Peate and Walton 1958, 62
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Carter et al. 2019, 43-44
- ↑ Kemper 1941, 8
- ↑ Walker 1966, 242
- ↑ Walker 1966, 247
- ↑ Walker 1966, 245
References
- Kemper, Jackson. 1941. American Charcoal Making in the Era of the Cold-Blast Furnace. History 14. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior; National Park Service.
- Peate, Iorwerth C. and James Walton. 1958. "Charcoal Burners Huts." Gerwin, Vol. 2 (2), 58-67.
- Walker, Joseph E. 1966. Hopewell Village; a Social and Economic History of an Iron-Making Community. Philadelphia,: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.