Labor
Saugus
Iron Works
This
is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America,
1646-68. It includes the reconstructed blast furnace, forge, rolling
mill, and a restored seventeenth century house.
With
the archeological site of the seventeenth-century iron-making plant,
the museum collection, the seventeenth-century Iron Works House,
and the reconstructed iron works complex, Saugus Iron Works National
Historic Site illustrates the critical role of iron making to seventeenth-century
settlement and its legacy in shaping the early history of the nation.
The site's enclave setting on the Saugus River, featuring an open-air
museum with working waterwheels, evokes a unique experience for
park visitors. These resources demonstrate seventeenth-century engineering
and design methods, iron-making technology and operations, local
and overseas trade, and life and work in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The
original manufacturing site served as a training ground for skilled
iron workers for what would become America's iron and steel industry.
Iron making provided the infrastructure for the rise of other colonial
industries. Called, "the forerunner of America's industrial giants,"
the site served as a center for technology, innovation and invention.
The site interprets early industrial manufacturing, with its enduring
social, political and environmental ramifications.
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