The choice of method for making wrought iron in the Salisbury District of Connecticut

Abstract

Connecticut makers of wrought iron used bloomery smelting, fining, and wood-fired puddling through the first half of the 19th century to build the high reputation of Salisbury iron. Data from account books and ledgers coupled with material evidence from forge and furnace sites show the advantages that each technique offered over the others. Transportation costs and the prices of the grades of iron made by each process were the principal factors that determined ironmaker’s choice of method.