Name/Title
Iron Works RecordsEntry/Object ID
MSS-03-007Scope and Content
This collection contains documents, articles, personal correspondence, and ledgers from Iron Works throughout Bristol County, Massachusetts, beginning in 1652.Context
The history of ironmaking in Taunton is inseparable from the history of the Leonard family. As Dr. Perez Fobes observed in 1797, "Where you can find iron works, there will you find a Leonard." Indeed, Taunton became widely known as "the land of the Leonards," whose members played a central role in the development of the region's iron industry for more than two centuries.
The first successful ironworks in the colonies was established in Massachusetts. The Leonard family, whose documented history in England and France dates to the early sixteenth century, became closely associated with the growth of the iron industry in New England.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, ironworks were the industrial predecessors of the mills that later lined many New England rivers. The Leonards were described as a "sturdy, strong-fibred and gristly clan," and their descendants became one of the most numerous family groups in the Old Colony region.
The following list, while not exhaustive, identifies some of the principal forges and ironworks established or operated by members of the Leonard family in early America:
• Braintree Forge (1643) - James Leonard
• Lynn (Saugus) Iron Works (1645) - James and Henry Leonard
• Ancient Iron Works, Taunton (later Raynham) (1656) - Original James Leonard Forge
• Whittenton Iron Works on the Mill River, Taunton (later Raynham) (1670) - James Leonard
• Chartley Iron Works, North Taunton Purchase (1696) - James Leonard Jr. and Capt. Thomas Leonard; George Leonard became sole owner in 1713
• Hopewell Iron Works (1739) - Capt. Zephaniah Leonard; operated by Samuel Leonard beginning in 1782
• Small Foundry below Whittenton Mills, Taunton (1845) - Deacon Lemuel L. Leonard
• Old Colony Iron Works (1824) - Horatio Leonard & Co.
In addition to these enterprises, numerous other bloomeries and foundries operated throughout the region, although they were not under Leonard family ownership or management.Archive Details
Archive Size/Extent
2 Boxes. Box #1 containing 13 folders of documents and Box #2 contains 10 ledgers and 2 notebooks.
