Label
Parlor Stove
Manufactured by C. & E. L. Granger Company, Pittsford
Cast iron, circa 1840
Gift of J. Brooks Buxton, Jericho
Iron furnaces and foundries that manufactured stoves, tools, and all manner of hardware flourished in Vermont during the first half of the nineteenth century. In addition to Pittsford, large operations prospered in the Forestdale section of Brandon, the village of Tyson in Plymouth, and Poultney. Stylish stoves such as this one are the primary survivors from this era when whole villages grew up around the iron industry.
The Granger family purchased the Furnaceville section of Pittsford in 1826 and ran the furnace and foundry there as a successful operation until the 1850s. The prosperous village on the western side of town was renamed Orangerville and also included a store, sawmill, grist mill, dairy plant, carpenter shop, machine shop, blacksmith shop and company housing. Simeon Granger and his sons Lyman, Chester, Edward, and Renselear used the iron mined from neighboring Chittenden to make stoves, kettles, and all other types of iron implements. The company changed its names a few time while owned by the family from Simeon Granger and Sons (1826-1835), C. and E. L. Granger (1836-1846), and Granger, Hodges & Company (1847-1852). By the 1850s the local supply of iron was depleted and costs for importing raw materials increased as did competition from the west. Though others tried to re-open the foundry and furnace in the 1860s and again later in the century, Grangerville was never the thriving village it once was.