The Historic Village at Allaire

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The Casting Shed and Furnace Complex- Howell Works Logo 1836 Like other Pine Barrens ironworks, the Blast Furnace at the Howell Works was the heart of the ironworks. A furnace extracted the iron from the bog ore. Once the ore has been obtained, it has to be smelted by intense heat to derive the metal (iron). Therefore, in addition to bog ore...other substances are necessary for the production of iron: flux (oyster shells) and a reducing agent (charcoal).

The forests of the Pine Barrens provided an almost unlimited source of wood that was used to make charcoal for the furnaces, and the Howell Works was no exception. Allaire bought more and more acres of timberland so it could be converted into charcoal to fuel the furnace. It took form one hundred to three hundred bushels of charcoal to produce one ton of iron. The woods were cut off in sections and grew back in about twenty years average. Woodchoppers were employed, and often paid by the "cords" they cut. Cords were simply (stacks of sic) logs of wood measuring eight feet long, four feet wide and four feet high.

Forest fires and arsonists were the iron master's biggest fear - and common occurrences. Allaire once offered a $200 monetary reward for the capture of the arsonist that lit acres of his timber in 1836.

Charcoal was the only fuel used in America that generated sufficient heat to smelt the iron ore. Charcoal is partially burned wood form which the water, volatile gasses, tars, resins and impurities have been driven off leaving a residue of practically pure carbon. Aldren Cottrell, noted historian, describes the making of charcoal as follows:

The Fergin

"Charcoal is made by piling wood in the form of a beehive or an inverted cone with the top cut off. Any kind of wood can be used, although certain woods are preferred for certain uses for reasons either fanciful or real. The collier, or charcoal burner, begins his pit by sticking a pole bout three inches in diameter and 10 feet in height into the ground. This is the 'fergin' and marks the centre of the pit. Some colliers then lay a 'guide pole' on the ground butted against the fergin. The length of the pole varies, but it indicates the radius since the end of this pole represents the outer limit of the pit. Plenty of fin kindling is stacked against the fergin. Then beginning at the centre the collier stacks wood against the fergin, round and round working from the centre out, making a circular pit until he reaches the outer end of the pole on the ground.

The collier has left an archway through which the pit can be ignited. If he is using wood in four foot lengths, he places a second tier on top of the first. When this is completed and the wood is stacked he is ready to place the 'floats.' Some colliers use a triangular crib in the centre that acts as a chimney. This takes the place of the fergin and is simply another method of building a pit. In the New Jersey Pine Barrens, 'floats,' sod or moss used to cover the wood, are readily available in the low wet ground. The matted roots, leaves and ground cover are placed against the pit and the sand or dirt side is exposed. The floats are carefully placed and compacted so that the pit is almost airtight. When the pit has been completely covered, it is ready to 'fire.' The collier fires the pit through an archway that was left in the building process. Running a long pole with kerosene rags wrapped around the end through the archway, he lights the kindling then closes it.

Completed Collier's Mound The pit has now been fired. provisions must be made for the smoke and gasses to escape and for sufficient draft to keep the pit burning. This is accomplished by the collier who, with a shovel handle, makes a series of holes about two feet apart through the floats around the entire circumference of the pit. A second series of holes is made above the fires. Adequate drafts are then created." *7

During the burning process, gasses, tar and resins are driven out of the wood and the pit is reduced considerably in size and tends to shift form its normal shape. The length of time and color of the smoke were [principal indicators to the collier that the process was complete. When complete, the collier closed in the drafts, smothering the fire. The mound would cool for a day before begin taken apart and the charcoal was transported to the Charcoal Depot for storage. Colliers were highly skilled workers at the Howell Works and usually paid based on how much charcoal they produced. One false move could engulf the whole charcoal pit in flames, destroying the valuable timberland and earning the collier no money. *8