MG-346. CORNWALL FURNACE AND HOPEWELL FORGE ACCOUNT BOOKS, 1752-1966.
Peter Grubb developed Cornwall Furnace and Hopewell Forge several miles apart on Hammer Creek in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Around 1739, construction began at Cornwall, which was to supply the Hopewell Forge with pig iron. Cornwall Furnace was a large blast furnace and had a monopoly on the smelting of iron ore in the area for its first fifty years of operation. By 1790, both facilities were under the control of iron magnate Robert Coleman, who spent twelve years purchasing the works from Grubb’s heirs, giving him full ownership in 1803. Cornwall Furnace remained in operation until disbanded in 1883; the site was donated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1932. The journals and ledgers in this collection date from the era of Peter Grubb’s ownership.
HOPEWELL FORGE
Journals, 1753-1764.
• Journal, 1757, includes several entries for "Negro John." (October 15, 1757: items charged were 10 buttons, tape, 1 yd. flannel).
• Journal, 1759, in the Sundry Accounts is listed "the purchase of 1 Negro Man, 80.00 and 1 Negro Woman, 50.00.
• Journal, 1762, mentions a credit to "Negroe Jack (Barbados)" and "Negroe Tom" for overcharging on washing, April 10, 1762