Aspects of Slavery and Freedom Seeking in North Carolina
Earth-Labor-Iron Working
Much like gold, iron works began in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Ore is found in the earth and soil from places such as Lincoln County, which was rich with ore.
Extraction of iron from the ore requires extreme heat. The use of a furnace was one the earliest discovered methods for extracting iron from ore (ore is rock that contain metals such as iron) until forges and bloomeries were used to complete the process. Despite the fact that ore was discovered in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and there was talk among politicians and businessmen of the state to focus on producing iron, there were few furnaces in North Carolina before the 1800s. However, by the antebellum period, there was increased interest in iron. Nonetheless, much like gold mining, enslaved people that mined and processed the ore to make iron often did so during the agricultural off-season. In other words, iron ore was a secondary focus on slaveholders in the region, mainly second to cotton.
In 1810, there were 18 iron producing forges in North Carolina: “Six in Lincoln county, one in Iredell county, five in Surry county, and six in Buncombe county.” ‘For most of the antebellum period North Carolina iron works served local and nearby markers, such as providing utensil for “backcountry trade.”’
The enslaved in North Carolina, as one can see, performed multiple jobs and were skilled in many different industries. What did they do? It often depended on the season, what and when did they came out of the earth (they were seasonal workers as well as full-time workers), the market value of the product they would produce, and how it benefited the slaveholder.
Slaveholders ensured that slaves performed tasks that were most profitable for them and that extra work did not conflict with the most profitable product.
Enslaved persons performed a range of different tasks to help extract iron from the ore. They cut the wood for charcoal, some hauled the wood to the furnace, whereas some had the opportunity to learn skilled work and learned to forge.
The hardest work in the process of making charcoal not only required a lot of labor but also a lot of resources, such as land, specifically land with hemlock and pine trees, which was “preferred [trees] for charcoal production.”
Much like the gold and railroad industry, enslaved labor was most preferred. When the profitableness of using enslaved labor was questioned, industry leaders believe the permanency was a benefit and their “skill and ingenuity” was an advantage.
Although most of the instances of enslaved people engaging in iron works were owned by a slaveholder or small company, enslaved people were also hired to perform iron work as well.
John Fulenwider of Lincoln county was one of the most well-known industry leaders of iron work in North Carolina. In 1823, he produced 900 tons of iron. Enslaved people worked the ten forges and four furnaces he owned. When he died in 1826, his estate contained enslaved people, a plantation of 20,000 acres, iron works, worth more than $50,000, which he left to his four sons. Fulenwider was one of the first in the area to make pig iron from iron ore. His iron, through the work of slaves and others who worked for Fulenwider, was used to make cannonballs for the American army during the War of 1812.
Iron works were also located in Rockingham and Chatham counties before railroads and increased interest in North Carolina iron works. Iron making in North Carolina had a limited market and a greater impact on the local markets.
Iron making never reached the levels of interests or high production, such as cotton or rice, mainly due to the lack of transportation improvements, as railroads were not accessible by iron manufacturers until the 1840s.
The craze for railroads in the 1840s produced greater demand for North Carolina iron. This directly led to an increase; forges were mostly located in the western region of the state: Surry, Cleveland, Rutherford, Ashe, Watauga, and Cherokee counties. By the mid to late antebellum period, bloomery forges were used instead of furnaces.
Enslaved persons being hired-out to industries sometimes presented opportunities for enslaved people to escape, and iron work was not different.
$750 REWARD. I WILL PAY $500 for the apprehension and delivery to me at the Endor Iron Works or for his confinement in any jail in the State so that I can get him of a desperate negro called CHARLES HUNTER, who committed an assault on our overseer, and stole from him one of Colt s Navy Pistols, with which he is now armed. Said Negro is a bright Mulatto, with a freckled face, has a reddish appearance about the eyes, with a bushy head of red hair. His age is about 30. Stammers in speech. When last seen he had a faded suit of cotton clothing, and a light colored wool hat. I will also pay $250 for the apprehension and delivery to me of FURNEY, belonging to John W. Gunter. Said Negro is dark skinned, not quite black; stout and well made; is probably about 20 years of age. When last seen he had on a very ragged suit of clothes and no shoes. W. S. DOWNER, Pres Endor Iron Co. Endor Iron Works, Chatham Co. N. C., June