Asking Large Questions in Small Places: The Slave Ironworkers of Buffalo Forge and Oxford Furnace, Virginia
Dr. Charles B. Dew’s free program at the Lynchburg Public Library on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at 2 pm will focus on these little-known aspects of local history.
A native of Florida , Dr. Dew is currently Ephraim Williams Professor of History at Williams College in Massachusetts and the award-winning author of several books including: Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works, Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge, and Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War.
Dr. Dew’s study of Central Virginia iron works started over 30 years ago; his article: David Ross and the Oxford Iron Works: A Study of Industrial Slavery in the Early 19th Century South was published in the William and Mary Quarterly of April, 1974. The Virginia Historical Society owns the 1812-1813 letterbook for the Oxford Furnace Iron Works, which operated in Campbell County just east of Lynchburg from before the Revolutionary War until about 1870. David Ross acquired Oxford Furnace in 1776 and made munitions and supplies for the Continental Army as well as household, farm, and industrial wares.
As Dew researched the letterbook and other sources, he found a fascinating story of early 19 th century life in Central Virginia. Ross lived in Petersburg and his Oxford operation grew to over 24,000 acres with four plantations, grist mill, a batteau fleet, blast furnaces, and forges. Except for a white manager, a miller, and a carpenter, other work was done by a slave force of over 225 people with a slave named Abram in charge of the iron works. The slaves grew the crops, milled grain, operated the boats hauling iron to Richmond , and did the skilled work of turning iron ore into products.
Buffalo Forge was an ironworks located near Glasgow , Virginia and Dew’s research revealed a similar story of skilled slave workmen, an owner who often let his slaves decide where they would work, slaves who did extra work and were paid in cash, and an intricate story of human relationships within the framework of master and slave. This is the basis for Bonds of Iron.
There will be a reception following the program and Dr. Dew will be available to sign copies of his books. A limited number of his books will be available for sale. The program is sponsored by the Lynchburg Public Library, Lynchburg Museum System, Legacy Museum of African-American History, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Human Rights , and Jones Memorial Library. For information, please call the Lynchburg Museum at (434) 847-1459.
A native of Florida , Dr. Dew is currently Ephraim Williams Professor of History at Williams College in Massachusetts and the award-winning author of several books including: Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works, Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge, and Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War.
Dr. Dew’s study of Central Virginia iron works started over 30 years ago; his article: David Ross and the Oxford Iron Works: A Study of Industrial Slavery in the Early 19th Century South was published in the William and Mary Quarterly of April, 1974. The Virginia Historical Society owns the 1812-1813 letterbook for the Oxford Furnace Iron Works, which operated in Campbell County just east of Lynchburg from before the Revolutionary War until about 1870. David Ross acquired Oxford Furnace in 1776 and made munitions and supplies for the Continental Army as well as household, farm, and industrial wares.
As Dew researched the letterbook and other sources, he found a fascinating story of early 19 th century life in Central Virginia. Ross lived in Petersburg and his Oxford operation grew to over 24,000 acres with four plantations, grist mill, a batteau fleet, blast furnaces, and forges. Except for a white manager, a miller, and a carpenter, other work was done by a slave force of over 225 people with a slave named Abram in charge of the iron works. The slaves grew the crops, milled grain, operated the boats hauling iron to Richmond , and did the skilled work of turning iron ore into products.
Buffalo Forge was an ironworks located near Glasgow , Virginia and Dew’s research revealed a similar story of skilled slave workmen, an owner who often let his slaves decide where they would work, slaves who did extra work and were paid in cash, and an intricate story of human relationships within the framework of master and slave. This is the basis for Bonds of Iron.
There will be a reception following the program and Dr. Dew will be available to sign copies of his books. A limited number of his books will be available for sale. The program is sponsored by the Lynchburg Public Library, Lynchburg Museum System, Legacy Museum of African-American History, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Human Rights , and Jones Memorial Library. For information, please call the Lynchburg Museum at (434) 847-1459.
posted by W. Scott Smith | 4:25 PM
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