Abstract
This paper describes the results of a program of salvage archaeology at the Leddell Forge in Bernardsville, Somerset County, New Jersey. The site, which dates from the late-18th century, was discovered during landscaping activities on private property. Small-scale ironworks, such as this forge, were once a ubiquitous part of the cultural landscape in northern New Jersey, but today they are largely forgotten. With support from the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills and private donors, the forge remains were recorded. The Leddell Forge site contained exceptionally well-preserved wooden remains which provide new information about bloomery forge layout and construction. As seen at this site, archaeology can provide considerable new data about these fascinating early American industries and serve as a touchstone for learning about the entrepreneurs who owned them and the people who labored in them.
DOI
10.22191/neha/vol37/iss1/4
Recommended Citation
Veit, Richard and Gall, Michael
(2008)
"Forging Ahead in the Somerset Hills: ArchaeologicalDocumentation of an 18th-Century Bloomery Forge inBernardsville, New Jersey,"
Northeast Historical Archaeology:
Vol.
37
37, Article 4.
https://doi.org/10.22191/neha/vol37/iss1/4
Available at:
https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol37/iss1/4
