The Role Played by the Tryon Creek Forest in the Production of Lake Oswego Iron
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TheFrom role played Trees by the Tryon to Creek Charcoal forest in the production of Lake Oswego iron. Collier tending a charcoal mound. Drawing by Susanna Kuo. Courtesy of the artist. In the late 19th century, the iron industry in Oswego required enormous quantities of charcoal fuel. Between 1867 and 1885 smoking charcoal pits dotted the landscape from Tryon Creek to West Linn. One of these charcoal pits was located at this site beside a wagon road, which later became the Iron Mountain Trail. It took a lot of work to make charcoal. First, Chinese laborers cut down big Douglas-fir trees and chopped them into a useable size. One acre of forest produced about 100 cords of wood (one cord of wood made about 50 bushels of charcoal). A teamster hauled the cordwood to a A cross section of a charcoal mound. Drawing by Susanna Kuo. Courtesy of the artist. cleared area called the “hearth.” The collier and his assistants carefully built the mound. The collier covered the mound with dirt and leaves, and then dropped hot coals into the middle down a hole in the top of the mound. The coals, like a match, ignited the wood. During the next two weeks the wood smoldered, driving off volatile compounds and moisture, leaving pure carbon. When the collier determined that the charcoal was finished, he and his assistants “raked out” the mound. They were careful not to break up the chunks of charcoal too much. Finally, laborers loaded the charcoal into a wagon and drove it to the furnace. YOU ARE HERE CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO 2 Terwilliger Blvd. TRYON CREEK STATE• PARK O����� I��� H������� T���� TRYON CREEK � e Oswego Iron Heritage Trail is a walking route that links the sites associated with Oregon’s pioneer iron industry. Interpretive signs at each site give a glimpse of mining and iron making in nineteenth century Oswego. 1 Prosser Mine Site E Ave. Hwy. 43 Charcoal Pit Site Iron MountainTrail •2 Andrews Rd. •3 Pipe Foundry Site •4 1888 Iron Furnace Site Country Club Rd. Country Club Rd. •5 Worker’s Cottage •6 1866 Iron Furnace Oswego Pioneer Cemetery 1st St. •7 A Avenue 3 • Chandler Rd. FOOTHILLS• PARK Fairway Rd. MILLENNIUM PLAZA PARK Men with cordwood and teams of horses in the IRON MOUNTAIN PARK Iron Mountain Blvd. Glen Eagles Rd. Oswego area. Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Foothills Rd. 4 Library. 1 ROEHR PARK Photo courtesy of Hopewell • Finished mound. LAKEWOOD BAY National Historic Site in Pennsylvania. From a • Iron Mountain Blvd. charcoal-making reenactment, cir. 1969. Brookside Rd. Durham St. Wilbur St. State Street 5 Furnace St. WILLAMETTE RIVER Ladd St. Twin Fir Rd. Fir Twin • 6 GEORGE ROGERS PARK OSWEGO LAKE • Maple St. McVey Ave. Oak St. St. Erickson South Shore Blvd. Rd. Cornell Hwy. 43 Hwy. Cedar St. 0 1/4 1/2 Mile Full charcoal wagon at the Stafford Rd. OSWEGO PIONEER CEMETERY Oswego iron furnace - Photo SCALE detail of an 1867 photo by Carleton 7 www.ci.oswego.or.us E. Watkins. Courtesy of the Oregon • Historical Society OrHi#1455..