Forging new ties

With $6m upgrade, Saugus Iron Works site is poised for a rise in visitors

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff  |  May 15, 2008

Swish.

A wooden water wheel recalls the golden age of America's iron industry on the marshy banks of the Saugus River. Sailing vessels delivered English iron workers and departed with goods such as cast-iron pots and pans, some weighing as much as 1,300 pounds.

The Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, dating to 1646, marks the founding of America's iron industry. The 8-acre site is run by the National Park Service, which also manages such treasures as the Grand Canyon and the Lincoln Memorial.

As one of the smallest sites managed by the park service, Saugus Iron Works has long stood in the shadow of the better-known Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, prime spots on the tourist trail.

But Saugus Iron Works is now poised to step into the spotlight. A grand reopening, touting a $6 million renovation, will be held tomorrow and Saturday. New exhibits, a bridge and walking paths, and improved access for people with disabilities will be celebrated as "New Pathways to History," a revised theme for the once-sleepy site.

"There are so many ways to tell the story here," said Curtis White, the lead park ranger at the ironworks. "We'll now be able to tell it much better, more broadly, and, hopefully, to more people."

The project also has aided the ecology of the Saugus River. Acres of phragmites and other invasive vegetation were excavated from the ironworks' turning basin. A swift-flowing river has improved the spawning area for smelts, which run strong in the river, and creates opportunities for recreation, such as canoe and kayak trips.

"Preserving the flow in the river channel is key for the smelts," said Joan LeBlanc, president of the Saugus River Watershed Council, a nonprofit organization that advocates protection of the 13-mile river. "This project really celebrates history and the environment."

Advocates for the disabled also like the new look at the 17th-century site.

"It's going to be great," said Kathy Forbes, chairwoman of the Saugus Disability Commission, who advised the park service about improving access. "If somebody can't make it around the site physically, they'll be able to see everything right at the computer."

The improvements:

Wide paths, covered with soft stone, wind through the site. They're designed to be easy to navigate for people in wheelchairs or pushing baby strollers.

Space in the original Iron Works House has been made accessible for wheelchairs. A virtual tour can be viewed on computers in the museum and visitors center. Plans call for a Braille map and an audio tour to be available this summer, making the site fully accessible to blind visitors. A 3-D model allows visitors to trace the water system, the landscape, and the shape of the Colonial buildings.

A wide wooden bridge was built on a grassy hill, connecting the blast furnace to the forge. A new oak dock was added at the turning basin, where a replica sailing vessel, built by volunteers at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, is docked. Three more acres of phragmites are due to be removed from the river this summer, and new plantings placed along the riverbanks. Volunteers are needed to help with plantings.

Chimneys at the Iron Works House and an annex building were repaired, along with hearths. The former residence of the park superintendent was converted to office space and a new library for collection materials. Repairs were made to a bellows mechanism, along with posts, beams, roof, and joints in the Blast Furnace Casting Shed.

Officials hope the renovation sparks a resurgence of interest in the nation's first successful ironworks.

"It's a fascinating story, but one that hasn't gotten much play," said Annie Harris, executive director of the Essex National Heritage Commission, which oversees historical sites in the region. "It's a story of really early industry, the 1640s. We don't have many sites like it."

Saugus Iron Works, named a National Historic Site in 1969, draws about 17,000 visitors per year, with school groups accounting for about a third of the total, White said. Business support, a key to reviving the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in the late 1980s, is helping to raise the profile of the ironworks. Saugusbank has led a local fund-raising campaign to cover the cost of the reopening, for example.

Special events, such as a photo safari planned for next month, aim to keep a steady stream of visitors. "With more promotion, we hope to build more awareness for it," Harris said. "This is a neat site, right in our own backyard."

The Saugus Iron Works was started in 1646, just 26 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. It was started by the son of Governor John Winthrop, who cobbled together financing from a group of 24 English investors. He opened his first ironworks in Braintree in 1643, according to historical materials.

After two years the Braintree site folded, and Winthrop headed north to the Saugus River. He chose a high point on the river that was navigable for vessels. Nearby bogs and streams were rich with iron ore, and the forest had plenty of trees to supply charcoal to fuel a roaring furnace.

"This probably was on the outskirts of the European settlement," said White, a ranger at the site for 21 years. "That meant a lot of land could be purchased at relatively low cost. . . . The iron ore was available locally from bogs and swamps."

Over the next 22 years, the ironworks was in high gear. Nails, hammers, firebacks, and other products helped to support the growth of a new colony.

"An iron-making society developed here," White said, walking along a new path. "That never existed before in North America."

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.