658 State Board of Agriculture, &c. 



ore, in a valley near the head waters of Black River ; and 

 the same year he sent Joseph Martin, an experienced miner 

 and foreman of the works in Strafford, to take charge of the 

 prospecting for iron ore in Plymouth. Mr. Martin examined 

 the mineral outcrops for six miles down the valley of Black 

 River to the south line of the town, and discovered and 

 opened three workable ore beds in 1836. Two of these 

 were composed of the magnetic and micaceous oxides of 

 iron, and one of brown hematite. 



In the spring of 1837, Mr. Tyson began to erect build- 

 ings at Tyson Furnace, and the first of the next December had 

 in full operation what was then considered a large blast fur- 

 nace. He had also built a store and warehouse, coal sheds,, 

 and three tenant houses. The following year he erected a 

 huge warehouse, machine shop and tavern house, together 

 with a school-house, agent's house, and houses to contain 

 twenty families, for the miners and furnace men. A read- 

 ing room for the workmen, supplied with books and news- 

 papers, was provided, and a post-ofSce, and a mail route estab 

 lished ; and all the elements of a New England village 

 sprang up as if by enchantment. 



In connection with the 300 acres first purchased for fur- 

 nace and ore purposes, Mr. Tyson purchased a pond at the 

 head of the stream that furnished the power to blow the fur- 

 nace, and erected a dam which flowed over some 600 acres, 

 making an ample supply of water through the dry seasons 

 of the year. He also purchased 2,500 acres of wood land 

 for charcoal and timber purposes, making up an outlay of 

 some $60,000 in two years for real estate and build- 



