220 THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF CECIL COUNTY 



of the McCullough Iron Company's works. There were also forges 

 worked on Christiania Creek in 1725. The most important works 

 were situated at Principio where they were erected by the Principio 

 Company which was organized in 1722 by Joseph Farmer, an iron- 

 master from England. With him were associated William Kussell, 

 Joshua Gee, Stephen Onion and John Puston, as the chief promoters. 

 The stock was at first in the hands of Englishmen but very soon after 

 its organization the Company came into the more or less complete 

 control of the Gilpin and Washington families. This Company soon 

 outranked all others in America in the manufacture of pig and bar 

 iron, being the proprietor of three furnaces and two forges in Mary- 

 land, and of the Accokeek furnace in Virginia. 



The original works built by the Principio Company were situated 

 about 150 yards further up the stream than the present plant, which 

 was built by Mr. Hughes about 1800. The forges were very rude 

 affairs. The blast was made by means of curious circular bellows 

 which was operated by means of a water-wheel, each bellows and 

 hammer having a water-wheel of its own. These, however, were 

 regarded as equally well equipped with any works of their kind 

 on the continent. The plant built by Hughes was injured and par- 

 tially destroyed by the British during the war of 1812, but was 

 subsequently repaired and carried on by the same proprietor until 

 1817-18. It then went out of blast until 1836, when it was pur- 

 chased, together with a large tract of land, by Messrs. G. P. Whit- 

 taker and Company, who at present own the property which is now 

 occasionally inactive. 



The works at Northeast have part of the time been under the 

 control of the Principio Company, but in later years have been owned 

 by various persons, including the McCullough Iron Company, who 

 last operated the works which are now inactive. 



The old mill on the Big Elk about a mile west of Appleton was 

 built in 1810 and was operated for several years by Parke Brothers, 

 producing boiler-plate iron from blooms and muck bars. The firm 

 of Parke, Smith and Company succeeded to the business in 1858 and 

 altered the mill into a sheet mill, but were later forced to suspend 



