Draft:Normandale Furnace
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| Normandale Furnace | |
|---|---|
 The Normandale Furnace site | |
 Interactive map of Normandale Furnace | |
| 42°42.585′N 80°18.593′W / 42.709750°N 80.309883°W | |
| Location | Mill Lane, Normandale, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada |
| History | |
| Built | 1816 |
| Designated | 19 May 1927 |
Normandale Furnace was an iron furnace at Normandale in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, near the shore of Lake Erie. Operating from 1818 until the late 1840s, it was among the most important early industrial enterprises in Upper Canada and has been called the first successful iron industry in Ontario.[1] The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on 19 May 1927.[1]
Operation
[edit]The furnace was built between 1816 and 1817 by the English ironmaster John Mason and began production in 1818. It was enlarged in 1821 and 1822.[1] On 22 August 1821 Joseph Van Norman bought the site from Mason's widow, at first with the partners Hiram Capron and George Tillson; he became sole owner on 1 January 1836.[2] Parks Canada records that it produced "stoves, kettles, pots, pans domestic and farm implements between 1818 and the late 1840s".[1]
By 1840 the works employed as many as 200 men and turned out about 750 tons of cast and wrought iron goods a year, among them the Van Norman cooking stove.[1]
The furnace drew on local bog iron ore. Its demand for ore and for more than 4,000 cords of wood a year to make charcoal was, in the assessment of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, an important economic stimulus to the surrounding region.[2] Production ended in 1847, when the local ore had been depleted and Van Norman moved away.[1][2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Normandale Furnace National Historic Site of Canada". Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Ball, Norman R. (1982). "Van Norman, Joseph". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. 11. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
Category:National Historic Sites in Ontario Category:Buildings and structures in Norfolk County, Ontario Category:Ironworks and steel mills in Canada Category:Industrial buildings in Ontario Category:1818 establishments in Canada