LX. THE OLD FORGE.
At
the lower end of Twin Lakes, shortly after the organization of the county, a
forge was erected for the purpose of smelting and "forging" bog Iron ore, of which there was
an abundance in the region of country round about: In the beginning it was
planned and operated by Charles Crocker, of Mishawaka, who afterwards
associated with him French Fisher, of the
same place. Timothy Barber had previously built a grist mi]] at that
place, j and It was thought by Mr. Crocker and Mr. Barber that there was a
great 8Jj future for "Sligo," the euphonious name they gave to the
embryo city. But the country was sparsely settled at that time, and the grist
mi]] failed to do j business beyond the making of a living for the proprietor,
and the forge, failed to produce the amount of iron ore expected, and after
paying for its "forging" and hauling a long distance to market there
wasn't much left for the proprietors. The "forge" was kept going
until gold was discovered in
California;
shortly afterwards Mr. Crocker disposed of his interest in the business and
about 1850 went overland to California, where, before he died many years ago,
he became immensely wealthy, leaving an estate that ran up into the millions. A
few years ago, LeRoy Armstrong, who had lived in that region in his boyhood
days, visited the old "forge," and wrote his impressions of it to a
Chicago paper, from which the following is taken:
"The
forge provided nearly the only means of earning money, Felling trees, clearing
forest land, planting, tending, and harvesting the scanty crops occupied much
of the pioneer's time, and after it was done there was the barest living. But
now and then in the dull season they could prepare charcoal or haul it to the
forge; they could mine the ore or haul it to the forge, or they could employ
their teams and their time in hauling the iron to the large towns to the north.
"There
was a famous axe factory and wagon works of note and excellence, both located
at Mishawaka, which city was a leader in the state at that early day, dating
its rise and drawing its prosperity from the bog ore found and worked in its
vicinity, and to these places the Twin Lakes metal was hauled. People here
away, Crocker and Fisher among them, hoped and believed they would see a greater
city spring up here, and all their efforts were directed to that end. Crocker
never made a trip to the north but he spread the news of his works at Sligo and
the excellent advantages of the, neighborhood. He hoped sometime to see a city
on the bluffs above the lake and to be the leading man in that development. Had
he remained here and continued his exertions he might have been gratified. But,
after carrying on a business under difficulties that would have staggered a
weaker .man, he caught the California fever and abandoned Indiana for the more
promising future in the west.
"From
a history of Marshall county written by Dan McDonald, 1881, I take the
following passage:
"
The old forge, located at the corner of Twin Lakes, gave promise of being a
place of considerable importance. Like the famous Duluth, the sky came down at
equal distances all around it, and hence it was considered pretty near the
center of the universe. Charles Crocker, 1850, was the presiding genius, but
the phyrisus of fortune failed to bring him the golden
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY. 323
fleece,
and he sought the golden shores of the Pacific slope to replenish his depleted
exchequer. How well he succeeded is shown by the fact that in 1880 he was
assessed for $9,000,000.
Jacob
Gebhardt," says Mr. Armstrong, "was the hammer man in the old forge.
He has loosened the lines of his recollection on recent events country round to
tighten them more and more every day on those of an earlier period. Charles
Crocker, He remembers Crocker well, and states that that man could do more
business with a
ten-dollar bill than all the rest of the community could with $100.
Gebhardt's
duties consisted in part in building up the fire, which was done by laying a
base of charcoal, and then erecting a cone of that material mingled with ore.
All the ore was kept well to the center. The mass was fired from the base, and
the flame was urged to fierce heat by a current of air from a great bellows,
that filled and respired under the impetus of water power. Great care was
required in the treatment of the work about the time when the metal began to
fuse. At exactly the right moment a break as discovered in was made in the wall
of livid coal, and the prisoned metal ran out in shapeless masses on the
ground. As it hardened into solidity the hammer man, before he died beat it
with a sledge until the cinder ran from it in a stream and hardened into
grotesque forms. The iron was then grappled with a pair of tongs swung on a
lever, and by slow purchases it was lifted to the anvil where the great
trip-hammer was set to work upon it. The trip-hammer was itself run by
waterpower from the little race that tapped the dam score of feet away. .When
the iron grew too cold for beating, it was returned to the fire, the glowing charcoal
was heaped upon it again, and again it was lifted with the utmost difficulty to
the anvil. They called it bar iron when
all was done, but it was far form uniform in thickness and width, but
was cut into lengths for convenient handling, and was then ready for
transportation into South Bend and Mishawaka.
Sometimes
as many as forty men were employed about the forge. The work was prosecuted night
and day, for Crocker's energy was tireless. Scores of other farmers were busy
digging the ore, some .just below the dam, from the bog ore some five miles
away; others were washing it free from soil in the creeks or lake, and still
others hauled it to the fire. Men were hired from far and near to make the long
trip to the foundries and these brought back with them whatever Crocker found
he could sell at Twin Lakes. He owned the store there and made something of a
profit on his goods. It seems to be the verdict of good judges that bog ore,
instead of making an inferior iron, makes th best. It was of a very compact and
tenacious nature. Axes and wagon tires were the supreme test, and no metal has
ever been put into them which has lasted so well.
“Crocker
was just getting ready for his California trip in 1849, when the forge burned
down. He was in Mishawaka at the time, and had completed a deal by which the forge passed to
other parties. When the news of his misfortune reached him, he hurried to Twin
Lakes, and within ten days, hampered as he was by inadequate appliances, had
the forge ready for work. But the disaster only delayed his departure one year.
Early in 1850 he sold out and got ready to join the stream of fortune hunters,
few of whom gave so little promise of success as did he. When he had settled up
all his business he remarked to Gebhardt, the hammer man, that he was worth
more than he thought.
324
HISTORY
OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
"
How much have you ?' asked Gebhardt. " 'Well, counting the horses at $80
apiece,' replied the future millionaire 'I am worth $1,500.'
"
And that was all he took with him out of Indiana. No, not quite all. He had
fallen in love with an excellent girl at Mishawaka, the daughter of a certain
druggist. The young lady s father declined to receive Crocker's suit until such
time as he was worth $5,000.
"Crocker
came back with that much gold in just one year, and married the girl of his choice. She
went with him through the burdens and blessings of those many years, and he died with a
fortune too large to count."