Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/751

 IRON-WORKS. 733

Stinson. It had the only knitting-machines in the state, and did its own carding and spinning. A woollen-mill at Ashland manufactured goods to the value of from forty to fifty thousand dollars annually, and was the property of two or three men. Its goods were in great demand, being of excellent quality.

The woollen manufactures of the Pacific coast excel in general excellence any in the United States, which is due to the superior quality of the wool used. The blankets made at the Oregon mills, for fineness, softness, and beauty of finish, are unequalled except by those made in California from the same kind of wool. The total amount invested in these manufactures in 1885 w r as about half a million; $400,000 worth of material was used, and $840,000 worth of fabric manufactured annually.

The first iron-founding done in Oregon was about 1858. Davis & Mo- nastes of Portland, and the Willamette Iron-Works of Oregon City, were the pioneers in this industry. At the latter were built, in 1859, the engines and machinery for the first two steam saw-mills in the eastern portion of Washing ton and Oregon. These two mills were for Ruble & Co. at Walla Walla and Noble & Co. at The Dalles. According to Hittell, boiler-making was begun in Portland as early as 1852. Resources, 658. A. Rossi, F. Bartels, R. Hur ley, and D. Smith were the owners of the Willamette Iron Foundry. Or. Arijus, July 3, 1868. The Salem iron-works were erected in 1860, and turned out a variety of machinery, engines, and castings. They were owned by B. F. Drake, who came to California in 1851, and after mining for a short time settled at Oregon City, where he remained until he built hia foundery at Salem. His foreman, John Holman, had charge of the works for fifteen years, and employed 12 men. HittelUs Resources, 663-4. John Nation, a well-known iron-worker, was at first associated with Drake. In 1862 this foundery built a portable engine of eight horse-power, to be used on farms as the motive power of thrashing-machines, the first of its kind in Ore gon. Since that period founderies have been planted in different parts of the state as required by local business, Portland and The Dalles being the chief centres for the trade on account of the demands of steamboat and railroad traffic.

The presence of iron ore in many parts of Oregon has been frequently re marked upon. It is known to exist in the counties of Columbia, Tillamook, Marion, Clackamas, and in the southern counties of Jackson and Coos. Its presence in connection with fire-clay is considered one of the best proofs of the value of the coal-fields of Oregon, the juxtaposition of coal, iron, and fire clay being the same here as in the coal-bearing regions of other parts of the world. The most important or best known of the iron beds of the state are in the vicinity of Oswego, a small town on the Willamette, six miles south of Portland, and extending to the Chehalem valley, fifteen miles from that city.

Equally rich beds of the ore are found near St Helen, and from the out- croppings between these two points the deposit seems to curve around to the west of Portland, and to extend for twenty-five miles, with the richest beds at either end. At St Helen the ore has never been worked, except in a black smith-shop, where it has been converted into horse-shoes. Several varieties of iron ore exist in the state, including the chromites of Josephine county.

The Oswego iron was tested in 1862, and found to be excellent. Or. States man, Jan. 19 and Feb. 9, 1863; Or. Argus, Jan. 24, 1863. It yields about fifty per cent of pure metal; and it is estimated that there are sixty thousand tons in the immediate vicinity of this place, while less than three miles away is another extensive deposit, from twelve to fifteen feet in depth. A company was formed at Portland February 24, 1865, under the name of the Oregon Iron Company, to manufacture iron from the ore at Oswego, which proceeded to erect works at this place, Sucker Creek, the outlet of a small lake, furnish ing the water-power. President, W. S. Ladd, vice-president, H. C. Leonard; capital stock, $500,000, divided among 20 stockholders, most of whom resided in Oregon, the remainder in S. F. The incorporators were Louis McLane, Charles Dimon, W. S. Ladd, Henry Failing, A. M. Starr, H. D. Gre