Historic Mills of Connecticut

Use (Historic)

• Mining, Primary Metals

Largest Documented Workforce

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Historic Narrative

For historical significance see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/94001417.pdf Mt. Riga (formerly Taconic Mountain) has been associated with iron production since the mid-18th century, when its charcoal pits supplied fuel to the blast furnace in Lakeville, about four miles to the southeast. In the 1780s a bloomery on the mountain processed ore from Ore Hill Mine in Lakeville. Title to the land atop the mountain passed through the hands of many speculators before 1803, when King and Kelsey began building a blast furnace and dam. Bankruptcy prevented completion until 1810, when Holley, Coffing and Pettee finished construction of the ironworks, which included the furnace and dam, two forges and a triphammer. Joseph Pettee leased the works and produced household cast and wrought ironware and larger pieces such as anchors. Over the next 15 years a village grew around the works, with some 100 frame houses, a store, school and post office. Business dwindled in the 1830s, probably due to depletion of the hardwoods for charcoal. Mt. Riga remained in blast intermittently until 1850, but by that time most of the skilled workers had departed. By the 1870s second-growth timber was sufficient to supply charcoal to Barnum-Richardson Co.'s furnaces at Lime Rock and East Canaan, but no iron was made at Mt. Riga. (Roth)

Number of Existing Buildings

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Dates of Construction

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Architect

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Builder

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Building Type

• Blast furnace

Architectural Description

For description see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/94001417.pdf Except for the furnace remains, dam, several houses and numerous cellar holes, little structural fabric remains of the once-thriving industrial community. The dam is a 17'-high earth buttress with rubble masonry spillway. The furnace has been altered, in the name of restoration, at least twice (late 1930s, early 1960s). Its walls, 30' x 24' and 24' high, consist of rubble masonry reinforced at two levels with timbers and iron tie-rods. There is no sign of fire brick in the hearth or stack. Both are lined with vitrified clay, but original lining may well have been removed. The hearth is 3 1/2' wide and the stack is 10' wide at the bosh. The cold blast was delivered by a single tuyere. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

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Structural System(s)

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Roof Form

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Roof Material

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Power Source

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Condition

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Condition Notes

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Specific Location

somewhere at west end of Berkshire Drive

Adjacent To

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

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Acreage

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Use (Present)

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Form Completed By

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Date

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Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).