Dorsey's Forge (1761-1815):

"At that time there were two Negroes belonging to Edward H. Dorsey, a Negro man called Prince, who was a forgeman, and a Negro man called Sam who was a striker in a Blacksmith shop." - Maryland Chancery Papers, May 17, 1787.

An abundance of iron ore, trees, oysters shells and running water encouraged some tobacco planters of the 1700s to invest in iron making - the Patapsco Valley's first industry. On this site in 1761, Caleb Dorsey established an iron forge - a water-powered mill that worked iron into marketable products such as horseshoes, shove spades, and nails.

Chronic labor shortages forced Dorsey to transfer several black slaves from his tobacco fields to the iron mill. More skilled that field slaves, Dorsey's iron slaves were given the "opportunity" to earn money by doing extra work. Despite this concession, it still took a Herculean effort to take advantage of Dorsey's "opportunity." In June 1764, for example, one slave earned 7 pounds for cutting 67 cords of wood.

Though some slaves thrived under Dorsey's "overwork system," others sought freedom by saving their money and running away. According to the Maryland Jounal and Baltimore Advertiser May 29, 1781, when another slave ran away, he had "plenty of money with him."

Avalon Iron & Nail Works (1815-1868):

In 1815, Dorsey's Forge was sold to the Ellicott family, who renamed the mill "Avalon." Employing over 100 workers and no slaves, the ellicotts transformed the forge into a nail factory. A small company-owned town of several houses, a general store, a church and (later) a train station emerge around the mill. The Avalon Visitor Center is one of the town's two surviving buildings. The other is provate property.

Text with upper left drawing: (Illustration by Brian Albright, 2006).

Timeline:

1755 - Caleb Dorsey establishes Elk Ridge Furnace

1761 - Caleb Dorsey establishes Dorsey's Forge

1775 - William Whetcroft leases mill to forge musket parts

1777 - Nail manufacturing begins

1815 - Benjamin and James Ellicott purchase forge, rename it Avalon

1820 - Mill operates 24 nail making machines

1848 - John McCrone puchases mill

1856 - Avalon mill produces 44,000 kegs of nails

1868 - Flood destoys mill

Marker can be reached from the intersection of Washington Boulevard (U.S. 1) and South Street.

Courtesy hmdb.org

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