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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies
Black Labor At Pine Grove & Caledonia Furnaces, 1789-1860, Troy D. Harman
Black Labor At Pine Grove & Caledonia Furnaces, 1789-1860, Troy D. Harman
Adams County History
Black labor operating under various degrees of freedom found a suitable working environment, if not a safe haven, in several iron forges of South Central Pennsylvania, from the late 1790s through the 1850s. Primary accounts indicate that two in particular, Pine Grove Furnace of Cumberland County, and Caledonia Furnace of Franklin County, harbored runaway slaves to augment their work force. Pine Grove records, dating from 1789 – 1801, specify names of “negro” employees, verifying that black labor coexisted with white, but day books, journals, and ledgers do not denote status.1 Whether they were free men, or slaves rented out by …