While my railroad is a freelanced fictional road, it has its basis in history. For a number of years I lived in the area of the historic Joppa Iron Works site- the entire area did not have any very old trees (evidence of logging for charcoal) and it was not difficult to find slag in simple tasks like gardening.

Originally the company existed to make nails on the Gunpowder River in Eastern Baltimore County, Maryland. What would have happened if the company survived the 1800’s into the 1900’s? What if they had been able to survive late into the last century? Certainly they would have had to upgrade the facilities and add new technology beyond the colonial style furnaces that they originally used.

Prior to the damming of the Gunpowder, larger vessels were able to navigate far up the river since it had access to the Chesapeake Bay. The Joppa Iron Works used the high volume of water flowing down the Gunpowder to power its water wheel- which in turn operated the furnace bellows.

Below is my original submission onto Wikipedia based on my own research- which is brief compared to the original information and other associated history with the mill:

“The Joppa Iron Works also known as Patterson’s Iron Works was started around 1817 by Joseph and Edward Patterson of Baltimore who were the brothers of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte- who was the sister-in-law of Napoleon I of France. Begun as a long calm portion of the Big Gunpowder River in eastern Baltimore County, MD this facility was started as a slitting and nail producing company. Located approximately .75 of a mile below the Maryland Route 7 this facility eventually had six puddling furnaces, one heating furnace, and 37 nail machines with all of the machinery being water-powered^[1]. There are few remnants of the iron works that remain except for a large flat area where the business stood. Prior to the original dam being built at the Loch Raven Reservoir in 1881, the water depth at the Joppa Iron Works site was much deeper facilitating shipments in and out of the area by deep-water vessels. As late as the 1970s, an old ship’s mooring ring was able to be seen in the area. Remnants of slag from the furnaces can still be found in the area.

The Joppa Iron Works eventually closed around 1865 with the death of Edward Patterson. The Loreley Distilling Company eventually purchased the property and distilled whiskey on the site after Prohibition, and eventually sold to the Frank L. Wight Distillery- a part of Hublein Co.

In 1970 This property was acquired by the Department of Parks and Recreation of Maryland and is now part of the Gunpowder State Park.”

Below is a picture of the “Old Forges Bridge” – which is where US. Route 7 crossed the Big Gunpowder River. Approximately a 1/3 mile beyond the bridge on the right side of the picture would have been the ruins of the original Joppa Iron Works. Unfortunately no photos have survived.

The colonial furnaces in the area were built on a top loading design and operated until the furnace either ran out of fuel or needed repair. Furnace start up was called “blowing in” and ceasing of operation was called “blowing out” the furnace. This term has carried forward until today; usually when a furnace was blown out, there was a celebration for the profit and operations- and parties today can still be referred to as a “blow out”.

Below is a photo of one of the earliest colonial iron furnaces in the US which happens to be located in Maryland not too many miles from the Joppa Iron location. It is of the Principio Iron Furnaces in Elkton, MD begun by ironmaster Stephen Onion- who was the leader in furnace design in the eastern part of the region.