Normandale Iron Works

Part 1: Early Beginings

Tucked at the base of the cliffs on the shore of Lake Erie east of Turkey Point in Norfolk County, is a small sleepy hamlet called Normandale. It wasn’t always that way. During the second quarter of the 1800’s the area of this little place exploded as the scene of bustling activity, the home of early Norfolk County’s greatest industrial enterprise—the Normandale Iron Works. This foundry supplied the early settlers of the province with cooking stoves and a wide variety of other ironware.

At the location a small stream cascades down from the bluffs into a unique bed of bog iron ore providing water power and the raw material for the pioneer industry. The busy harbour at Normandale provided easy shipping on Lake Erie. With the opening of the Welland Canal in 1829, the markets at Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal could be reached.

Lodor’s Enterprises

The earliest holder of the site was an entrepreneur from New Jersey, Job Lodor, a young energetic carpenter who jumped into the flurry of late eighteenth century Norfolk County mill building and made a fortune for his skills. He did not recognize the lode of iron ore but had other industrial endeavors in mind for the location.

His first appearance in the records of this province came in an Upper Canada Land Petition dated on May 25, 1796 succinctly stating that he came lately from the Jersies. He requested from the Executive Council a grant of 200 acres of land and received their affirmative recommendation.¹

By the fall of 1800, all of the pioneer mills on which Lodor had worked had their wheels turning for the harvest. He now looked towards locating the 200 acre government grant promised to him in 1796. At first he looked towards the provincial capital at York, present Toronto, for his residence, then chose the present site of Normandale designated in land records as Lot 16 in the Front or “A” Concession of Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County.

A small stream later called Potter’s Creek flowed through the property providing Lodor with potential for yet another mill site. He first of all set up an extensive distillery, a warehouse and two dwelling houses. Before he could get started on the mill he planned to place on the bluffs, he sought to secure the additional 200 acre lot immediately behind for his mill pond but met with a serious setback.

At this time the Government of Upper Canada set aside one-sixth of all land to be leased, rather than granted, to prospective settlers, the funds accruing to the support of government and clergy in this period before taxes which few would have been able to pay. The lot behind Lodor’s location appeared to be such a leased lot.

On February 25, 1800 and October 8, 1800, Lodor petitioned for a Crown Lease on Lot 16, Concession 1, behind his developed lot. Not having obtained a reply, on February 8, 1803, he again filed a petition requesting the reserved lot, stating that he improved Lot 16, Front Concession. Lodor had been far from idle on the front lot in the interim. He “erected at very great expense an extensive distillery, a warehouse, and two dwelling houses with other improvements in clearing land.” Only then did the Executive Council advise the entrepreneur that his front lot was actually a Crown Lease and not the one behind! Admitting that the error was theirs, the Council gave him the lease on the front lot where he had settled.²

This likely placed a damper on Lodor’s interest in developing an expensive mill on a property he could only lease and not own. He turned his attention to other ventures he had busily underway nearby at Turkey Point. He discontinued his operations on the creek and apparently assigned the lease to Samuel Long.

Samuel Long’s Pottery Works

Little is known of Norfolk’s early potter Samuel Long. Norfolk County historian Dr. J. A. Bannister gave him a one-paragraph mention in his article “The Famous Normandale Furnace.”³

“A short distance east of this town [Normandale] a little stream wound its way quietly into Lake Erie. It came from among the rugged hills and flowed between rugged tree-covered banks. Fed by springs, it maintained a steady flow throughout the seasons. At its outlet in 1810, Samuel Long, a maker of pottery, established himself to supply the neighbouring settlers with such vessels and utensils of earthenware as they might require. So successful was his business that the quiet stream flowing past his door came to be known as “Potter’s Creek.”

I have found only one mention of Samuel Long in historical records. During the War of 1812, he was listed as a private on the muster rolls of William Gordon's Detachment of the Norfolk County Militia on 24 Sep 1814.⁴ Long slid into obscurity and another early Norfolk pioneer then entered the story.

Noah Fairchild, a young blacksmith, came with the McCall family from New Jersey and settled in the area of Walsh, Charlotteville Twp. Dr. Bannister continues the story of discovery:

“Some distance to the north lived Noah Fairchild, farmer and blacksmith. As a worker in iron, he became interested in the deposits of bog iron which were found in great abundance in many places near the lake. Mr. Fairchild realized that if the ore could be converted into iron, a cheap and abundant supply could be ensured.”

Manufacturer John Mason

John Mason, an English iron manufacturer emigrated to the Long Point Settlement by 1818. He met Noah Fairchild who told him of the bog iron deposits at the mouth of Potter's Creek. Mason appears to have succeeded to the Crown Lease on Lot 16, Concession A, Charlotteville Township which included the mouth of Potter's Creek. The government patents of the day reserved all mines and minerals to the Crown. Mason applied for and obtained the permit to mine the lot then started construction of the smelter in 1818. Dr. J. A. Bannister wrote of him:⁵

“About this time there came to the settlement John Mason who had been a manufacturer of iron in England. He had sold his plant there and had come to Canada in the hope of establishing himself again in his former business. Noah Fairchild drew his attention to the abundance of iron ore which could be obtained so easily in the Normandale area. Charcoal for smelting was available at little cost. The manufacturer would have the field to himself, for there was yet no competitor within the province of Upper Canada.”

“John Mason was not slow to see the advantages offered. After sizing up the situation, he chose as the site for his smelter the mouth of Potter's Creek. Here he would be close to the bog iron beds.... He bought out Long's holdings and proceeded to erect a suitable plant for the manufacture of iron.”

“His first task was to harness the little stream that flowed merrily by. A short distance up stream he built a dam to give himself a sufficient head of water. Then he began to dig a ditch or sluice to bring the water to the site of his projected plant. The sluice was brought to the top of the steep slope on the north side of the stream and there a fourteen foot overshot wheel was installed, which furnished power for the bellows, to provide the blast for the furnace, to operate the trip-hammer and such other power equipment as was later employed. A brick smelter, some thirty feet in height, was built at the edge of the hill, so that it could be charged with the mixture of charcoal and ore from the "top house". The molten iron was drawn off at the bottom where a flat area of sand provided a convenient molding area.”

Norfolk historian E. A. Owen told an amusing story of Mason:⁶

“He was a hard worker and possessed a rude, coarse nature; and while engaged in this preliminary work had no use for hat or pantaloons. On one occasion the Governor of Upper

Canada, while visiting Fort Norfolk, expressed a desire to interview the English capitalist who proposed to develop the bog mines of Norfolk, and Colonel Salmon and John Harris were deputized to present His Excellency to the distinguished ditch digger. Mason was found at work, bare-headed and up to his knees in mud. Being quite unpresentable, the Colonel advised him to put on his "trousers," but Mason could not see any necessity for taking this extra trouble, and he declared that he would not "put on his breeks" for the Governor or any other man.”

The plant was only partially constructed when John Mason died on Christmas day 1819. On 11 Nov 1820, Elizabeth Mason, widow was granted Letters of Administration over the estate of her deceased husband, John Mason.⁷

Left with a partially constructed foundry, the widow sought a buyer but did not find a prospect until 1822. Joseph Van Norman at the head of a group of investors from New York agreed to purchase the facility, but on condition that it prove successful. He agreed to pay £25 on delivery of the plant and 150 pounds of iron out of the first successful blast. When a committee of independent men decided that the enterprise was a success, Mrs. Mason would then receive another 75 pounds of iron and a final payment of £125 on or before August 1, 1823. Elizabeth was also to have the use of one of the houses at the head of the pond for two years with as much fuel as she should require and as much land as she should cultivate.⁸

No further record has been found of Elizabeth Mason in the Long Point Settlement.

Sources

1. Archives of Ontario, Upper Canada Land Petition “L” Bundle 2, Document No. 24

2. AO, UCLP “L” Leases Bundle “L” Document Nos. 2 and 4

3. Dr. J. A. Bannister, "The Famous Normandale Furnace" in Bruce M. Pearce, Compiler, Historical Highlights of Norfolk County, p. 55

4. Mutrie, R. Robert, “The Norfolk Militia in the War of 1812,” in The Long Point Settlers, Log Cabin Publishing (Ridgeway, ON: 1992), p. 254

5. Bannister p. 56

6. E. A. Owen, Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement, (Wm. Briggs, Toronto: 1898), p. 453

7. London District Surrogate Registry, Document No. 84

8. Bannister p. 56

Part 2: The Van Norman Foundry

Joseph Van Norman was born to John and Sarah (Wybern) Van Norman in New Jersey on May 12, 1796 and went with his parents to Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York. His father had extensive mills for making flour providing young Joseph with business experience.

A Rocky Start

On August 22, 1821, Joseph Van Norman with George Tillson, Hiram Capron and John White purchased the Normandale Iron Furnace from Elizabeth Mason, widow of the builder John Mason.¹ This included the Crown Lease on Lot 16, Concession A, Charlotteville Twp. at the mouth of Potter’s Creek. Tillson was the managing partner and Capron the operating partner. The early name of the Works was “Long Point Furnace Company”, Hiram Capron & Co. Although there may have been limited operations from 1822, the partners spent the ensuing five years completing the construction of the furnace.

On May 26, 1827, the following advertisement appeared in The Gore Gazette:

“Messrs. Hiram Capron & Co. would inform the Public, that their furnace is now heating, and they will commence their operations the first week in June next; when castings of all descriptions can be furnished, on short notice. Long Point Furnace, May 26, 1827.”

On December 22, 1827 Capron advertised, “their furnace is now in blast”. Terms extended were “half Cash, and no credit given”. The other half was apparently to be made up in produce and surplus goods. The price charged was $5.00 per 100 lbs. for castings over 20 lbs. weight, “unless of difficult pattern, in which case a moderate charge for extra labor will be made.” Orders were to be post paid to the firm or to Mr. George Tillson, the managing owner.²

That same night of December 22nd, the furnace went into operation with tragic results. David Bloss, the chief founder brought in from Salisbury, Connecticut, was poisoned by escaping carbonic gas from the furnace while sleeping in his room adjoining the furnace stack. Two more workmen were “insensible and helpless” and three additional in alarming condition. The injured workers were helped to fresh air and recovered.³

This apparently halted operations. Two months later on February 20, 1828, the partners in the Long Point Furnace Company announced the dissolution of the partnership to take effect on May 1st. Joseph Van Norman purchased Hiram Capron’s share and obtained the entire control of the furnace. The notice was placed by Hiram Capron, Joseph Van Norman, George Tillson, and John White, Administrator of the Estate of John White, deceased.

Tillson went on to establish the Dereham Forge at present Tillsonburg. Capron bought a tract of land on the Grand River at Paris and built grist and plaster mills. Joseph Van Norman with his brother Benjamin remained at the Long Point Furnace now operated by J. Van Norman & Co. On May 29, 1828, they announced, “Long Point Furnace Will be in blast after the 4th June.- Castings executed to order, on short notice.” ⁴

Underway At Last

On October 4, Van Norman made the first announcement of the manufacture of cooking and Franklin stoves for which the firm would be come famous, using “Wilson’s pattern, No. 4,- being the most approved of any which are now made.”⁵

However, the Van Normans lacked the expertise of a Capron to develop a thriving operation. In 1829, they hired Elijah Leonard of Syracuse, New York as their manager. Leonard’s family had been iron workers in Massachusetts for nearly two centuries. Once operations got underway, the furnace became an immediate success. A wide variety of iron articles were produced in the plant, including farm implements, wood stoves, kettles, pots, bowls, pails and many other household items.

Norfolk County historian Dr. J. A. Bannister wrote of the raw material supply:⁷

“The bog iron ore used at the Van Norman furnace was obtained within a radius of ten or twelve miles of Normandale. It was hauled to the furnace at a cost of $2.25 to $2.50 a ton. The ore was found at or near the surface of the ground, in beds sometimes several feet in thickness and so abundant that three or four thousand tons might be secured from a few acres. It was particularly rich, yielding from twenty to thirty-five per cent of iron. The amount of ore required was about nine tons daily, producing about three tons of excellent iron. Since the furnace operated continuously for eight or nine months in the year, the total annual output was from 700 to 800 tons.

“The charcoal which was required as fuel, was supplied by the settlers. Their lands were covered with dense forests, but there was no market for lumber. The common practice had been to fell the timber and pile it in great heaps for burning. The only return for all of this labour and expense was the small amount which might be secured from gathering the ashes and using them in the manufacture of potash. But now they were able to convert the wood into charcoal for which the furnace operation required a vast amount.

Elijah Leonard Sr.’s son Elijah Jr. worked in the foundry with his father and another son Lewis worked in the Van Norman mercantile business. Elijah Leonard Jr. wrote of the manufacturing plant:⁸

“The furnace consisted of a brick stack or chimney about thirty feet high and five feet “bosh,” built on the side of the hill. Motive power was obtained from the fine stream of water running through the village, which kept in motion an overshot wheel about fourteen feet in diameter, that in turn drove a double piston bellows by means of cranks. Only one tuyere was employed to admit the blast. My father (the Hon. Senator) had charge of the works, and directed the mixing of ore and charcoal in the top house. The material was dumped into the furnace by barrows, and the iron, when melted, ran down into a hearth about two feet wide and five feet long. Into this receptacle we dipped our ladles and carried off the product direct to the flasks. When in full blast we took off two heats in twenty-four hours. At this time Normandale was a thriving place, the furnace requiring about four hundred men directly and indirectly getting out and teaming ore, burning charcoal, working about the furnace, and attending to the mercantile part of the establishment.”

Barrels were made in nearby Port Dover, Woodhouse Twp. starting in 1827. There is a picture of the operation painted by Norfolk artist W. Edgar Cantelon in the collection of the Norfolk Historical Society. There is also a picture of the VanNorman home at Normandale and of the village itself.

The Van Normans employed freighters on Lake Erie to carry their products from Normandale to markets elsewhere in Upper Canada and the United States. The completion of the Welland Canal in 1829 expanded the available markets to all of Upper Canada and beyond to Montreal. They also shipped surplus produce from the area farms to other destinations from their substantial pier at Normandale, adding to the firm’s profits. In 1829, the firm established the Dover Iron Works at Port Dover in Woodhouse Twp.

In 1830, the Van Norman’s seeking to improve shipping on Lake Erie obtained the contract for the construction of the first lighthouse at the east end of Long Point. In 1833, they built the cribs and piers at the west end of Long Point to preserve a navigational channel.⁹

The 1829 Assessment of Woodhouse Township under Joseph Van Norman’s name showed his Port Dover property valued at £191. Former manager Hiram Capron had property worth £80 in Woodhouse and his successor Elijah Leonard had a £3 valuation.¹⁰

The Flourishing Operation

During these years, the Van Normans employed many area residents in a wide variety of pursuits including hauling raw materials, foundry work, constructing additional plant and warehouse buildings and the company-owned homes for the workers. Indeed, Leonard’s statement of 400 direct and indirect employees would have involved a majority of Charlotteville Township’s working population which numbered 699 males and 621 females in 1831.¹¹

About 1834, Leonard withdrew to enter industrial pursuits at St. Thomas. In later years he established E. Leonard & Sons at London. Another brother of Joseph, Whiting Van Norman served then as the foreman and the business continued to prosper.

By 1838, the Long Point Furnace had sales agencies in Toronto, Hamilton, Brantford and London, Ontario. In March 1838, an advertisement was placed in the Toronto Patriot by the Toronto agency of Champion, Brothers & Co., Wholesale Hardware Merchants located at 22 Yonge Street. They advertised that they “are now receiving 1000 stoves from the Foundry of Joseph Van Norman, of Normandale, Long Point, Upper Canada.” These consisted of plate stoves in elegant patterns measuring 20, 22, 24, 30, 33 and 40 inches. They also advertised “all sizes of the very justly celebrated Van Norman Cooking Stove, Which for simplicity of construction, economy of fuel, and really good oven, cannot be excelled, if equalled, by any other Stove in the Market.” Other products listed were Dog Irons, Bake Pans, Belly Pots, Spiders, etc. In 1840, the same firm advertised receipt of “75 tons of Vannorman’s celebrated Cooking & Other Stoves, of new patterns.”¹²

Joseph’s son George R. Van Norman advertised improved wrought-iron axeltrees from the Dover Iron Works to be had at the agencies of the Long Point Foundry in Toronto, Hamilton, Brantford and London or at the manufactory itself.¹³

The village of Normandale grew up around the enterprise and was in every respect a “company town.” By 1846, it had a population of 300 people, a post office, a tavern, one tailor and two shoemakers. Money being in scarce supply most of the transactions between the Van Normans and area residents were by barter. The Van Norman’s accepted whatever the settlers could provide as payment resulting in Normandale becoming a marketing centre. Farmers brought in their wheat and other crops and surplus articles to pay for Van Norman products. For any remaining balance, Van Norman issued them “due bills” on the firm. These became a recognized medium of exchange, passed from one to another in lieu of money. At one time there were $30,000 of these due bills in circulation.¹⁴

Joseph Van Norman’s owned and leased land holdings were substantial. By the time of the 1841 Assessment of Charlotteville Township, he had nearly 2,500 acres of land. Joseph owned 3 one-storey frame houses, had the foundry, one merchant shop, 20 horses, 2 oxen and 14 milch cows. His valuation totalled £1,284.16, the largest in the township.¹⁵

The End of Operations

By the mid-1840’s, the Normandale bog iron deposits were becoming exhausted and charcoal scarce and expensive. Van Norman found himself over-extended and The Long Point Advocate newspaper issue of 7 Dec 1844 announced a sheriff’s sale of lands and tenements of Joseph Van Norman. Even as one of Norfolk’s most famous enterprises sat on the auction block, its commercial customers continued to advertise their products at the top of their product line. On 2 Jan 1845, in the Canada Christian Advocate newspaper, Wm. Tourje of the Cobourg Stove Store advertised a variety of cooking stoves headed by the “No. 1, 2 and 3 VanNorman Hot Air Oven.”

In 1848, the Van Normans purchased an iron works at Marmora near Peterborough in Hastings County and this failed. Another venture in Hemlock, Houghton Township ran for about a decade but failed due to the faulty quality of the ore.

Norfolk artist W. Edgar Cantelon painted a picture of VanNorman’s store at Hemlock. There is another of Dublin Street in Hemlock showing the small houses of the Irish workers. These are in the collection of the Norfolk Historical Society.

The Government finally began divesting itself of the former Crown Reserves. Although the Van Norman family had not officially taken title to the Crown Lease on Lot 16, Concession A from the government, they began selling their Normandale village lots and homes during the 1840’s. Very belatedly Joseph’s son George Robinson Van Norman, a Simcoe barrister, officially obtained the ownership title to the old Crown Lease on Lot 16, Concession A from the government on January 31, 1852.¹⁶

Although likely operating in a very limited capacity, in the 1852 Census of Charlotteville Twp. Joseph Vannorman still gave his occupation as a founder aged 55 with his wife Roseland aged 52 and children Harriet E. 18, Joseph D Witt (founder) 20 and Roxelana 12. Joseph and his wife were born in the United States and the children in Canada. Joseph was Presbyterian and the rest were Wesleyan Methodist.¹⁷

His son Romaine farmed on the family property at Normandale and was listed following his father in the 1852 Census.

Epilogue

During the 1850’s the Van Norman family left Normandale. Several went to Simcoe and others to Tillsonburg where Whiting Van Norman’s son-in-law Edwin Tillson continued to flourish.

The Van Norman family divested themselves of their properties at Normandale. At the time of Norfolk historian E. A. Owen’s writing in 1898, Elijah Leonard Jr. noted:¹⁸

“The site of the furnace can yet be located, but in place of smoke, and glare, and heat, and the throb of the bellows, all is quiet save the murmur of the ever-running stream. A vegetable garden takes the place of the top house, and the side hill is covered by a goodly sized orchard.”

The death notice of Roxilana Van Norman appeared in the Brantford Weekly Expositor newspaper, issue of 7 Jan 1881. “Died VanNorman, -- On he 30th of December, at the age of 81 years, Roxilana, wife of Joseph VanNorman, Esq., Tilsonburg and mother of G. R. VanNorman, Q.C., of this city.

In the 1881 Census of Tillsonburg page 51, Joseph VanNorman was listed as a widower born in the United States aged 85 with his daughter Harriet (teacher) born in the United States (sic) aged 45. Both were Canada Methodist.

The death notice of Joseph Van Norman appeared in the Tillsonburg Observer newspaper, issue of 22 Jun 1888: “Died – VanNorman - - At his residence, Brock Street, this town, on Thursday night, 14th inst., Joseph Van Norman, aged 92 years, 1 month and 2 days.

Those interested in more about the Van Norman family are referred to Sherri Pettit’s book, The Van Norman Genealogy: Descendants of Joseph and Elizabeth (Wybern) Van Norman 1762-1996 (London, ON: 1996). There is a copy at the Simcoe Public Library.

Sources

1. Collections of the Norfolk Historical Society, Preliminary Inventory, Document No. 2092.

2. Gore Gazette newspaper issue of 22 Dec 1827

3. Gore Gazette newspaper issue of 5 Jan 1828

4. Gore Gazette newspaper issue of 23 Feb 1828

5. Gore Gazette newspaper issue of 7 June 1828

6. Gore Gazette newspaper issue of 4 Oct 1828

7. Dr. J. A. Bannister, "The Famous Normandale Furnace" in Bruce M. Pearce, Compiler, Historical Highlights of Norfolk County, p. 57

8. E. A. Owen, Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement, (Wm. Briggs, Toronto: 1898), p. 457

9. Vittoria Bicentennial: 200 Years of Memories, The Vittoria Bicentennial Committee (Vittoria, ON: 1996), p. 40

10. Yeager, William R. “1829 Woodhouse Twp. Collector’s Roll” in Woodhouse Township 1812 Census With Related Documents (1814-1836) Norfolk Historical Society (Simcoe, ON: 1978)

11. Christian Guardian newspaper issue of 30 Jul 1831

12. The Church newspaper issue of 25 Jul 1840

13. Christian Guardian newspaper issue of 2 Sep 1840

14. Bannister p. 57

15. Yeager, William R. Norfolk County Pioneers: Charlotteville Township 1841 Assessment, Norfolk Historical Society, (Simcoe, ON: 1984)

16. Archives of Ontario Land Records Index

17. The 1852 Census of Charlotteville Twp. p. 5

18. Owen p. 457