The Workers at Eagle Iron Works
It takes a lot of workers to run an iron manufacturing concern. Shown above are some of them c 1900 with Iron Master Henry 'Harry' Roland Curtin (man with bow tie, middle of second row). Notice the variety of tools they are holding. About half of the work force produced charcoal. It was labor intensive and vast amounts were needed. Much lumbering was done in the colder months when weather permitted, and charcoal was made from May to October. About a third of the workers were miners of iron ore and limestone. The remainder worked at the furnace, forge, and rolling mill. Support workers included blacksmiths, carpenters, harness makers, drivers, masons, and other craftsmen. Teachers staffed the school, shopkeepers managed the company store, there were ministers in two churches, farmers provided crops and meat, and a miller was a constant. In 1850, there were 181 men listed on the ironworks' books, although only about 80 were full-time employees. The remainder were seasonal workers, such as 'fellers', often farmers who felled trees in the winter, or craftsmen who were hired as needed. A little know fact is that Roland Curtin employed a small number of paid African Americans well before the Civil War. Women were also on the payroll as seamstresses, laundresses, and household servants at the mansion.
To attract and keep workers, the Curtins offered them free housing in the workers' village or in the boarding house. Not surprisingly, there was a hierarchy in regard to the size and quality of the worker's house, depending on what job he held. Space was also made available for planting vegetable gardens and to keep cows and chickens. There was a company grocery/dry goods store where they could buy flour, sugar, salt, coffee etc. as well as material to make clothing. Since Curtin Village was a self-sufficient community for the most part, a worker’s pay was credited on the books of the company store, and the goods bought were deducted from that credit. If a worker had store credits left at the end of the month, they received cash.
For 112 years, through more than a century of wars and revolutionary changes in transportation and industry, the Curtins successfully used this model to keep their company and community viable.
To attract and keep workers, the Curtins offered them free housing in the workers' village or in the boarding house. Not surprisingly, there was a hierarchy in regard to the size and quality of the worker's house, depending on what job he held. Space was also made available for planting vegetable gardens and to keep cows and chickens. There was a company grocery/dry goods store where they could buy flour, sugar, salt, coffee etc. as well as material to make clothing. Since Curtin Village was a self-sufficient community for the most part, a worker’s pay was credited on the books of the company store, and the goods bought were deducted from that credit. If a worker had store credits left at the end of the month, they received cash.
For 112 years, through more than a century of wars and revolutionary changes in transportation and industry, the Curtins successfully used this model to keep their company and community viable.
