Where did the ore come from?
The ore provided two functions, one as a source of iron (limonite), the other was for a fluxing agent to limit the exposure of iron to oxygen (gabbro). Limonite, or bog ore as the iron workers called it, is a sedimentary rock found locally and was mined by local farmers in what is now day Saugus. Gabbro, or “rock mine” was mined at Nahant by burning the rock with cord wood fires and shipped up the Saugus River by boat.
