Burden Iron Company

Large iron manufacturing firm in Troy, N.Y.

In 1819, Henry Burden, born in Scotland, came to the United States and in 1822 he became Superintendent of the Troy Iron and Nail Factory. Burden in addition to being a businessman was an inventor of many important manufacturing tools, including a wrought iron nail and spike machine, a horseshoe nail machine, a rotary concentric machine for compressing balls of molten iron into blooms, and his most famous device, the horseshoe machine. This latter machine made possible the very rapid production of horseshoes. The Burden works was responsible for the manufacture of most of the millions of horseshoes used by the Union Army in the Civil War. In 1851, Burden built his famous Burden Water Wheel, an overshot waterwheel, sixty feet high and 22 feet in diameter that produced 1,200 horsepower. About 1850 he became the owner of the company and in 1864 the firm of H. Burden & Sons was formed. In 1881, the company was incorporated with the name Burden Iron Company. In 1925 a new blast furnace was constructed to produce pig iron from ore mined in the Adirondack region of New York. The Burden family retained control of the firm until the late 1930s and Republic Steel Company purchased the firm during World War II. The company was later purchased by the Portec Company and is no longer in business. The company employed more than 1400 workers during its peak years, including many from immigrant Irish, Scotch, English and Welsh families.

In 1819, Henry Burden, born in Scotland, came to the United States and in 1822 he became Superintendent of the Troy Iron and Nail Factory. Burden, in addition to being a businessman, was an inventor of many important manufacturing tools, including a wrought iron nail and spike machine, a horseshoe nail machine, a rotary concentric machine for compressing balls of molten iron into blooms, and his most famous device, the horseshoe machine. This latter machine made possible the very rapid production of horseshoes. The Burden works was responsible for the manufacture of most of the millions of horseshoes used by the Union Army in the Civil War.

In 1851, Burden built his famous Burden Water Wheel, an overshot waterwheel, sixty feet high and 22 feet in diameter that produced 1,200 horsepower. About 1850 he became the owner of the company and in 1864 the firm of H. Burden & Sons was formed. In 1881, the company was incorporated with the name Burden Iron Company. In 1925 a new blast furnace was constructed to produce pig iron from ore mined in the Adirondack region of New York. The Burden family retained control of the firm until the late 1930s and Republic Steel Company purchased the firm during World War II. The company was later purchased by the Portec Company and is no longer in business. The company employed more than 1400 workers during its peak years, including many from immigrant Irish, Scotch, English and Welsh families.