Principio Company

The Principio Company, one of the largest iron-making enterprises in colonial America, was formed in England around 1716. The company eventually owned over 30,000 acres of land and produced over half of the pig iron exported to England before the American Revolution.

From the guide to the Principio Company records, 1768-1769, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

The Principio Company, one of the largest iron-making enterprises in Colonial America, was formed in England around 1716, primarily by ironmasters from the Midlands, many of whom were Quakers. It eventually owned over 30,000 acres of land and produced over half of the pig iron exported to England before the Revolution.

The company's first furnace was begun on Principio Creek in Cecil County by Joseph Farmer in 1722. The work was then left in the care of Stephen Onion, but he was demoted for mismanagement, and the company sent John England, a skilled Staffordshire ironmaster to take over the work in 1723. England completed both a forge and furnace at Principio by 1725. Ore was obtained from deposits along the Bush River and on the Patapsco at what is now Locust Point, Baltimore. England discovered larger ore deposits on land belonging to Augustine Washington, the father of George, on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. The company purchased an 11/12 interest in this property and erected the Accokeek Furnace there in 1725-26.

The company built another forge at North East, Cecil County, around 1735 and built Kingsbury Furnace on the head of Back River in Baltimore County in 1744-45. The Lancashire Furnace, near Kingsbury, was purchased from Dr. Charles Carroll in 1751.

The company's resident manager, Thomas Russell, sided with the Revolutionaries in 1776, as of course did the Washington family. The shares of the other British owners were formally confiscated by Maryland in 1780.

From the description of Inventory, 1781. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86094012

The Principio Company, one of the largest iron-making enterprises in colonial America, was formed in England around 1716.

The company eventually owned over 30,000 acres of land and produced over half of the pig iron exported to England before the American Revolution.

From the description of Principio Company records, 1768-1769. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122517907