Hunter’s Iron Works

Sometime in the 1750s Fredericksburg merchant James Hunter began the operation of a forge and iron works on the Rappahannock River east of Falmouth. Historian Rick MacGregor created this sketch based on historical and archaeological research into the site. The iron works complex employed a small community of hired and enslaved workers with a merchant mill, gristmill, and sawmill.

During the American Revolution, Hunter’s iron works supported the war effort with the production of firearms, becoming known as Rappahannock Forge. The foundry produced muskets, pistols, carbines, camp kettles, and other tools necessary for the Continental Army. Congress’s failure to pay Hunter for the goods provided, and eventual recruitment of his workers to the army, eventually forced him to close the foundry in 1782.