Wassaic history reflected in restored kilns

AMENIA — At  an Amenia Town Board meeting on Aug. 4, there was a discussion about the town accepting a gift of the Wassaic Charcoal Kilns from the current owner, Eric Bommer. This brought about many questions, concerning maintenance, responsibility, uses and more.

The kilns, sometimes referred to as pits, look like giant stone beehives. At one time they were very hard to distinguish because of the trees and massive foliage that had grown up around them.

It was decided that the town attorney would look into the potential donation. The kilns’ caretaker, Bernie Leighton, worked for about six weeks to clear the brush. He also did masonry repairs and some major repairs. It was believed that without those repairs, in possibly a year or so, one of the walls might have gone to ruins.

Amenia Historical Society (AHS) member Jerry Strauss said at the Aug. 4 meeting, “An incredible job has been done. Tons of timber has been removed.”

The board expressed interest for a site visit to the kilns.

That visit took place on Thursday, Sept. 1. Prior to the visit, Leighton explained the history and the logistics of the kilns, with a great many pictures, from both before and after the work started.

The board’s visit was a positive one. A grant to Amenia  from the William T. Pomeroy Foundation in 1913 has helped pay for some costs, and a plaque announces the kilns’ historical significance.

Questions arose about the kilns being donated to the town, like what the maintenance and cost of upkeep will be.

But Leighton said that  the work  now being done equates to a full restoration and the kilns will need little maintenance for many years to come.

The original blast furnace is gone, and has been for many years. Rumor has it that some of the blast furnace materials were used to pave parts of Route 22.

The transfer of the kilns from Bommer to the town is still pending; many in the town have said they favor the idea. Amenia has a fair amount of historical sites, and the board likewise expressed interest in adding  the Wassaic Charcoal Kilns to its list of town-owned sites. It’s not only historical, said the AHS, it has a rough beauty, and a long saga as well.

Kiln history

In use until around the mid 1920s, the kilns were part of the Reed, Gridley & Co. Iron Works. Located on Deep Hollow Road in Wassaic, the hamlet of Wassaic was built around the wealth such kilns helped create. They produced as much as 8,000 tons of iron a year.

Such prosperity induced the Gail Borden Milk Company to open an operation in the hamlet and the Vanderbilts and Goulds to extend their railways north. The slow-burning process produced charcoal pig iron, or crude iron.

Gridley and Sons Iron Works was also known as the Deep Hollow Iron Factory and the Wassaic Furnace.

The pits are built of stone, 30 feet in diameter; the entrance to each is about 6 feet. Now that nearby trees and brush have been cleared, the kilns are easily seen. While they are a reminder of the hard work and enterprise they were originally a part of, they now offer a still and serene beauty.

The AHS has taken an interest in this project; if anyone has old photographs or information about the kilns they’ve asked to be contacted at the Town Hall. A cultural resources survey completed by Amenia in conjunction with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Historical Perspectives, Inc. was done in 2014. It identified 11 charcoal hearths and logging roads that allowed charcoal to be brought out of the mountains to supply local furnaces.

The board has to determine if it will accept the transfer of the kilns; it’s leaning toward doing so. Go to www.ameniany.gov for details about the kilns, with photos by the caretaker.