Hidden Labor

An advertisement for the sale of Catoctin Furnace in The Baltimore American on November 22, 1847, highlighted stone and log dwelling houses for necessary hands, a superior dwelling house, stables, a carriage house, a large and handsome garden, an ice house, a store house, and other outbuildings for the accommodation of an owner living there. The ruins include the remains of many small structures that helped run the ironmaster's mansion, including a wagon shed, corn crib, woodshed, spring house, chicken house, and privy. These buildings supported the lifestyle of the ironmaster and his family, while their placement meant that a visitor approaching from the main road would have seen only the imposing manor house. The mansion's layout also kept the work of servants and enslaved people out of sight, with the kitchen, service areas, and living quarters for laborers located in the basement.

Maryland · United States