About 40 men were needed to keep the furnace in blast, and many more supported the workers and their families in a furnace community that came alive at daybreak with farmhands going to the fields, laborers heading toward the hills, children walking to school, and women washing laundry while the general store, hotel, and post office bustled. At the furnace, thick smoke billowed constantly from the stack as laborers went in and founders and keepers directed fillers and moulders, while carpenters, blacksmiths, and engineers kept equipment running under the oversight of the owner and ironmaster, Mr. Chalon Guard. At the center of it all, a ceaseless waterwheel powered the large bellows, driving the fire hotter and setting the rhythm of daily life day and night. The community was relatively self-sufficient, with company-owned farms growing grain and fodder for hogs and cattle, garden plots providing fresh vegetables, and women weaving, spinning, and making soap and candles.