The flint furnace is all that remains of the once thriving town of Stafford. Beginning in 1749 with the building of the Rock Forge, an iron works, by George Rock, a succession of furnaces, forges and mills, and other industries occupied the surrounding area. The town's population fluctuated with the fortunes of the men who owned the companies, and during one prosperous era it had a school, boarding house, and post office. After several years of decline, much of the town was destroyed by an ice gorge in 1904, and the flint furnace was the last of these industries to survive. White flint was quarried several miles north of Stafford and brought to the furnace by wagons on the canal, where it was layered alternating with wood and set afire. The heat drove water out of the flint, cracking it and reducing it to large pebbles, which were then ground into a fine powder. After being washed and bagged, the flint powder was sent by canal to Trenton, N.J., where it was used to porcelainize pots and pans and to make porcelain china.