Weymouth: iron pipes, paper mills and a broken dam

A river put to work

Atlantic County traces the enterprise to an 1800 land purchase by partners led by George Ashbridge and Charles Shoemaker. Permission to dam the Great Egg Harbor River followed in 1801, and iron production began in 1802. The works made substantial quantities of iron water pipe and supplied military shot during the War of 1812. Atlantic County Weymouth history.

The settlement included houses, a church, store, mills, a blacksmith and a wheelwright: a community supporting several trades. Atlantic County Weymouth history.

The buildings outlasted the iron trade

The county history places the end of competitive iron production around 1862 and reports a fire that year. Two paper mills subsequently operated there, using discarded rope, rags and bagging before turning to wood pulp in 1886. Paper production ended in 1897; the mill pond drained after the dam failed in 1916. Atlantic County Weymouth history.

Why the canals count as evidence

The 2008 Pine Barrens Byway study includes Weymouth’s canals among the archaeological resources of the iron industry. Its account explains how small ore boats moved along waterways to deliver bog ore. The remains of transport and water-control systems enlarge the story beyond a picturesque wall beside the river. Pine Barrens Byway intrinsic-qualities study (2008).

An unsettled closing date

The byway study dates iron production through 1865, while the county narrative centers the collapse on 1862. Those dates should remain attributed until operating accounts or contemporary notices resolve whether they refer to different activities. A site name alone cannot identify each foundation’s industrial use. Atlantic County Weymouth history; Pine Barrens Byway intrinsic-qualities study (2008).