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Article: Lead Industry
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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LEAD INDUSTRY
LEAD INDUSTRY
first became commercially important to the United States in 1750 when sustained lead mining and smelting began in Dutchess County, New York, and at what later became known as the Austinville mine in Virginia. The demand for lead bullets and shot in the Revolutionary War prompted the working of several small deposits in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. The domestic availability and relative ease of smelting of lead ores greatly contributed to early frontier development and to sustaining the revolt against the English Crown.
Although reports exist of some petty lead production in connection with a 1621 iron furnace ...