An additional source which speaks to J. Brothers last post about the nature
of the iron plantation is "Crafty Businessmen: A New Perspective on 18th
Century Plantation Economics." Lynn Lewis et. al., in The Archaeology of
18th Century Virginia  ed. Theodore Reinhart, Special Publication no. 35,
The Archeological Society of Virginia, 1996.

The article is about the excavation over several years of the iron furnace
at Montpelier, the business enterprise of James Madison Senior.

Michael
--
Michael Strutt
Slave Housing Survey Coordinator
Center For Historic Preservation
Middle Tennessee State University
(615) 898-2949
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"Work is the curse of the drinking classes" - Oscar Wilde