Research Project Exploring Use Of Forced Labor At Saugus Ironworks

By Compiled From N... - May 10th, 2023

The forge at Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site/NPS file

History nearly 400 years old is being explored at Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site in Massachusetts.

The story of 400 Scottish soldiers taken prisoner at the Battles of Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) and shipped to New England as forced labor is one of the most compelling immigrant stories in early American history. Many Scots served their five-to-seven-year indentures at the Saugus Ironworks, and the rest worked in other hard and dangerous jobs in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, according to a park release.

On May 21 there will be a forum at 1 p.m. at the park in Saugus to seek suggestions to help shape the future of a research project into the forced labor. Research conducted by an international team of archaeologists and historians is unearthing the fascinating story of some of the workers at the Saugus Ironworks.

Landscapes of Indenture is an international investigation of the lives of the Scots, and the environmental impact they and other laborers had on the New England frontier. The National Park Service is a partner in the project along with Salem State University, the University of New Hampshire, Old Berwick Historical Society, Durham University in England, and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The team of archaeologists, historians and paleoecologists are currently conducting fieldwork on sites associated with the Scots.

Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site

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