Stove from the Forges du Saint-Maurice

This stove is from the Forges du Saint-Maurice, Canada's first ironworks. In 1730, François Poulin de Francheville, the seigneur de Saint-Maurice, near Trois-Rivières, received authorization from the king to extract the iron deposits on his seigneury, at his own expense. After 1742, the ironworks came under Crown control and continued to operate until 1880. During those years, they employed more than 100 specialized craftsmen and up to 400 workers, turning out wrought iron goods and cast iron pieces such as kettles, pots and stoves.