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Fuel for the Beast:
Coaling Tryon Creek, 1867-1885 Step back in time to the mid-nineteenth century, when the Douglas-fir trees in the park were cut to make charcoal. Assemble a model charcoal mound, and load a cart with charcoal. Explore the science behind melting metal, and discover the contribution of Chinese immigrant labor to the development of
'Fuel for the Beast' is on display beginning May 2007 and will stay up for a year. We hope you will come by the nature center and explore this integral history of Tryon Creek. Below is one part of the story of 'Fuel for the Beast'. It highlights the transformation of Tryon Creek's Douglas-fir trees into charcoal for the Lake Oswego Iron Industry. |
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 Men with cordwood and teams of horses in the Oswego area. Photo courtesy of the Cook family. |
It took a lot of work to make charcoal! First, laborers cut down big Douglas-fir trees and chopped them into a useable size. One acre of forest produced about 100 cords of wood. |
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 Clearing the hearth. Photo courtesy Hopewell National Historic Site in Pennsylvania. From a charcoal-making reenactment, cir. 1969. |
A teamster hauled the cordwood to a cleared area called the “hearth.” |
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 Finished mound. Photo courtesy Hopewell National Historic Site in Pennsylvania. From a charcoal-making reenactment, cir. 1969. |
The collier and his assistants carefully built the mound. |
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 Collier tending a charcoal mound. Drawing by Susanna Kuo. Courtesy of the artist. |
The collier covered the mound with dirt and leaves, then dropped hot coals into the middle “chimney.” The coals slowly smoldered the wood. It took about two weeks to turn wood into charcoal. |
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 Loading bushels of finished charcoal into the wagon. Drawing from a children’s book set in old Oswego, “Charcoal Wagon Boy” by Theresa Truchot. |
When the collier determined that the charcoal was finished, he and his assistants “raked out” the mound. They were careful not to break up the chunks of charcoal too much. |
 Full charcoal wagon at the Oswego iron furnace. Photo by C. E. Watkins. Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society. |
Finally, laborers loaded the charcoal into a wagon and drove it to the furnace. One cord of wood made about 50 bushels of charcoal. |
