Leland Blue Hunter & Designer Cabochons

operated an iron smelter north of the river mouth, supplied with ore from the Upper Peninsula and charcoal made from local maple and beech timber; the charcoal was produced in fourteen beehive kilns near the smelting furnace, which produced up to 40 tons of iron per day. In 1884 the plant was sold to the Leland Lumber Co. This unique material was a by-product of the short lived days of attempting

to smelt iron ore in the Northwestern corner of lower Michigan. The great Mesabi iron ranges of the Upper Peninsula supplied the ore and it was unloaded by hand on the docks of the new foundries on Lake Michigan. The blast furnaces were stoked with a high grade charcoal, made only from the hard woods of beech and maple. This charcoal, which combined with local limestone flux to reduce the iron ore to pig iron, gave this foundry glass its unique colors and textures. The smelters began operation in 1875 and by 1900 most operations had ceased due to the exceedingly costly supply of hardwoods as nearby forests were clear cut. Today the lucky rock hound may find a piece of the blue slag glass washed ashore on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Leland, Michigan. A man made throw-away created from natural materials over 120 years ago at the Leland Iron Company in Michigan. For a brief 14 year period in history, the slag was discarded in the waters and tumbled naturally. A treasure found and re purposed!