With the archeological site of the seventeenth-century iron-making plant, the museum collection, the seventeenth-century Iron Works House, and the reconstructed iron works complex, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site illustrates the critical role of iron making to seventeenth-century settlement and its legacy in shaping the early history of the nation. The site's enclave setting on the Saugus River, featuring an open-air museum with working waterwheels, evokes a unique experience for park visitors. These resources demonstrate seventeenth-century engineering and design methods, iron-making technology and operations, local and overseas trade, and life and work in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The original manufacturing site served as a training ground for skilled iron workers for what would become America's iron and steel industry. Iron making provided the infrastructure for the rise of other colonial industries. Called, "the forerunner of America's industrial giants," the site served as a center for technology, innovation and invention. The site interprets early industrial manufacturing, with its enduring social, political and environmental ramifications.
