The "Wrought with Iron" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the streets of downtown Lancaster trying to capture photos of some of the decorative wrought iron that is seen on fences, railings, gates and even security covers for basement windows.  Ornamental wrought iron is as much an art form as paintings or ceramics.  The Egyptians were thought to be the creators of wrought iron as evidenced in their tools and farming implements that were uncovered in their tombs and burial chambers.  "Wrought" means "worked" and when used with iron, that has very little or no carbon in it, can be fashioned into a variety of designs and shapes when heated.  Blacksmiths and iron smiths used their imaginations while forming scrolls, hinges and railings while using only a forge, anvil and hand tools.  Wrought iron is different from cast iron which was introduced in the 1400s in that cast iron is limited to mold castings rather than begin able to shape the iron with tools.  Cast iron is molded from liquid metal and can be used to make items such as sump pumps, jet pumps, machinery parts or any other item that requires a sand mold to be made for pouring the molten iron.  As for my journey today, the city of Lancaster originally was called Hickory Town and was renamed after the English town of Lancaster by John Wright.  Lancaster was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn and was laid out by James Hamilton in 1734.  It was incorporated as a borough in 1742 and incorporated as a city in 1818.  The beautiful wrought iron from those eras can be found on just about any street in Lancaster.  Check out some of my findings and see the beautiful work that was created years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.