Using charcoal as its fuel, the Saugus blast furnace smelted locally-mined bog ore and gabbro into cast iron \"pig\" bars. Gray iron was also poured into molds to make pots, kettles, skillets, firebacks and salt-pans. In the forge, a five hundred pound hammer was used to forge wrought iron \"merchant bars\". Iron bars were reheated and flattened through rollers. Blacksmiths made cart and wagon tires, axes, hinges, and saw blades from the flat bar. Flat bar processed through slitters produced thin strips of metal for making nails or horse shoes.

The blast furnace, forge, rolling mill, warehouse, and dock area are all reconstructed on original sites and are based upon extensive archeological excavations done between 1948 and 1953. Now a National Historic Site - NPS