Gun Powder Keg Appraised at Event
The small gunpowder keg pictured at left was one of the items appraised at the 2019 New Holstein Historical Society's Appraisal Day. Due to the keg still containing some amount of powder, the keg was appraised from photographes.
It is thought that the keg was probably manufactured by hand at the Hazard Power Company in Hazard, Conn. in the mid 1800's. The powder company had its own cooperage which manufactured the kegs for shipping the gunpowder. This small keg was thought to be one of the company's "15 pounders". The keg was manufactured of wood slats and bound together by wooden bindings, possibly made of soaked and steamed willow. The finished keg also sported a wooden screw, or bung, which could be opened to get powder out of the keg. The manufacture of gunpowder was big business in the mid 1800's as the Crimean War, the building of the transcontinental railroad and the initiation of stockpiling arsenals within the US all spurred demand.
It is thought that the keg was probably manufactured by hand at the Hazard Power Company in Hazard, Conn. in the mid 1800's. The powder company had its own cooperage which manufactured the kegs for shipping the gunpowder. This small keg was thought to be one of the company's "15 pounders". The keg was manufactured of wood slats and bound together by wooden bindings, possibly made of soaked and steamed willow. The finished keg also sported a wooden screw, or bung, which could be opened to get powder out of the keg. The manufacture of gunpowder was big business in the mid 1800's as the Crimean War, the building of the transcontinental railroad and the initiation of stockpiling arsenals within the US all spurred demand.