From the 1760s to the 1820s, convicts, indentured servants, and enslaved peoples worked and died producing and forging iron at the Ridgely family's Northampton Iron Furnace outside of Baltimore. The iron was crucial to the growth of the British Empire, the American Revolution, and the building of the town of Baltimore. By using and controlling people who were marginalized in society, the Ridgely family was able to exploit their labor and lives to generate considerable wealth and political power. Archaeologist Adam Fracchia will present the findings of his archaeological work at the furnace and discuss the structure of labor relations and the experience of workers at the furnace.