The bloomery forge was one of the earliest tools for making iron. Bloomery forges were well suited for the Adirondacks. The operators of the forge, called bloomers, were highly skilled workers.

To make wrought iron in the forge, bloomers shoveled iron ore into charcoal fires. The ore would heat up and slowly move toward the bottom of the hearth. The iron never got hot enough to melt. Instead it turned into a spongy, pasty lump. This lump, called a loop, was removed from the hearth and brought to a huge triphammer. Another worker operated the triphammer and pounded the loop into a bloom. The bloom was reheated in the forge. A second hammering shaped the iron into bars or billets.

Skilled bloomers and hammersmen could make high quality wrought iron in these forges. However, they could only produce a small amount. It would take bloomery workers several hours of tending the hearth and then hammering to make less than 50 pounds of iron.