Although iron ore in this country was first discovered in North Carolina in 1585, and the manufacture of iron was first undertaken (but never accomplished) in Virginia in 1619, the first successful ironworks in America was established by Thomas Dexter and Robert Bridges near the Saugus River in Lynn, Massachusetts. As the original promoters of the enterprise, they hired John Winthrop Jr. from England to begin production. By 1645, a blast furnace had begun operations, and by 1648 a forge was working there.