Keeping Endor Operational

Item 670: Endor Iron Works Ledger, 1864-1868

The ledger also provides evidence that the Downer Group engaged in maintenance and repairs to the furnace at Endor. Several separate expenses indicate that the company was keeping the furnace in good condition throughout the seven months when the Downer Group owned it. The Downer Group performed maintenance on the hearth on April 11, and the company paid for the installation of new water pipes and the removal of the old ones on May 6 1864. (Item 670) These water pipes were possibly related to the boiler and steam engine. Although this evidence can be disregarded by arguing that the repairs and maintenance could have been performed to increase the equity of the property in preparation to sell, when combined with the evidence of production shown by the ledger, this evidence undoubtedly portrays the Downer Group as more than just real estate speculators.  They can only be seen as operators of the iron works who were invested in its wellbeing.