Moss Town and Industry Museum

The town of Moss, in the county of Østfold in south-eastern Norway, is the southern terminus of commuter trains from Oslo. The museum dealing with the history of the town and its industry was established in 1995 and moved to its present premises in the mill of Kloster & Gale in 2000. The town has a varied industrial history but its most important enterprise was the Moss Jernwerk (Moss Ironworks) established in 1704 near the Mossefossen waterfalls from which it derived power for its bellows and hammers. It used iron ore from the district around Arendal which was smelted with charcoal from local forests. Farmers within a 25 km. radius of the works had an obligation to provide certain quantities of charcoal every year. Forges that could refine pig iron into wrought iron were established at the works, together with Norway’s first rolling mill. Cast iron products included cannon, grenades and shot for the Norwegian army, anvils, pots and pans, smoothing irons and elaborate household stoves.  The works manufactured nails and saw blades from wrought iron. The administrative building of the ironworks was used in 1814 for the signing of the Convention of Moss which affirmed the union between Norway and Sweden. In 1842 the works had 270 employees. The ironworks closed in 1873 and from l875 its offices were used by the company established by Momme Peterson (1771-1835) which was involved in textiles, timber and paper. In 1882 Peterson’s grandson Theodore Peterson (1839-88) established the Moss Cellulosfabrik, producing cellulose used in packaging. The company was subject to takeovers in the late twentieth century and ceased operation in 2012. The museum has displays concerning all the industries that flourished in the Moss region, including the ironworks, corn mills, pulp- and paper-making and water-power. It is the starting point for trails along which visitors can learn of the history of the many buildings that reflect Moss’s industrial heritage.