Mystery Artifact Answer #1

Fort Union National Monument

The mystery artifact is a damper for a stove. Dampers control the amount of air that flows through a stove’s firebox. The more air that enters, the hotter the fire burns and the more fuel is consumed. By closing the damper and limiting air flow through the stove, fuel is conserved.

At Fort Union, stoves were a welcome replacement for fireplaces as a source of heating. Open fireplaces combined with the incessant winds at Fort Union created a severe fire hazard from flying sparks and embers. The fort witnessed several severe fires in the mid-1870s. Some of the fort’s fireplaces were even bricked up as a safety precaution.

Initially, the fort used wood-burning stoves. The nearby Turkey Mountains provided an ample wood supply. But when the railroad reached nearby Watrous in 1879, coal was also used as a heating fuel.