In 1730, the Montréal merchant and seigneur of Saint-Maurice, François Poulin de Francheville, was granted permission by the King to mine the iron deposits on his seigneury at his own expense. The ironworks, built near the town of Trois-Rivières, were the first and only iron industry enterprise in New France. In 1736, shortly after Poulin's death, the ironworks were taken over by a company that, despite a loan from the King, went bankrupt in 1741. The ironworks then became the property of the Crown, and began producing artillery pieces and objects of everyday use, such as pots and stoves.