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Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

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Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
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LocationUnion Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA
Nearest cityReading, Pennsylvania
Area848 acres (343 ha)
EstablishedAugust 3, 1938
Visitors49,980 (in 2005)
Governing bodyNational Park Service

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in southeastern Berks County, near Elverson, Pennsylvania, is an example of an American 19th century rural "iron plantation". The buildings include a blast furnace, the ironmaster's house and auxiliary structures including a blacksmith's shop, a company store and several worker's houses.

Hopewell Furnace was founded in 1771 by ironmaster Mark Bird, Son of William Bird, for whom Birdsboro was named. The site's most prosperous time was during the 1820–1840 period with a brief boom in production during the American Civil War. In the mid 19th century changes in iron making, including a shift from charcoal to anthracite rendered smaller furnaces like Hopewell obsolete. The site discontinued operations in 1883.

Today, Hopewell Furnace consists of 14 restored structures in the core historic area, 52 features on the List of Classified Structures, and a total of 848 mostly wooded acres. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is located in the Hopewell Big Woods and surrounded by French Creek State Park on three sides and the State Game Lands to the south which preserves the lands the furnace utilized for its natural resources.

  • Village at Hopewell Furnace in 2008
    Village at Hopewell Furnace in 2008
  • Hopewell Furnace buildings and grounds
    Hopewell Furnace buildings and grounds
  • Ironmaster's House, interior
    Ironmaster's House, interior
  • A wagon loaded with coal at Hopewell Furnace
    A wagon loaded with coal at Hopewell Furnace
  • Sample works produced at Hopewell Furnace
    Sample works produced at Hopewell Furnace
  • The Hopewell Furnace water wheel
    The Hopewell Furnace water wheel
  • Mill sluice exterior
    Mill sluice exterior
  • Below the spillway
    Below the spillway

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hopewell Furnace.
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