Click on the numbers
below on the map for more information.
Map of
Cornwall Iron Furnace
1.
Visitors' Center
Located
in the 19th century Charcoal Barn, the Visitors' Center offers interpretive
exhibits on mining, charcoal making, and ironmaking and
gives the visitor a glimpse of the huge spaces
needed to contain the fuel used in the smelting process.
Visitors' services, the Gallery and the museum store are located in this
facility.
Back to top
2.
Connecting Shed
This roof protected charcoal from inclement weather as
it was transported in carts to the furnace building. Before
the furnace building was constructed around the stack, raw materials were
brought to the top of the stack on a bridge from the top of
the hill.
Back to top
3. Furnace Building
Originally, several distinct buildings clustered around the furnace
stack. The furnace building was constructed when the furnace
was remodeled and enlarged in the mid-1800s. Its elegant
façade and Gothic Revival details are a testimony to the
success of the furnace and to the refined taste of its
owners. Charcoal, iron ore, and limestone were introduced
into the furnace in the charging area on the upper level.
The blast equipment, which supplied air to the furnace, is
located on the next lower level. This is believed to be the
sole surviving example of this type of machinery. The
casting room is where molten iron flowed out of the furnace
and cast into pig iron or cast iron products.
Back to top
4. Roasting Oven
Alternate layers of charcoal and iron ore, loosely placed to
permit the upward passage of air, were put into the roasting
oven to remove sulfur from the iron ore. Failure to
eliminate sulfur caused difficulties in smelting and might force the operation to stop. This structure was probably
erected in the early 1800s when the mine was beginning to
yield a lower grade ore.
Back to top
5. Stone Buttresses
This structure was built to support the railway that
transported ore from the mine to the site. Later, these
buttresses were used to store anthracite coal for use on the
iron plantation.
Back to top
6. Blacksmith Shop
The fabrication and repair of tools for mining and
ironmaking was an ongoing process. Here a blacksmith could
make tools and make hardware for the community.
Back to top
7. Wagon Shop
Wagons for the mining and ironmaking operations were
constructed and repaired in this building.
Back to top
8. Abattoir
This charming Gothic Revival building, featuring quatre-foil
windows, served as smokehouse and butcher shop for the
Cornwall estate.
Back to top
9. Stable
This building quartered the horses and mules used in
everyday functions of the furnace, such as hauling raw
materials and finished products. There are keystone arches
over the lower doors and the vent grills in the upper doors.
Today the stable serves as the maintenance shop for Cornwall
Manor.
Back to top
10. Manager’s House/ Office
Building
Present knowledge indicates that this impressive stone
building was constructed in the 19th century as a residence
for the furnace manager. Its size and design show the
importance of the manager, who ranked second only to the
owner. In the 20th century. Bethlehem Steel used this
building as its Cornwall office. Today the building is a day
care center for children.
Back to top
11. Open Pit Mine
Cornwall Ore Banks was one of the world’s greatest iron ore
deposits. More than 100 million tons were extracted between
1730 and 1973. The depth of the open pit reached five
hundred feet below the surface. The open pit mine can be
viewed from Boyd Street.
Back to top
12. Minersvillage
Company housing was made available to miners and furnace
workers. Minersvillage was started in 1865 and has been
occupied continuously. Today the houses are private
residence, and may be seen along Boyd Street.
Back to top
13. Paymaster’s Office
By 1875, this structure was an office serving the Cornwall
Estate. The Cornwall Iron Co., Ltd. (1886-1901), who had
control over the defunct Cornwall Iron Furnace, used the
building for its office. Today Cornwall Manor uses this
building as an artist studio.
Back to top
14. Ironmaster’s Mansion
Curttis and Peter Grubb, sons of the builder of Cornwall
Furnace, built this mansion in 1773. The Coleman family,
whose patriarch Robert Coleman had acquired the furnace
and estate, did extensive remodeling in 1865. Included in
the renovation was the addition of Italianate architectural
elements. Today a few residents of Cornwall Manor have
apartments in this building.
Back to top
Home |
History | Visitor Information |
Site Map
Furnace Tour |
Calendar of Events
Educational Resources |
Links of Interest
Cornwall Iron Furnace Associates
Cornwall Iron Furnace
94 Rexmont Road
P.O. Box 251
Cornwall, PA 17016
Phone: 717-272-9711
Fax: 717-272-0450
Administered by the
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Josh Shapiro, Governor |
Hayley Haldeman, Chairman
Executive Director, Andrea Lowery
With generous support of
the Friends of Cornwall Iron Furnace.
Copyright. All rights reserved.
|