Chickies* Mansion and Chickies* #1 Furnace (*Chickies - also Chiques or Chikis)

Chickies Mansion and Chickies #1 Furnace (Chickies - also Chiques or Chikis). . In 1828, Henry Haldeman, patriarch of a well-to-do local family, purchased mills (including a saw mill, chopping mill, and a hemp mill) at the mouth of Chiques Creek and set up two of his sons in business there. The eldest son, Samuel, drew up architectural plans for a magnificent Greek Revival mansion that his father built for him in 1833 at the base of the local geographic landmark known as Chickies Rock. Samuel Haldeman (1812-1880) went on to become an internationally recognized naturalist and scientific linguist who made this his home all his life., Simultaneously, the Pennsylvania Canal was built along the east side of the river bringing commerce to the area. The first lock above Columbia was located at the mouth of Chiques Creek. In 1845, the Industrial Revolution led to major changes here when Chickies #1 Furnace was built just yards from the mansion. It was the first of eight anthracite hot-blast iron furnaces to be built in the two miles between Marietta and Columbia. This was followed in five years by the completion of the railroad linking Philadelphia and Baltimore. These furnaces flourished until about 1930., [Captions, clockwise from top left:] , Very early photograph of Professor Samuel Haldeman shown instructing at the age of 30 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1842. (below right) (more details about his life and work at http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-389)., Chickies Lock on the Eastern Division canal, two miles north of the Columbia basin. A pair of tandem boats are shown rising to the next level. Also shown at the canal lock at Chiques Creek are, Carpet Hall (the company store), the locktender's house (in the middle) and another dwelling Circa 1890 (Courtesy Safe Harbor Water Power Corp.) , Chickies #1 Furnace (lower left). The furnace was located just northwest of the mansion next to where PA Route 441 now ascends Chickies Hill. This photograph was probably taken about 1880., Iron Furnace Salamander (below) from the hearth of Chickies #1 Furnace. The estimated weight of this huge slab of iron is 13 tons. Excavators unearthed it in November 2015, and it was moved here as a visual monument to the iron industry that once flourished in this area. (Courtesy of Lenny Droege), Portrait of Professor Samuel Steman Haldeman painted late in life after distinguished career as an internationally recognized man of science and letters., Chickies Mansion was built in 1833, Professor Haldeman was the architect and it was here he spent much time doing his scientific research until his death in 1880. By 1911, the once elegant mansion was dilapidated and inhabited by hoboes, tramps and thieves, so it was torn down.