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Photographer: Mike Wintermantel
Taken: June 20, 2014
Caption: Helen Furnace Descriptive Sign
Additional Description: Hieland Furnace
Where you are standing is the beginning of what was the charge ramp of the iron furnace know as
Helen Furnace
Robert Barker and William S. Packer erected the furnace at the State and Clarion road crossing, on the old McNaughton farm, in 1845. The builders named it "Highland" Furnace in honor of Alexander McNaughton who prided himself in being a Highlander, but the word being pronounced after the Scottish dialect "Hieland" (Pronunciation with Scottish accent was heeland) the name was corrupted to "Helen" Furnace, leading to the erroneous supposition that it was christened with a feminine name. The name of the township was the same origin; it is commonly, but incorrectly, pronounced "Helen" township. In 1850 it was owned by W.S. Packer and Company. On Barber & Packer's failure the property for a short time was in the hands of David Richey, and was finally purchased by Samuel Wilson, with whom D. McKim, of Strattanville, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, was a partner for a while. The property passed into the hands of Samuel Wilson, who ran it till 1857. It was a two-tuyere Cold-blast Charcoal Furnace with an eight-foot bosh, thirty-two feet high, and powered by steam. In twenty-six weeks of 1856 it produced 756 tons of iron out of buhrstone coal measure ore mined back of the tunnel head. The Furnace was reconstructed in 1977.

Capacity in Tons................1,500 Kind of ore used................Argillareous Carbonate No. of Men & Boys Employed......100 No. of Horses & Mules Employed..70 Stack No. Tuyeres...............2 Stack Bosh......................9 feet Stack Height....................32 feet Kind of Power used..............Steam Kind of Metal made..............Close Gray Iron Largest Product.................1,500 Tons Actual Product in 1849..........1,000 Tons
Submitted: June 20, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Database Locator Identification Number: p276465
File Size: 2.384 Megabytes

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