Greene Township near Fayetteville in Franklin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Making Iron
Photographed by Larry Gertner, September 12, 2012
1. Making Iron Marker
Inscription.
Making Iron. . The ironmaking process was well-known and cold-blast furnaces built in 18th and 19th century America mimicked designs first used 400 years earlier. A thick stone furnace, shaped like a flat-topped pyramid served as the place of transformation, where minerals became metal.
Fillers dumped alternating layers of charcoal fuel, iron ore and limestone flux into the top of the furnace. As the charcoal burned, air forced into the furnace from the outside raised the temperature to 2,000-3,000 F. creating several byproducts. Carbon gases escaped up the furnace stack, molten iron sank to the bottom and impurities called slag floated on the liquified metal. Workers drew off the useless slag and guttermen channeled the iron into connected castings called pigs.
The ironmaking process was well-known and cold-blast furnaces built in 18th and 19th century America mimicked designs first used 400 years earlier. A thick stone furnace, shaped like a flat-topped pyramid served as the place of transformation, where minerals became metal.
Fillers dumped alternating layers of charcoal fuel, iron ore and limestone flux into the top of the furnace. As the charcoal burned, air forced into the furnace from the outside raised the temperature to 2,000-3,000 F. creating several byproducts. Carbon gases escaped up the furnace stack, molten iron sank to the bottom and impurities called slag floated on the liquified metal. Workers drew off the useless slag and guttermen channeled the iron into connected castings called pigs.
Erected by Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce.
Location. 39° 54.4′ N, 77° 28.667′ W. Marker is near Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, in Franklin County. It is in Greene Township. It can be reached from Pine Grove Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fayetteville PA 17222, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker
More about this marker. The marker is near the Caledonia Furnace in Caledonia State Park.
Photographed by Larry Gertner, September 12, 2012
2. Insert - an ironworks
Photographed by Larry Gertner, September 12, 2012
3. Insert - inside a cold-blast furnace
Photographed by Larry Gertner, September 12, 2012
4. The Caledonia Furnace stone stack
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2017, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 405 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 5, 2017, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
