Robeson Township near Morgantown in Berks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Office
⎯⎯⎯
Store
Photographed by Carl Gordon Moore Jr., October 17, 2020
1. Office / Store Marker
Furnace Road is behind the camera.
The Office/Store was the hub of the iron works. Food, hardware, dry goods, medicinal supplies and various sundries were available. The Furnace's work ledgers were maintained here.
Surviving store ledgers list eggs, dried beef, beef, chickens, salt pork, veal, sugar, tea, coffee, molasses, grain, vegetables, scythes, stoves, all sorts of hand tools, drugs and medicines, and even coffins; all the necessities of life .... and death.
A small second floor porch on the southern side of the building provided a possible means for the ironmaster, founder and night keeper to issue work assignments to the workmen who would gather below.
During the Furnace improvements of 1877 the gingerbread trim was added to the building. Windows were changed from 6 over 6 lite to 2 over 2 lite.
A post office was also in the building from 1830 to 1890.
[Captions:]
The Joanna Furnace Office/Store as it appeared in 1916.
Photo courtesy of Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley - Stauffer Collection
A page from the original Rutter, May & Company Day Book of Joanna Furnace. The ledger ran from May 26, 1791 to September 7, 1797 and included time records of furnace employees.
Photo: HCVHA Collection
Topics. This historical marker is listed in
this page online
Location. 40° 11.478′ N, 75° 53.209′ W. Marker is near Morgantown, Pennsylvania, in Berks County. It is in Robeson Township. It is on Furnace Road half a mile east of Morgantown Road (Pennsylvania Route 10), on the right when traveling east. This CAN be seen from Furnace Road, running at the top of the hill. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Furnace Road, Morgantown PA 19543, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. 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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Charcoal Barn (here, next to this marker); Blacksmith Shop (here, next to this marker); Joanna Furnace Mansion Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Ore Roaster (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Joanna Furnace Industrial Complex (about 300 feet away); In Honor of the Men from Caenarvon Township (approx. 2.1 miles away); Alleghany Mennonite Meetinghouse (approx. 5.4 miles away); The Caernarvon Presbyterian Church (approx. 5½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Morgantown.
Photographed by Carl Gordon Moore Jr., October 17, 2020
2. Office / Store Marker
Furnace Road is behind the camera.
Photographed by Carl Gordon Moore Jr., October 17, 2020
3. Office / Store Marker
This is the opposite side of the building. Furnace Road is behind the building.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2020, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. This page has been viewed 180 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 21, 2020, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
