Charcoal Barn

Charcoal Barn. . This is where the furnace fuel, charcoal, was stored. The fuel was made from hardwood trees cut from the forest that surrounded the furnace complex. Why charcoal? Charcoal provided much greater heat than wood. Temperatures of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit were required to melt iron ore. . . The Connecting Shed joined the Furnace and the Charcoal Barn enabling workers to haul the fuel to the top of the stack. The storage barn had a gabled, slate roof. . . In 1856 a fire started by a hot coal, caused the Charcoal Barn to burn to the ground. After the fire the building was enlarged by a third. . . On the outside east wall of the building above the keystone of the window archway is the building reconstruction date -- 1856. . . [photo caption] 1916 view of the Charcoal Barn and connecting shed. This sandstone building housed the fuel for the furnace operation. . Photo courtesy of Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley - Stauffer Collection . . [photo caption] A 1932 view of the Charcoal Barn showing a deteriorated building without a roof. . Photo: Hagley Museum Library . . [photo caption] From 1987 to 1988 Hay Creek Valley Historical Association volunteers labored to cut out the mortise and tenon joints of the huge supporting timbers of the first and second floors of the Charcoal Barn. . Photo: Ron Schlegel Collection . . [photo caption] The masonry Charcoal Barn was reconstructed in 1987. Volunteers used period tools to construct the beams of the building. . . Today the Charcoal Barn houses the Association's museum. . Photo: Ron Schlegel Collection . This historical marker is in Robeson Township in Berks County Pennsylvania