Ironville in Essex County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Irondale
Station 2
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, April 10, 2022
1. Irondale Marker
The Gray's Atlas of Essex County printed in 1876 recorded the improvements made in "Irondale after the Crown Point Iron Company built a narrow gauge railroad to carry ore from the mines to its new foundry complex on Lake Champlain. Here the path from town to the bridge crossed the new rail line.
For nearly fifty years, a plank bridge supported by rock-cribbed piers had carried foot traffic and charcoal carts to homes and charcoal sheds on the far side of Putt's Creek. After 1888, when the Brooklyn Bridge opened with Crown Point iron in its suspension cables, the worker's hamlet across the pond was dubbed "Brooklyn & the humble span, 'The Bridge to Brooklyn."
Ironville was a focal point of the Adirondack iron industry for over seventy years. As a by-product of its iron industry, Ironville became the site of the first industrial use of electricity and indirectly participated in the birth of the electric motor.
In 1974, the entire hamlet of Ironville earned the designation of Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Penfield Homestead Museum's properties include the Homestead, the parsonage, the church, the former Penfield farm and barns, the mill pond and the site of the Crown Point Iron Company's iron works along Putnam Creek.
(Marker Number 2.)
Topics.
this page online
Location. 43° 55.311′ N, 73° 32.185′ W. Marker is in Ironville, New York, in Essex County. It can be reached from the intersection of Creek Road (County Route 2) and Whitehead Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Crown Point NY 12928, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York, in the Adirondacks & North Country, and in the Champlain Valley. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Historic Walking Tour (a few steps from this marker); Penfield Pond (within shouting distance of this marker); The Sons of Temperance Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); The Birthplace of the Electrical Age (within shouting distance of this marker); Ironville Historic District (within shouting distance of this marker); Penfield Homestead Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Penfield Homestead Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); 1873 Expansion (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ironville.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Birthplace of the Electrical Age (was about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been permanently removed).
Also see . . .
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, April 10, 2022
2. Irondale Marker
1. Irondale. (Submitted on April 24, 2022, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
2. Ironville Historic District - National Archives. National Register of Historic Places documentation (Submitted on February 6, 2024, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2022, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 411 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 19, 2022, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
