Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

Hopewell Furnace Showcases an early American landscape and the essential role of industrialization in the growth of the US. Operating from 1771-1883, Hopewell and the other "iron plantations" laid the foundation for the transformation of the US into an industrial giant for the time. The primary story of Hopewell is on the first half of the 19th century - the era of its greatest prosperity. The decline of Hopewell, which ended with its final blast in 1883 began in 1844 - the end of the stove casting at the furnace. The inevitable end of the charcoal furnace at Hopewell, and other charcoal furnace sites, was postponed by the Civil War and the growth of railroads that created a greater demand for iron. The era of charcoal plantation depended on a combination of agriculture and industry. An acre of hardwood trees a day was required to keep the furnace operating. Although the forest and farm offered employment to many workers, their ultimate prosperity depended on the economy of the furnace. Many workers lived in rented tenant homes and single men could stay in the boarding house across the road. There was a blacksmith, a store/office building, a schoolhouse, a barn that sheltered up to 36 draft animals and held a year's worth of feed, the Ironmaster's home with a smokehouse and a springhouse for storing and curing foods. The remains of an anthracite furnace still remain as well as charcoal kilns and hundreds of charcoal hearths, a cooling shed is present where charcoal was dumped before moving it into the charcoal house. You can see a connecting shed to the bridge house. At the base of the furnace a waterwheel drove the blast machinery. (no longer visible). A cast house surrounding the furnace stack is where moulders cast iron into stove plates and other products. The blacksmith shop provided hardware and horseshoes and was an informal gathering place.