Hopewell Furnace NHS Official Handbook

Hopewell Furnace, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, is typical of the ironmaking communities that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in America, setting the stage for this nation's later industrial progress. Hopewell's cold-blast, charcoal furnace produced pig iron and castings from 1771 until its last campaign in 1883 - a span of service that made it one of Pennsylvania's most important furnace operations. Today's traveler who spends a few hours exploring Hopewell will experience the closest approximation we have of life at a 19th century iron furnace. This book provides the historical and technological background for that setting. Softcover; 96 pages.