Archaeological excavations conducted in 2009 and 2010 by Heberling Associates, Inc., unearthed the foundations of the Valentine iron ore washing plant, which operated from 1887-1898. Also found were pieces of machinery and the tools used by the men who worked there.
Centre County’s iron industry began with the building of Centre Furnace in 1791 – only the second charcoal iron furnace in the area known as the Juniata Iron Region. The region had been scouted for its raw materials potential, and entrepreneurs found everything they needed in central Pennsylvania. They came looking for the success and […]
bar iron: a smaller size of raw iron than a pig, easier to handle by blacksmiths. Some bar iron also went to rolling mills, which rolled the iron into much smaller thicknesses, or slitting mills, which made iron rods for products like nails or wire bellows: a device that contracts a current or air through […]
1780s: Hammers, anvils, pots, forge castings 1800s: Dutch ovens, hollow ware, pots, skillets, kettles, lids, flat irons, wheelbarrow wheels, sash weights, wagon boxes, mill screws, mill nuts, teakettles, irons, clock weights, forge castings, anvils, bake plates, 1810s: Backs and jambs, clock weights, sash weights, street grates, stew pans, pots, mortars, hardware, waffle irons, hollow ware, […]
By Douglas Macneal Located in the center of Pennsylvania, Centre County lies on a striking landscape overlaid with history. Rock and water shape the surface. The County is divided diagonally almost equally into two parts, bisected by the Allegheny Front: The northwestern half, the Allegheny Plateau, is a forested high plateau divided by deep valleys […]
Prepared by the Centre County Historical Society Centre County’s iron industry began with the building of Centre Furnace in 1791 – only the second charcoal iron furnace in the area known as the Juniata Iron Region. The region had been scouted for its raw materials potential, and entrepreneurs found everything they needed in central Pennsylvania. […]
Iron Objects of the 18th and 19th Centuries Everyday Iron explores the progression from “furnace to market”, with a special emphasis on the role of the blacksmith. This exhibit featured a rich and wide variety of over 100 iron artifacts from CCHS, private collectors and other local historical organizations, this broad range of artifacts made […]