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 wealth that had characterized the charcoal iron business in southeastern Pennsylvania. Those entrepreneurs were on target. Although the charcoal iron industry required a sizable amount of start-up capital, that investment was soon recouped.
