| Welcome to the website of
Cornwall Iron Furnace, part of a National Historic Landmark
District, America’s most complete charcoal fueled ironmaking
complex.
 A
Site of “Transcendent Significance”
In these words, Robert Vogel of the Smithsonian
Institution described Cornwall Furnace. “With the exception
of a mere handful of similar preservations in Sweden and
Germany — and possibly a few in eastern Europe — I doubt
that elsewhere in the world is there a 19th century iron
furnace complex with the degree of historical integrity to
be found at Cornwall…”
Cornwall Furnace is indeed a unique survivor of the early
American iron industry. Originally built by Peter Grubb in
1742, the furnace underwent extensive renovations in 1856-57
under its subsequent owners, the Coleman family, and closed
in 1883. It is this mid-19th century ironmaking complex
which survives today. At Cornwall, furnace, blast equipment,
and related buildings still stand as they did over a century
ago. Here visitors can explore the rambling Gothic Revival
buildings where cannons, stoves, and pig iron were cast, and
where men labored day and night to satisfy the furnace’s
appetite for charcoal, limestone, and iron ore.
Cornwall Iron Furnace is part of a National Historic
Landmark District by the U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service. It has also been designated a
National Historical Landmark by the American Society of
Metals, and a National Historic Mechanical Engineering
Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
citing Cornwall Furnace as “the only one of America’s
hundreds of 19th century charcoal fueled blast furnaces to
survive fully intact.”
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Site Map
Furnace Tour |
Calendar of Events
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Links
of Interest
Cornwall Iron Furnace Associates
Cornwall
Iron Furnace
Rexmont at Boyd Street
P.O. Box 251 Cornwall, PA 17016
Phone: 717-272-9711
Fax: 717-272-0450
Administered by the
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Edward G. Rendell, Governor | Wayne Spilove, Chairman
Barbara Franco, Executive Director
With
generous support of Cornwall Iron Furnace Associates
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