Hopewell Furnace for an offbeat visit
Written: Aug 29 '02 (Updated Mar 17 '05)
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Pros: Interesting history
very quiet,relaxing,and serene
Cons: Not easily accessible for handicapped due to hills and stairs
The Bottom Line: Go see this place that is full of history about the American spirit!
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site |
I say offbeat because Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is different and off the beaten path. I travel a bit with my business doing events at colleges. Today I happened to be on Route 76 in Pennsylvania. I am a kind of National Park freak. I like to visit them and also get my passbook canceled. More on that later.
I turned off the interstate and took the twenty minute ride to the grounds. I did have to stop and ask for directions. The Park signs were doing well directing me and then just ended. It seems to me somebody wanted a souvenir. The last couple of miles were exceptionally beautiful. I also passed a winery and horse corrals on the rolling hills.
I arrived at ten in the morning. They open at 9:oo til 5:oo. As I arrived at the Visitors center I was taken by the lack of cars and the utter silence. I walked into the center which was a nice sized room. I was greeted by a Ranger who told me a bit about the place and then scooted me down to the furnace for a demonstration was about to begin.
I followed her advice and made my way down the hill via stone staircases. The grounds are quite lovely and I wish I had a bit more time to just relax and take it all in.
As I went into the cast house two guys dressed in period costumes beckoned me to the furnace. It was quite interesting watching them make tools out of pig iron. That is rough cast bars.
The heat is made by air being forced into burning charcoal of the blast furnace. This is done by the power of a huge waterwheel over two stories high!! The wheel was mesmerizing. I have never seen such a huge one. It would turn faster as the water built up and the wheel turned pushing a rod that forced air onto the hot coals. As it pushed upward the wheel would slow down only to collect more water and build up speed again. I would watch, get ready to leave and then say one more time. The movement and the sound of the water and of the wheel continued to keep me spellbound.
Finally I pulled myself away and walked around the grounds using the self guiding map I was given at the visitors center. There were only two other people there at that time. We did have some rain very early in the morning. There were farm animals to see along with remnants of the old days.
I learned the process of how hardwoods are made to charcoal that is in turn used to heat up the iron ore.
I did get to see the smokehouse, schoolhouse, tenant house, blacksmith shop, office store charcoal houses and other buildings of this community. It was all quite interesting. It seems that these areas around the furnace with all the support buildings and workers was known as an "iron plantation"
This particular iron plantation started up in the seventeen hundreds. It seemed the British did not like the idea of the Americans getting good skills with the iron making and the competition it brought. The British parliament actually banned the construction of new mills in America. This was another thorn in the side of the Americans who wanted the freedom to do what they wanted.
Once the revolution started the furnace started producing iron for wartime goods. There is a lot of great history about the owners, those who lived there, and the plantation itself. It was from this place that Washington was delivered food and provisions during that terrible winter at Valley Forge.
After checking out the grounds I went back to the visitors center to see a very informative film. Usually you would do this first but because of the demonstration I missed it earlier. In the Visitor Center there is an area where you can see nineteenth century iron pieces that were used in daily life.
Before leaving I had my passbook canceled. You can purchase these passbooks at any National Park, site,or memorial. Whenever you visit one of the parks etc. you go to the visitors center and you use a cancellation stamp to mark your passport.The stamp will have the date and the name of the place you are visiting. Also available are stamps depicting the different parks etc. I enjoy filling my book up. It is a wonderful way to get the kids interested and learning too.
Just a reminder that there is a four dollar fee for going onto the grounds. If you are going to do other parks or sites in a year consider some of the long term family and senior passes available at a discount. You can get those prices at the parks.
If you are interested in other places to do in the area you would find Valley Forge National Historic site about forty minutes east of Hopewell furnace right off Interstate 76
About thirty minutes southwest you will be in the beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch country. I wrote a review about that area just yesterday. It's a wonderful family vacation spot. West of that area is Gettysburg.
I spent about an hour and a half on the property of Hopewell Furnace. Three hours would do it a bit more justice. As I was leaving a small group of kids came with their teacher. I suppose it is a place frequented by school kids as a field trip. I wonder if they had the same feeling I did watching that huge wheel turn.
other reviews by popsrocks
Gettysburg National Historic Park, Pennsylvania A must visit Site
Hampton Inn, Gettysburg
Pennsylvania Dutch Country Amish, Shopping, Family Fun
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Washington Monument, DC
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Pennsylvania
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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