Eagle Furnace
Dec 13, 2021 11:47:33 #
Located in the Bald Eagle Valley of North Central Pennsylvania, in 1831 Joseph Curtin, an Irish immigrant, founded Eagle Iron Furnace and Foundary. It employed around 200 workers living in a "Worker's Village" which included small frame homes, cabins, dormitories, a church and a store. Wages were paid to the store. At the end of the pay period if there was credit left, it could be converted into cash. This ensured that wages were spent on food and necessities, not booze. It required an acre of trees a day to be cut down and converted into charcol to fuel the furnace for 1 day; and it required 4 days for it to reach a temperature of 2500 degrees F for smelting to take place. an average ingot weighed 2500 lbs. Camera: Pentax PZ-1P/Lomography400/Pentax SMC F 35-70mm.
Dec 13, 2021 12:00:22 #
Dec 13, 2021 12:01:02 #
Nice set.
It must have been a beehive of activity in its day.
It must have been a beehive of activity in its day.
Dec 13, 2021 12:04:53 #
Dec 13, 2021 12:13:04 #
Dec 13, 2021 12:33:20 #
Thanks for sharing this.... interesting and like the images! 👍
Dec 13, 2021 12:43:08 #
Quite the old iron/steel mill. Imagine an acre of trees per day to feed it with wood. And PA is a state with so much coal underground that could have made it all so much easier. Nice set of photos of it.
Dec 13, 2021 12:43:48 #
Quite the old iron/steel mill. Imagine an acre of trees per day to feed it with wood. And PA is a state with so much coal underground that could have made it all so much easier. Nice set of photos of it.
Excuse the double entry, but I received an alert my post didn't take, but I think it did.
Excuse the double entry, but I received an alert my post didn't take, but I think it did.
Dec 13, 2021 12:51:28 #
Dec 13, 2021 13:01:38 #
Dec 13, 2021 13:03:08 #
Nice captures of these old structures. Are there any of the company houses still standing?
will
will
Dec 13, 2021 18:35:11 #
Unfortunately coal, even hard coal, contains a lot of sulfer, which weakens iron and makes for poor steel. It wasn't until 1873 that Bessemer patented the process of converting coal to coke, allowing that to be used in place of charcol. Coincidentally, that's the time period when most of the Charcol Fired Furnaces in Pennsylvania ceased operation.
Dec 13, 2021 18:39:15 #
Yes there is. The Curtin Mansion is still standing as well as the Iron Masters mansion. There's a number of outbuildings, and a bit of the worker's village standing also; including a cabin, dormitory and some of the frame homes which actually were used until recently. The Church is still in use today. In the spring there are guided tours normally, but that has ceased since Covid.
Dec 14, 2021 05:14:30 #
Dec 14, 2021 06:27:58 #
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