Existing comment:
Note the adult inside. This helps give you an idea of how big these things were. From the sign:
Anthracite Furnace: A new ironmaking method
In 1853, the Hopewell partners built a hot-blast anthracite furnace here. This new furnace did not burn charcoal but used anthracite coal to smelt iron -- an attempt to reduce fuel costs and increase iron production.
Hopewell's anthracite furnace operated for less than four years. By 1857, furnace machinery had been removed and was installed on a new furnace on the Schuykill Canal. This suggests the cost of hauling coal made the furnace operation uneconomical. |