Hidden Deep in the Woods

                Two hundred and five years ago, this area was a thriving center of activity. People were chipping on stones, cutting them into shape to lay them into walls and to make a furnace, built into the sides of the steep hills. Dirt roads would have been cleared to allow wagons filled with supplies and men to easily access the area.  Buildings would have been built to protect the equipment to house the support facilities such as food and an office for the owner and the bosses to work from.

                Now, the area is quiet, the only sounds noticeable are of the stream running through the valley and the birds, that and the occasional tree falling down. Frank and I were hiking in to the site of the old Dunbar Iron Furnace. Built in 1815, there are still a few walls and remnants of what used to be there. It would be our second trip in to it, my third.

                After the furnace was built, workers would be working on chopping down trees and digging for coal and iron ore to put into the new furnace.  Running an iron furnace was a multi-man job, not to mention a 24 hour a day, seven day a week operation. There were a lot of jobs that needed done. The valley would have been filled with smoke and the sounds of industry.

                Iron furnaces were only operational for a short while. Some only lasted a couple years, especially the older ones. Some of the later furnaces lasted for decades.  The life of an iron furnace would be determined by the availability of the ingredients necessary for making the iron. Coal, limestone, trees and of course, iron ore would be needed. A lot of furnaces in Pennsylvania were shut down because all the trees in the area had been cut down to make charcoal.

                It eventually became cheaper to build another furnace rather than shipping the supplies in. When building another furnace they could incorporate newer technologies. They could also build it in a more advantageous spot, closer to roads and other forms of transportation and also closer to other faculties that would use the ingots they made.

                Once the furnace was shut down the owners would remove any useful equipment and then the furnace was left to nature. Quiet returned. Any wooden buildings would eventually rot away; no foundations would have been built since the furnaces lifetime was so short.  Any sign of these buildings disappeared over the years. Stones from the furnaces were scavenged for foundations and walls.

                At this site, the waters of the stream knocked down most of the furnace. The stones here fell into the stream and were pushed away as time marched on. Newer furnaces were built out of stone that had been cut to size and were built further away from the destructive forces of flowing water.  Water was an important part of furnaces; it powered bellows which helped increase the heat of the furnaces. Most of the earlier furnaces are now nothing but piles of rubble, Mother Nature having worked her magic on them. Rain, snow and the roots of trees are marvelous tools for destroying stonework!

                This site, at the juncture of the Glade Run and the Dunbar Creek is where the remains of the Dunbar Furnace lies. Built in 1815, it is one of the earliest in this area. The furnace was built into the hillside. Stacked rocks can be seen but most of it has been washed away by the stream. Beside the remains of the furnace is a nicely built stone wall. There is an opening behind it, between it and the hillside. I am guessing it might have been a waterway. There are nice square corners on it, still sharp after all these years.

                On the hillside above the furnace, about 30 yards up the steep hillside are the remains of the charcoal house. Built out of field-stone and into the hillside, it is amazing to see how much of it is still standing. This structure is very similar to the charcoal house standing near the Alliance Furnace on Jacobs Creek.      https://bookman56.blogspot.com/2020/08/walkin-into-past.html

                The front wall is approximately 50-60 feet long with an opening at the end nearest the furnace. Two walls at either end, each about 20 feet long work into the hillside. The fourth wall is the hillside itself.

                Trees are growing inside the structure. The walls are various heights with the far corner the highest, approximately 15 feet high. Stones are missing in many places and some are hanging off the top, waiting for nature and gravity to do its work.

                I can’t help but be impressed that these structures are still standing after over 200 years! Was it good construction techniques or was it the absence of visitors who might harm or destroy the site?

                We will be back! There was what looked like a cave near-by that Frank found and on an earlier visit, I saw a stone lined trough in the valley across from the furnace. My curiosity is calling me back! We were both tired when we got back to the truck but this soon passed. Not bad for two old guys! We were both satisfied with our hike and what we saw and we both have the idea of a future visit festering in our minds.

                Till then, the ruins remain hidden deep in the woods.