With the rain coming down steadily, Ann Marie and I took a “small” detour on our way to Beaver Falls to visit relatives. What was it that took us 20 or 30 miles out of our way? It was just a small pile of stones in the north-east corner of Beaver County, not far from Zelienople.
These stones had been placed there about 210 years ago. While it doesn’t look like much now, this small pile of rocks was once one of only three iron furnaces located in Beaver County. The Bassenheim Furnace is the only one still in existence; the other two disappeared long ago.
One of the other furnaces, the Homewood Furnace, was located near Elwood City. Back in the 1960’s the furnace site was under the town dump. The furnace, erected in 1858, had been situated along the Beaver Canal. It operated only about ten years.
The other Beaver County furnace was called The Beaver Falls Furnace, or The Brighton Furnace. This had been built in 1808, the earliest of the three. Operating for about 18 years, it was located near the “middle falls” where Walnut Run enters the Beaver River.
The pile of stones we visited, The Bassenheim Furnace was built in 1813 by Dr. Detmar Basse, the founder of Zelienople. It produced iron for about 10 years before it shut down. The quality of the iron it produced was good. The near-by forests provided charcoal to fuel it and limestone was procured from a cliff about a mile to the north. The ore came from local sources also.
Situated along the side of Doe Run or Connoquenessing Creek, a water wheel powered bellows to help intensify the heat of the furnace. A dam was situated across the stream and the water was directed across the wheel to turn it. One of the reasons it closed down was the high cost of transporting the iron after it was made.
While it was in operation, a small community surrounded it. Housing for workers, sheds to protect the furnace and the tools needed to run it, along with various out buildings such as stables. There were roads leading to and from it, including what I am guessing might have been a road to the top of the furnace where it could be loaded, the path we walked in on.
The stones are what appear to be field stones, very few of them look as if they have been shaped. There are only a few that show the straightness of the outside wall. The backside has collapsed and is hardly recognizable as a furnace. There are no signs of any other structures in this area.
A historic marker sits alongside the road, but it isn’t readable to those speeding past in their cars. A larger sign has been erected by the local Kiwanis Club to help bring attention to the site. Most people rushing past this intersection have no idea of the Beaver County history that occurred a couple hundred feet away.
The rain continued to fall and our jackets and shoes were getting soaked, so we packed up and returned to the heat of the car, with another iron furnace under our belts. Also, there were still a couple geocaches to find before we got to Beaver Falls!
