Cornwall Iron Furnace facts for kids
|
Cornwall Iron Furnace
|
|
Main building at Cornwall Iron Furnace
|
|
 Location in Pennsylvania
|
|
| Location | Rexmont Rd. and Boyd St., Cornwall, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Area | 175 acres (71 ha) |
| Built | 1742, shutdown 1883 |
| Architect | Peter Grubb |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000671 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | November 3, 1966 |
The Cornwall Iron Furnace is a very old iron-making factory in Cornwall, Pennsylvania. It's a special place called a National Historic Landmark. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission takes care of it today.
This furnace was a top producer of iron in Pennsylvania. It operated from 1742 until 1883. That's over 140 years! Today, the furnace, its buildings, and the nearby village are a historical site and museum. They show us what industrial life was like long ago. It's the only charcoal-burning blast furnace in its original location in the Western Hemisphere.
Peter Grubb started Cornwall Furnace in 1742. During the American Revolutionary War, his sons, Curtis and Peter Jr., ran it. They made lots of weapons for George Washington's army. After the war, Robert Coleman bought the furnace. He became Pennsylvania's first millionaire! In 1932, the furnace and its land were given to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Contents
Making Iron at Cornwall Furnace
Cornwall Iron Furnace was one of many ironworks built in Pennsylvania. Many factories made iron in the 1700s. These included blast furnaces, forges, and other mills.
The furnaces at Cornwall used two main types of technology over time.
Peter Grubb's Vision
Peter Grubb was born around 1702. He moved to what is now Lebanon County in 1734. He bought about 300 acres of land rich in magnetite ore. Grubb also saw that his land had other things needed to make iron. These included lots of timber for charcoal, running water for power, and limestone. The magnetite ore at Cornwall was also easy to get. It was very close to the surface.
Grubb wanted to start an iron business. He began building an "iron plantation." These iron-making centers were often far from farms. They were usually in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Grubb built his first furnace, a bloomery. Later, he built a more modern charcoal-fired blast furnace. He also built houses and buildings for his workers. He named his operation Cornwall because his father came from Cornwall, UK.
Cornwall Iron Furnace was perfect for the farming economy of the Thirteen Colonies. People needed iron for tools, nails, and weapons. Great Britain didn't want the colonies to make too many finished goods. But England needed iron and was importing it from Sweden. So, the colonies helped supply iron.
From Grubb to Coleman
Peter Grubb was more of a builder than an iron expert. In 1745, he leased the ironworks to a group called Cury and Company. After Peter died in 1754, his sons, Curtis and Peter Jr., took over. They ran the business very well. Curtis managed the Cornwall Furnace and lived there. Peter Jr. ran a forge at Hopewell. He turned the raw iron from the furnace into more useful bar iron.
The ironworks made many supplies for the American Revolutionary War. George Washington even visited to see how things were going. Later, Robert Coleman slowly gained control of the ironworks. By 1798, he owned most of it. Coleman's son, William, became the manager of Cornwall Furnace. He lived in the mansion. The Coleman family later remodeled the mansion into the large 29-room home known as Buckingham Mansion.
The Iron Act
In 1750, the British government passed the Iron Act. This law was meant to help the colonies produce raw materials like pig iron. But it tried to stop them from making finished iron goods. Existing factories could continue, but new ones for certain processes were not allowed.
How Iron Was Made
Let's look at the two main ways iron was made at Cornwall.
The Bloomery: First Steps
The first furnace Peter Grubb built at Cornwall was a bloomery. He built it in 1737. This was a simple way to test if his ore was good. It cost less than building a big blast furnace.
A bloomery is like a big blacksmith's fireplace. It has strong walls made of earth, clay, or stone. At Cornwall, they used Sandstone. Pipes called tuyeres let air into the furnace. This air came from natural drafts or from bellows.
Before using the bloomery, workers prepared the charcoal and iron ore. Charcoal was made by heating wood. This created a pure carbon fuel. The ore was broken into small pieces and "roasted" in a fire. This removed any moisture. Old slag (waste from previous iron-making) could also be recycled.
To operate, the bloomery was heated with charcoal. Then, iron ore and more charcoal were added from the top. Inside, hot gases from the charcoal turned the iron oxides in the ore into iron metal. The iron didn't melt. It formed a spongy mass at the bottom. This mass was called a "bloom." Molten slag also collected at the bottom. The bloom was full of slag, so it had to be reheated and hammered. This pushed the slag out. The iron made this way is called wrought iron. It's very pure.
The Blast Furnace: A Bigger Way
In 1742, Grubb replaced his bloomery with a 30-foot-tall charcoal-fired cold blast furnace. This furnace burned much hotter. It could melt the ore and produce liquid pig iron.
A blast furnace is a tall, chimney-like structure. It's lined with special heat-resistant bricks. Workers poured charcoal, limestone, and iron ore into the top. Air was blown in near the bottom. This "blast" helped the charcoal burn. It also caused a chemical reaction. This reaction turned the iron oxide into molten iron. The iron then sank to the bottom.
The temperature inside the furnace was very hot, about 1500°C (2700°F). The limestone helped remove impurities from the iron. It formed a slag that floated on top of the molten iron.
The pig iron from the blast furnace was very brittle. It had a lot of carbon (about 4-5%). Some pig iron was used to make cast iron goods. But for other uses, it needed more processing. This reduced the carbon content. In later times, new methods like the Bessemer process made it easier to turn pig iron into steel. By the late 1800s, most iron was turned into steel before use.
Charcoal: The Fuel
The blast furnaces at Cornwall needed huge amounts of charcoal. This kept them hot and produced iron steadily. Making charcoal became a big job itself. Hardwood trees were cut down, dried, and stacked in large pits. A "collier" carefully stacked the wood around a chimney. The wood stack was covered with leaves and dirt. Then it was set on fire in the center.
The fires would smolder for ten to fourteen days. The collier watched them day and night. They made sure enough heat was made to remove moisture and other things from the wood. But they had to be careful not to burn the wood completely. Charcoal was made just before it was needed. This kept it from getting wet and useless. Cornwall Furnace used an entire acre of wood every day just for making charcoal!
Working at the Furnace
The furnace ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It only stopped for repairs. Cornwall Iron Furnace could make 24 tons of iron each week. A large waterwheel powered the bellows. Carts carried charcoal from the coal barn to the furnace. A roof protected the charcoal from rain. Other wagons brought ore from the mine to the top of the furnace. Workers then moved the charcoal and ore into the furnace.
"Guttermen" worked at the bottom of the furnace. They raked cooling sand and dug channels for the molten pig iron. Then, they stacked the iron bars outside. Working conditions were very tough. Temperatures inside the casting house could reach 160°F (71°C)!
Making iron and charcoal needed many strong workers. The furnace alone needed about sixty people working in 12-hour shifts. The ironworks also had clerks, teamsters, woodcutters, colliers, farmers, and household servants. There was a big difference between the workers and the owners. Workers lived in small homes and worked hard for low pay. The owners and managers lived in large mansions with many servants.
There were three groups of workers at Cornwall Iron Furnace: free workers, indentured servants, and enslaved people. Slavery was legal in Pennsylvania until it was slowly ended starting in 1780. The furnace managers had some challenges with indentured servants. These workers came from Germany, England, and Ireland. Many of them worked at Cornwall for a short time before leaving.
The Coleman Family's Story
The Coleman family played a huge role in the history of Cornwall Furnace.
Robert Coleman: The First Millionaire
Robert Coleman started as a clerk in Philadelphia. He became a bookkeeper at Cornwall Iron Furnace. Then, he became Pennsylvania's first millionaire!
Coleman arrived in Philadelphia from Ireland in 1764. After working as a clerk and bookkeeper, he leased Salford Forge in 1773. He quickly made a lot of money making cannonballs and shot for the war. He used his profits to buy parts of Elizabeth Furnace, Cornwall, and Hopewell Furnaces. He also owned Speedwell Forge. Soon, Coleman built Colebrook Furnace. He bought the rest of Elizabeth Furnace and 80% of Cornwall Furnace and its mines. His smart business moves made him the first millionaire in Pennsylvania history.
George Dawson Coleman: Improvements and Community
George Dawson Coleman was Robert Coleman's grandson. He and his brother, Robert, controlled much of the Coleman iron fortune. George gained more control of the ore mines at Cornwall. He experimented with furnaces that used anthracite coal instead of coke. He also invested in the growing railroad industry.
George built houses, a school, and a church for his employees. He was well-liked by his community. He served several times in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. (Some churches built by the Coleman family are still in the area. They are known as Coleman Chapels.)
George made many improvements at Cornwall Iron Furnace. The bellows were replaced with "blowing tubs." These were piston-powered air pumps that forced air into the furnaces. The waterwheel was replaced by a steam engine in 1841. The furnace stack was rebuilt in the 1850s.
In 1848, the Colemans handed over direct management of Cornwall Iron Furnace to John Reynolds. He was the father of John F. Reynolds, a famous general in the American Civil War. John F. Reynolds was the first Union General to die at the Battle of Gettysburg. The elder Reynolds managed the furnace until he died in 1853.
Robert Habersham Coleman: The End of an Era
Robert Habersham Coleman was the fourth and last generation of Colemans to own the furnace. He closed the facility in 1883. He opened new facilities for the company elsewhere. In 1881, when he took over the family business, Coleman was worth about seven million dollars. By 1889, he was estimated to be worth thirty million dollars. But by 1893, his fortune was gone. One of his homes, Cornwall Hall, showed the rise and fall of the "king" of Cornwall during America's Gilded Age.
Why Cornwall Furnace Closed
Cornwall Iron Furnace became old-fashioned by the 1880s. New ways of making steel, like the Bessemer and open-hearth processes, changed everything. Also, new fuels like coke and anthracite coal replaced charcoal. Huge new iron deposits were found in Minnesota near Lake Superior. Modern factories were built in places like Pittsburgh, Steelton, and Bethlehem. All these changes led to the end of iron production in Cornwall.
Cornwall Furnace didn't make a profit in its last ten years. The last owner, Robert Habersham Coleman, closed it on February 11, 1883. In 1932, Margaret Coleman Buckingham gave the furnace and its buildings to the state. Since then, they have been restored and are open for people to visit.
See also
- Cast Iron
- Iron
- Ironworks
- Ewiger Jäger— Cornwall Iron Furnace is the site of a ghostly legend of the Wild Hunt.
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
