Eric Sloane Museum facts for kids
| Location | 31 Kent-Cornwall Road Kent, Connecticut, United States |
|---|---|
| Type | History museum |
The Eric Sloane Museum is a special place in Kent, Connecticut, where you can step back in time. It holds the art studio and a huge collection of old-fashioned hand tools that belonged to an artist named Eric Sloane. The museum is run by the state of Connecticut.
Next to the museum stands the mighty Kent Iron Furnace. This giant stone tower is a type of blast furnace that was used to make pig iron (a basic form of iron) for nearly 70 years, starting way back in 1826. Because of its importance, the furnace is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
A Look Inside the Eric Sloane Museum
The Eric Sloane Museum is located just north of the village of Kent. To get there, you cross the tracks of the Housatonic Railroad. The museum is right next to the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association.
Inside, you'll find hundreds of antique hand tools. Eric Sloane, a famous artist and writer, collected these tools over many years because he loved their history and craftsmanship. The building itself was once his art studio. In 1969, the Stanley Works company, which makes tools, gave the building to the state to create the museum. The museum also has exhibits about how the area was used for industry in the 1800s.
The Giant Kent Iron Furnace
Down the hill from the museum, you can't miss the Kent Iron Furnace. It's a massive stone structure overlooking the Housatonic River.
What Does It Look Like?
The furnace is a towering stone structure that is 32 feet (about 9.8 meters) tall. It's wider at the bottom, with its base measuring 29 feet (about 8.8 meters) on each side. As it goes up, it gets a little bit narrower.
The furnace is built from large granite blocks that are fitted together without any mortar. To keep the structure strong when it got super hot, it has iron plates and tie rods. Three of its sides have pointed-arch openings, which were used for operating the furnace.
A Fiery History
The story of making iron at this spot began in 1826. Workers built a furnace that used a "cold blast" of air to heat things up. They brought iron ore (rock containing iron) from a quarry in a nearby town. The iron they made was mostly used to build railroads.
In 1846, the furnace was rebuilt to use a "hot blast" of air, which was more efficient. It was made even bigger in 1870. The furnace was a busy place until it finally shut down in 1892. When it was working, the stone furnace would have been surrounded by wooden buildings. These sheds helped with the work but were often temporary because of the risk of fire.
See also
