Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania
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 Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania
Location in Pennsylvania
Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Fayette |
| Township | Georges |
| Elevation | 1,201 ft (366 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1182970 |
Oliphant Furnace is a small, historic community located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is known for its past as a busy coal mining town.
What is Oliphant Furnace?
Oliphant Furnace is an unincorporated community. This means it's a place where people live, but it doesn't have its own separate local government like a city or a borough. Instead, it's part of a larger area called a township. It was also a "coal town," which means it grew up because of the coal mining industry nearby.
A Town Built on Coal
The community of Oliphant Furnace started in the 1870s. It grew around large industrial buildings called "cokeworks." These cokeworks made a special type of fuel called coke from coal. Coke was very important for making iron and steel. The name "Oliphant Furnace" comes from these cokeworks. You can find other towns in this part of Pennsylvania with "Furnace" in their names, showing how important these industrial sites were.
Historic Buildings and Ruins
Even today, you can still see parts of Oliphant Furnace's past. Some of the original "saltbox" houses are still standing. These houses were built by the mining companies for the workers who lived there. A saltbox house has a unique shape, with a long, sloping roof on one side. Just outside the town, you can also find the ruins of the old cokeworks, which are a reminder of the area's industrial history.
