Joanna Furnace Complex

Joanna Furnace Complex
Nearest city Morgantown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°11′28″N 75°53′22″W / 40.19111°N 75.88944°W / 40.19111; -75.88944Coordinates: 40°11′28″N 75°53′22″W / 40.19111°N 75.88944°W / 40.19111; -75.88944
Area 13.8 acres (5.6 ha)
Architect Potts, Samuel; Rutter,Thomas
NRHP Reference #

80003426

[1]
Added to NRHP April 23, 1980

The Joanna Furnace Complex was an iron furnace that operated from 1792 to 1901 in Robeson Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Samuel Potts and Thomas Rutter III and named for Potts's wife Joanna.[2][3] The furnace and its associated buildings were listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

After the Civil War the charcoal-fired furnace was owned by Clement Grubb's son-in-law, L. Heber Smith, a Civil War Colonel who married Clement's daughter Ella Jane Brooke Grubb in 1868. It passed through several hands before Smith took ownership, probably after the war and before his marriage to Ella Jane. It is likely that the Grubbs assisted with the furnace's major technological upgrade in 1889, when Ella Jane was an heiress to her father's sizable estate that year. The furnace continued in operation under Smith until it was "blown out" after his death in 1898 at the age of 61. The furnace was acquired by Bethlehem Steel, who deeded it to the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association in 1979. The ruins have been preserved and are open to visitors.[4]

See also

Blowing Engine House

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Charles Jacob, 1979, NRHP Nomination Form for Joanna Furnace Complex Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site.
  3. ↑ "Joanna Furnace".
  4. ↑ Hay Creek Valley Historical Assn. Joanna Furnace.
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