There is a rich history of iron making in this part of Maryland because all of the key ingredients were available here--iron-rich rocks for ore, limestone for flux, abundant trees for charcoal, and water for energy.The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society sponsors an annual iron festival to celebrate this heritage. The festival centers around the furnace and the surrounding village, and is adjacent to Cunningham Falls State Park. The Catoctin Iron Furnace was completed in 1775 and was active until 1903. The early furnace made cannon balls for the Revolutionary War.
We only learned about the festival this year from Wally, so Sunday afternoon, we decided to see what it was about.
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| We took the Iron Trail from the State Park parking lot to get to the festival's central area. |
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| There was a nice path through the woods that followed Hunter's Creek, |
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| And sometimes crossed over it. Along the way, interpretive signs talked about different aspects of the iron-making business at Catoctin. |
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| At the end of the trail were the remains of Iron Master's Mansion, built around 1785. This was the beginning of the Catoctin Iron Workers Village. |
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| We got a tour of Harriet Chapel. It was built in 1828 as a non-denominational church meeting house for the iron workers. In 1833, it became an Episcopal church and is still active today. |
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This was the collier's house. (A collier made charcoal for the furnace.) Other houses have been restored for historical purposes, and some people live in others. A major highway passes through the village. For the festival, the highway was closed to traffic.
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| This furnace was built in 1857 and is called the Isabella stack. |
We explored more buildings and a museum, and had an interesting talk with the head of the historic association. She is an archaeologist and quite passionate about the project. One thing that was made very clear throughout the area was the amount of enslaved labor used here. There is an African American Cemetery that the organization is planning to buy and give to the state so it can be preserved.
The weather was beautiful for our outing, and it was just the kind of outing we like. We got to hike through some beautiful woods and learn a little history. We almost didn't go, but we were glad we did.
Until next time...
What an interesting place to visit! Thank you for sharing the details of your outing. I, too, am glad you went to the iron festival because I learned something about it from you. :)
ReplyDeleteIron making was common in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the early years and there's even an Iron tour that takes you to various old furnaces. We have seen a couple of them in our travels before, but had no idea that this whole village existed. We learned a lot, too.
DeleteThat was well worth the stop!
ReplyDeleteIt was a very pleasant afternoon. Otherwise, we would have been home doing yard chores.
DeleteSuper cool. I'd love to tour that event. I don't know much about iron making. In recent years, we have toured both coal mines and copper mines and sadly, it seems like these big industries all have taken shameful advantage of those who are doing the physical labor.
ReplyDeleteSlave labor was used until the mid-1800s when immigrant populations became the dominant work force. Sadly, both groups were taken advantage of.
DeleteI've read about how to make charcoal. Even how to make charcoal from human waste. Just saw a pbs story on how the nazis saw conquered countries as pools of slave labor and enslaved massive numbers of men, women and children, even the elderly to fuel their war machine.
ReplyDeleteWar is a horrific and some people are just evil!
DeleteI don't think they were using human waste for the charcoal. :) Plenty of virgin forest around at the time, but it's an interesting idea.
That sounds fascinating, June, and rightful my alley too. I have been through this area, but never heard of the historic preservation happening there.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how long the historical society has been in place, but they have raised a lot of money for signage, restorations, and analyses. They are also working with both the state and the Smithsonian on something.
DeleteI have been in this area for years, but never knew about the Catoctin Village even though I have visited the state and national park surrounding it multiple times. But those visits were for hiking and camping which are not in this area.
That's a lovely path through the woods, and over the bridges, even without the other sights!
ReplyDeleteThe path through the woods was my favorite part. Being in the woods always makes me happy.
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