The barn currently houses a fruit and vegetable market along with some crafts. Here are some pictures taken around the barn as it stands today.
As many may already know, Pennsylvania was also known for its iron and steel industry. We visited two of the charcoal type furnaces for the manufacture of pig iron. The first one was located along Rt. 30 at Caledonia State Park. Caledonia Furnace was erected in 1837 by Thaddeus Stevens, politician and father of the public school system in Pennsylvania. This furnace was completely destroyed by the Confederate Army in 1863 probably due to the fact that Thaddeus was an abolitionist. The current structure was erected in 1927.
We traveled north through Caledonia Park (Rt.233) to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. This was the location of another company town known for the manufacture of pig iron using charcoal and the cold blast method. The charcoal and ore were usually made and mined close to the vicinity of the furnaces. It is believed that the original furnace was erected somewhere around 1764. This facility operated approximately 131 years on South Mountain.
Copula and Copula Door (front)
Ruins of the storage areas
Some of the remaining building in this company town are as follows:
The general store and stable
The Paymasters House ( This was also listed as the general store in the history of the village, which was probably true at that time). Further historical data can be found on the net at http://oldindustry.org/PA_HTML/Pa_PineGrove.html Click on History and then Pine Grove.
The following pictures describe the steel making process and some the pictures posted at the site of the men involved.
History of the Buildings (click image to enlarge).
