East Penn Furnace

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History

The furnace was erected by Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) and Samuel Hellfrich in Pennsville in 1837[1] in East Penn, Carbon County. Aaron Balliet (1813-1895) was in charge of the furnace from 1838-1855[2]. Following the death of Stephen Balliet in 1854, the furnace was operated by Solomon Boyer and Charles H. Nimson. In 1858 one of Stephen Balliet's sons John Balliet (1819-1886)[3] purchased the furnace[4]. The iron was manufactured with charcoal[5] and was in blast eight to ten months a year[6].

In 1862 the furnace was partially destroyed by a freshet[7]. The charcoal stock house burned to the ground on Monday, June 15, 1874. The loss was quite severe [8].

In 1891 it was reported that the furnace was the oldest furnace in the Lehigh Valley[9].

Furnace Statements

In 1850 East Penn (Pennsville) Furnace was owned by Stephen Balliet and Co.[10] The furnace utilized hematite ore from Balliet's mine, which was also utilized by the Lehigh Furnace[11]. Prior to 1850, the largest tonnage produced by the furnace was 780. In 1849, 624 tons of iron were produced. The capacity for the furnace was listed as one thousand tons. In that same year, fifty-five oxen, horses and mules, and sixty-one men and boys were employed by the furnace[12]. The furnace operated cold blast[13] (temperature was five hundred degrees) with one tuyere with a diameter of 2.25 inches. The bosh was seven feet and the height was thirty feet. The blast was powered by water. The furnace produced "number one" metal[14].

In 1876 the furnace was listed as having one stack and being 28 feet in height with a bosh of 7.5 feet[15].

In 1890 the two stacks at the furnace were dismantled[16].

Notes

  1. ↑ The American Iron and Steel Association 1876, 28
  2. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
  3. ↑ Brenckman 1918, 197
  4. ↑ Swank 1884, 149
  5. ↑ Carbon Advocate, July 25, 1891[1]
  6. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
  7. ↑ Portrait and Biographical Record 1894, 268
  8. ↑ Carbon Advocate, June 20, 1874 [2]
  9. ↑ Carbon Advocate, July 25, 1891[3]
  10. ↑ Convention of Iron Masters 1850, 151
  11. ↑ Wetherill 1854, 46
  12. ↑ Convention of Iron Masters 1850, 151
  13. ↑ The American Iron and Steel Association 1884, 32
  14. ↑ Convention of Iron Masters 1850, 151
  15. ↑ The American Iron and Steel Association 1876, 28
  16. ↑ The American Iron and Steel Association 1892, 70

Reference List

  • Brenckman, Fred. 1918. History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania; also containing a separate account of several boroughs and townships in the county, with biographical sketches. Harrisburg, PA, J.J. Nungesser. [4]
  • Convention of Iron Masters. 1850. Documents Relating to the Manufacture of Iron in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: General Committee. [5]
  • Mathews, Alfred, and Austin N. Hungerford. 1884. History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts & Richards.
  • Portrait and Biographical Record of Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties, Together with Biographies and Portraits of the Presidents of the United States. 1894. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co.
  • Swank, James M. 1884. History of the Manufacture of Iron in All Ages, and Particularly in the United States for Three Hundred Years, from 1585 to 1885. Philadelphia: Published by the author. [6]
  • The American Iron and Steel Association. 1876. The Ironworks of the United States: A Directory of the Furnaces, Rolling Mills, Steel Works, Forges and Bloomeries in Every State. Philadelphia: James B. Chandler's Steam Printing Establishment.
  • The American Iron and Steel Association. 1884. Iron and Steel Works of the United States: Embracing the Blast Furnaces, Rolling Mills, Steel Works, Forges, and Bloomeries in Every State and Territory. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane, and Scott.
  • The American Iron and Steel Association. 1892. The Iron and Steel Works of the United States: Embracing a Full List of the Blast Furnaces, Rolling Mills, Steel Works, Tinplate Works, and Forges and Bloomeries in the United States; Also all of the Cut-Nail Works, Rod Mills, Wire-Nail Works, Wire Mills, Car-Axle Works, Car-Wheel Works, Car-Builders, Locomotive Works, Cast-Iron Pipe Works, and Wrought-Iron Pipe Works. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott.
  • The Carbon Advocate. 1891. In a Few Words. July 25, 1891.[7]
  • The Carbon Advocate. 1874. Local and Personal. June 20, 1874. [8]
  • Wetherill, Charles M. 1854. "Report on the Iron and Coal of Pennsylvania." In Science and Mechanism, by Charles Goodrich. Prabhat Prakashan.
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