cornwall iron furnace

HILLFAM524

We were looking for some fun and unusual things to do while we were away for a couple days. This was perfect. A lot more interesting than I expected. This is a great historical place. It does not take a lot of time. The little museum is very well done. And the short movie is nicely done also. Our tour guide Alison was very informative and passionate about the iron furnace. Make sure you walk across the street to look at the mansion as well. You can't go in it is apartments now but beautiful to look at from the exterior nine the less. Plus when you leave the parking lot make aright then the next right again. Go 2 minutes to see the very unusual homes that they made originally. If you go in winter dress very warm for the tour. Any other time will be great to cool off!

quantum99

A revolutionary war foundry in a very large brick building. Outstanding example of industrial revolution in a young America. Huge for its day, it has intricate wooden superstructure and the largest waterwheel I've ever seen (inside the building). Leave your electronics at home and take the tour. Very enjoyable, very interesting, especially on a hot summer's day. Worth a day trip.

605bevtony

great place to visit to see how iron was produced. We would recommend visiting. Does not take a lot of time to learn about the making of iron.

656daver

This is a fully in tact iron furnace from the mid 1800s! All the parts are still as they were over a hundred years ago, fully restored. Alison, our tour guide took us through each section of the furnace, from the top where the material is loaded in, down through the mechanism of the blowers for the air blast, to the steam engine that runs the blowers and all the way to the bottom where the iron and slag come out and the iron is shaped into various parts on the sand floor. I don't believe any other iron furnace is nearly as complete as this one. Very impressive indeed. Alison did an excellent job presenting a wealth of information in a very enjoyable tour. If you're within 50 or 100 miles of this, you won't regret making this part of your itinerary. You'll be glad you did.

lindao128

This is one of the best tours we've taken. Fascinating history of iron ore and the area. The tour guide was very good and was raised in the area and clearly loved his hometown. We highly recommend this tour.

Jokramer

I am originally from the Quentin area so I am very familiar with the Cornwall Furnace. It is very interesting

FamReun2013

If you are at all interested in the history of manufacturing in America go on this tour. It was a very informative in depth tour about the production of iron during the Revolutionary war through the early Eighteen hundreds. But it has a lot of step so this may be a problem for some people.

laruehollya

We totally enjoyed the tour, learned so much from both the exhibits and the very informative tour guide. Recommend anybody interested in our nation's history to take a tour!

family1991

The tour was very informative, both about the iron making process and about the site. The buildings themselves are beautiful, not what we expected for a manufacturing site. Our 3 kids (ages 8-almost 16) really like it too.

DavidNovack

This historical Iron Furnace is absolutely fascinating. There are 2 different parts to the tour including a short film on the history and how the furnace actually works as well as a small self guided museum tour and then a tour of the actual furnace. You can see the museum and film in an hour or so and then tour the furnace which can be extremely cold in the winter and early spring months. Take a drive around the area after the tour and you can see the lake and workers homes that were built in the town around the furnace to support it.

RichardD384

If you love history- if you love machinery- if you love to be in awe of scale- this is as good as it gets. We actually found this by accident. It is a "to well kept secret". The tour will teach and entertain you more in 45 minutes than you could possibly expect. Whatever I thought an Iron Furnace would be was very small by the size of the actual. How in the world did anyone ever figure this out? Just amazing. You will learn why they call pig iron- pig iron. You will find out things like they cast cannons for George Washington in the revolutionary war. And this is just the beginning. Warning on a hot humid afternoon this will be a very hot tour. I suggest as early in the morning as possible in the summer. Do drive around the town of Cornwall it is a wow.

PAtraveler501

As the oldest charcoal, cold-blast furnace in the US, this is well-worth the visit for engineering and history students, but the machinery's size and the process is fascinating for all ages, especially the kids. If you can get Karin Viozzi as your tour guide, you will be guaranteed to get a great tour, and everyone will enjoy it! She is great about giving just enough info to keep you interested, and she has a way with kids that keeps them entertained and doesn't talk down to them. The surrounding area is beautiful! Take a ride through Miner's Village when you're done (ask the guide if they don't tell you) and then head over to Mt Gretna for ice cream at the Jigger Shop!

rft0000

9/5/2013Interesting furnace and tour. Renovations are taking,place which makes the tour less nice, but also some of the renovations are bringing out highlights of the building that were hidden under many years of dust and dirt. Finding the place coming from Harrisburg led us to the site, but impossible to enter - the road is closed and has been closed for a year. A person at the furnaces guided us in around the closed road via a cell phone call that we made. It would be nice if the web site would mention this detour.The site and tour was worthwhile with the tour led by a woman who knew the history. A small museum and movie prior to the tour make it a very good experience. We lucked out with our group of me and my wife. Questions were asked and answered; conversations with the workers doing the renovations added to the tour as well.We visited the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site days before and it made for a good comparison of the two sites. Bot old with the major difference being that this site was renovated and the furnaces enclosed instead of being allowed to weather outside.

JanetS683

This is a remarkable place. It is fascinating to see the process that was used to make iron so many years ago. That it is preserved in such excellent condition and still operates made this all come to life. The tour guide was excellent and fun. The tour took about forty- five minutes. There is an interesting display area in the visitors center and a good gift shop. Don't miss it if you are in the area.

Disneybus

My wife and I have been meaning to visit over the last year; we finally made the visit to Cornwall on our way home to NJ this past Sunday. This was a first class review of the iron furnace process. The furnace is "The only Surviving Intact Charcoal Cold Blast Furnace in the Western Hemisphere." The exhibits were wonderful and professionally displayed, the movie was first class, and the tour was very informative as to the entire process and history. Our tour guide Ryan gave us individual attention and answered all our questions. This place is a hidden gem. Thanks to a grant, a major restoration process is underway to preserve the past.