Greenwood Furnace
Jackson Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Built about 1837 to supply iron to Freedom Forge near Lewistown. Restored stack, the Church, Big House, and store common to iron making communities remain. Works closed 1904, the last to operate in this region.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Built about 1837 to supply iron to Freedom Forge near Lewistown, Greenwood Furnace grew into a self-contained iron-making village typical of central Pennsylvania's charcoal iron era. Its restored stack, church, 'Big House,' and company store survive as reminders of the tight-knit communities that formed around these rural industrial works. When the furnace closed in 1904, it was the last of its kind still operating in the region, marking the end of an industrial age.
Why it matters
Greenwood Furnace preserves the shape of a vanished way of life—the company-owned iron plantation—and its 1904 closing marks the twilight of the charcoal iron industry that once made this region famous.
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Nearby & related markers
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