Karthaus Furnace
Karthaus Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Near here stood the iron furnace erected 1817 by Peter Karthaus. Rebuilt 1836 by Peter Ritner and John Say, it became in 1839 one of the earliest to use coke in place of charcoal. Abandoned at the end of the same year.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Near this spot Peter Karthaus built an iron furnace in 1817, part of the early push to work the ore and timber of Pennsylvania's Clearfield County wilderness. Rebuilt in 1836, the furnace made a notable experiment in 1839 as one of the earliest in the region to try coke in place of charcoal for smelting iron. The venture proved short-lived and was abandoned that same year, but it foreshadowed the fuel revolution that would soon transform American iron.
Why it matters
Its brief coke experiment anticipated the shift from charcoal to coal-based smelting that made Pennsylvania the heart of American heavy industry.
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Related people
- · Peter Karthaus
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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