Welcome to Cambria County Old Stone Furnaces

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Ashland
Ben's Creek
Cambria 		Conemaugh
Eliza
Hodges 		Johnstown
Mill Creek
Mt. Vernon 		Old Cambria
Ritter
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CAMBRIA COUNTY

in West Central Pennsylvania
had eight furnaces. Three, in Johnstown, have no remains visible. Four of the other five have very poor remains, just enough to identify the location, view a partial retaining wall or a depression in the ground to identify a millrace or where the furnace stood. One, however, is a notable exception. Eliza Furnace is in an excellent state of repair, is probably the only furnace in Western Pennsylvania to eexibit intact the heat exchanger pipes which allowed preheated air to create the blast in this hot blast furnace. It is in a parklike setting and right beside the Ghost Town Rail Trail, which is soon to be extended westward to pass near the site of Buena Vista Furnace in Indiana County.

  Eliza Furnace
Eliza Furnace
2004

Ashland - Joseph Conrad and Hugh McNeal built this furnace on Clearfield Creek, in Ashville, Allegheny Township in 1847. . In 1851 a George Crane took possession of the furnace and tried to make iron by using cord wood and raw ''stone" coal but the attempt was unsuccessful and the furnace was abandoned(s&t). Whe states that Ashland's iron was inconvenient to the market. and this may have been a contributing factor for its closing. Only a retaining wall and depression in the ground remains (P)(V)(rp-2004).
Go to Cresson on US22. Turn north on PA53 and follow through Gallitzen to Ashville. In Ashville turn west on PA36 cross the bridge at the edge of town and park. 40º 33.678'N - 78º 33.125'W. Go around to the back of a cement block building at 1739 Route 36 (Passanitas Wood Shop-2004) Go to the edge of the hill toward the creek and you will find the retaining wall for Ashland furnace and the depression in the ground below it where the furnace stood.
GPS coordinates 40º 33.646'N - 78º 33.125'W.(rp-2004) to top
Bens Creek - is on Bens Creek in Upper Yoder Township. Built in 1846 by George S. King and Company, this was a hot blast charcoal furnace, which is remembered with the Mill Creek furnace as the Cambria Iron Company facilities(s&t). (P)(V)(is,km,rp-2005)
Go south from Johnstown on PA403 to the intersection with PA985 in Ferndale. Turn left on PA403 and then right into the parking lot of the Family Dollar Store and Ben's Creek pharmacy. Park at the far right corner of the lot next to a small red brick building and next to the woods and heavy underbrush. (40º 17.109'N - 78º 55.895'W) Walk into the woods about 30 feet to a path leading up to the hillside. where you will find a pile of rubble and stones at the probable furnace location. There is evidence of a mill race, and much slag and furnace stones scattered about. The mill race probably leads to Ben's Creek which is across the border in nearby Somerset County.
GPS coordinates 40º 17.113'N - 78º 55.938'W.(is,km,rp-2005) to top
 Cambria - at the Johnstown Baseball Park site. Four furnaces were built here, 1854, 1854, 1856 and 1857(not finished). The four furnaces were built on the Johnstown flats 1/4 mile north of the railroad station, and north of the Cambria Rolling Mills(s&t), as part of the Cambria Iron Company properties(whe). In 1960's the site was occupied by the Johnstown baseball park. Coordinates (approximate) 40º 19.92'N - 78º 55.83'W.
Conemaugh (aka Hodges) - According to information and maps provided to s&t by M. P. Moore of Levittown, Pennsylvania this furnace was built in East Conemaugh, Cambria County in 1857 by G. W. Hodges of New York. He sold it in 1869 to the Cambria Iron Company which rebuilt it in 1873 and operated it until about 1889. The Johnstown flood of that year probably played an important part in its discontinuance. It was a coke furnace powered by steam and used local and Blair County ore. It was at the location of the Bethlehem Mine Corp. on Chestnut Street in East Conemaugh, East Taylor Township. Nothing remains.
Go from Johnstown northeast on PA271 to Franklin. Cross the Bridge to East Conemaugh, turn left on Chestnut Street and go to its end. Straight ahead you may see the gate of the fenced property of the Bethlehem Mine Corporation (1960's). Old maps (s&t) suggest the site was to the right of the gate and back a few yards. Nothing remains. Approximate Coordinates 40º 20.5'N - 78º 53.6'W. to top
Eliza (aka Ritter) - is on the North branch of Blacklick Creek near its junction with the South branch in Buffington Twp. Indiana County and Blacklick Township Cambria County on the county line. Eliza was built in 1846 or 1847 by David Ritter and Lot Irvin. It was a hot blast, water powered, bellows driven, charcoal furnace with a 9' bosh and 32' height. The stonework was done by Thomas Devereaux, a stone mason, and two Irishmen, John and William Gillin. It had an 1800 ton yearly capacity but produced no more than 1000 tons (1848) It was abandoned in 1849(idt/jm), or 1848 according to the 1859 Iron Manufacturers Guide(s&t). It may have been shut down due to failure of the original railroad main line to pass through the Blacklick watershed, resulting in a poor transit to the markets(whe/rp).
It is one of the best preserved of any PA iron furnace The county line passes through the center of the stack(rw). It was purchased by the Cambria County Historical Society in 1963 to be preserved as a monument to the men of the early iron industry in Cambria County. One interesting thing about this furnace is the iron heat exchanger which is still in position on top of the stack. The waste heat was used to heat the blast which was blown through this exchanger before entering the furnace(s&t). (P)(V)(rp-1978-2004).
The county line of Indiana County, Buffington Township and Cambria County, Blacklick Township passes through the center of the stack(rw). Go east from Armagh on US22 from its junction with PA56
N40º 27.34 ' W079º 01.94'
Drive east 3.2 miles to SR2013 Wehrum Road N40º 26.60' W078º 58.42'.
Turn north on SR2013 Wehrum Road for at least 4.8 miles to the Rexis Access Area near the intersection with SR3045
N40º 29.10' W078º 55.27'.
You may park at the Rexis Access Area on your right and walk east across the creek, about 200 yards, toward Vintondale, or you may drive across the creek and park near the Ghost Town Trail trailhead. You will see the furnace on the left next to the hill and close to the creek.
GPS coordinates N40º 29.053' W078º 55.329' (rp-2004) to top
Mill Creek - A cold blast charcoal furnace built in 1845 along Mill Creek in Upper Yoder Township by John Bell and Company. In 1856 it was rebuilt and converted to steam and probably hot blast(s&t). In 1876 it was a member of the Cambria Iron Company facilities(whe). A pile of stones remain. (P)(V)(rp 2004).
The site is 5 miles west from Johnstown on PA271. When PA271 crosses a creek (Mill Creek), turn left on a narrow blacktop road Silver Birch Road. 40º 18.509'N - 78º 59.134'W. This is a private road and you should seek permission before entering. Go down this road to where it forks and there is an old gate on the left fork and a newer gate on the road straight ahead. Park here. Look over the edge of the hill and you will see the furnace ruins below. It is only a 10 to 12 foot mound of stone and rubble, but parts of the stone lined race and retaining walls remain.
Approximate Coordinates 40º 18.45'N - 78º 58.93'W. (rp 2004) to top
Mt. Vernon (aka Johnstown) - Built in 1846 by Peter Livingood and Company. It was later owned by Linton and Galbraith(s&t). In 1855 it belonged to Messrs. Rhey Mathews & Co. and had been operated for 3 or 4 years with much energy and success(gpr). It was at the current site of the First Christian Church on Vine Street in Johnstown(s&t). Nothing remains.
Approximate coordinates 40º 19.5'N - 78º 55'W.to top
(Old) Cambria - Was built in 1841 on Laurel Run in West Taylor Township by George S. King, David Stewart, John K. and William L. Shyrock(wes). In 1843 the partners of the Cambria Furnace interested Dr. Schoenberger in the entrprise(wes). It was rebuilt in 1854(s&t). In 1876 it was one of the Cambria Iron Company furnaces(whe). (P)(V)(rp,ph-2004)
Follow PA403 west from Johnstown crossing the Conemaugh River continue to Cooper Road. 40º 21.880'N - 78º 56.445'W Turn right and proceed for 0.8 miles. Just before reaching a bridge over Laurel Run there is a commercial building at 767 Cooper Road. The remains of Old Cambria furnace are behind the building and up against the hillside. When the building was built the furnace was pushed back against the hill so that now only piles of furnace stones remain.
GPS Coordinates 40º 22.400'N - 78º 55.834'W. (P)(V)(rrp 2004).
The resident of the last house on the left before the bridge, Stan Pilot, can explain much about the old furnace and its stones, ore and furnace village buildings. Many surplus furnace stones brought down from a quarry up the hill behind his house are dumped along the hillside behind his house but are not part of the furnace. Across the creek and to the right across the road is the furnace mansion which has been extensively remodeled. The ore was brought down from a high hill to the right across the creek and road and above the mansion house.to top
Cambria County Special Sources:
Indiana (County) Department of Travel & Tourism(idt)
William H. Egle (whe) - An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: DeWitt C. Goodrich & Co.1976) p. 461-478
Mountain Laurel Trout Unlimited(mlt) - www.mltu.org/Fisheries/bens_creek.htm
Guide for the Pennsylvania Railroad(gpr), Philadelphia - T.K. & P.G. Collins, printers - 1855
Westsylvania Stories - Early Iron Works Blair & Cambria Counties (wes)


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Copyright © Richard Parks, April 2008