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Teach PA History
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Digging, Smelting and Forging: But Why in Pennsylvania?
Further Reading

Bining, Arthur. Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1973.

This book provides detailed information about William Penn and the beginning of the iron industry in Pennsylvania. It talks about iron during the colonial period and the potential that Pennsylvania had to manufacture iron due to its natural resources.

Dieffenbach, Susan. Cornwall Iron Furnace: Pennsylvania Trail of History Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.

This brief guide (48 pages) offers an introduction on ironmaking in Pennsylvania, the history of Cornwall Furnace, and information about visiting this National Historic Landmark. Administered by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, Cornwall Furnace is an excellent example of an early charcoal-fueled furnace.

Eggert, Gerald. The Iron Industry in Pennsylvania.. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1994.

This book provides an excellent overview of the history and technology involved in the iron industry in Pennsylvania. It also contains pictures and diagrams of various iron furnaces throughout Pennsylvania.


Web Sites

Cornwall Iron Furnace http://www.cornwallironfurnace.org/

This website provides detailed information about the Cornwall Iron Furnace. It has a virtual tour that allows the students to look at the different components of the furnace and associated buildings. The website also provides a history of this early charcoal-fueled furnace.

Heavy Metal http://www.greencastlemuseum.org/Local_History/iron_works.htm

This website provides detailed information on the process of smelting. It explains in detail what happens to the various materials during the smelting and forging processes.

How Stuff Works: BBC: The British History Victorians: The Blast Furnace Animation http://science.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=iron.htm&url=http:/...

This website provides a visualization of how a blast furnace actually works. It shows step by step what each part of the furnace does in order to change the iron ore into molten iron. There is also an activity that allows the student to use their knowledge and memories to create their own furnace. It offers a great visual representation of the iron smelting process.

Pennsylvania Iron Furnaces http://www.oldindustry.org/PA_HTML/PaIron.html

This site entails a list of various iron furnaces in Pennsylvania. There are links to each of the different furnaces and provides images as well as explanations about them.

Virtual Tour of Hopewell Furnace NHS http://www.nps.gov/hofu/home.html

This site offers a virtual tour of the buildings of Hopewell Village. They also have information about the iron industry as well as many activities for the classroom. To locate these on the website, download the Educational Publication List. One hands-on program geared towards 5th-8th graders allows students to become molders for a day. Among the downloadable PDFs is a great description of "The Iron Making Process."


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