Beckley Furnace - Canaan CT
Posted by: 
nomadwillie
N 42° 00.663 W 073° 17.546
18T E 641393 N 4652413
The furnace sits on the banks of the Blackberry River and was part of a large iron making operation in the 19th century.
Waymark Code: WMKWPY
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2014
Views: 7
The furnace was built in 1847 by John Beckley and William Pierce. It was located in an ideal area for the time, with the Blackberry River for powering the furnace, unlimited lime was located just a short distance up the road, and an iron mine was located close by. By 1880 the mining was having to dig deeper and deeper for iron ore, charcoal was brought in from Pennsylvania and Vermont and the river and its power could not be expanded, so it became very costly to produce the iron. Most of the other furnaces in the area closed down. Beckley, along with Canaan #3, continued operations until 1920-23.
Originally the furnace was enclosed by buildings, today the stack remains as the remnants of the site. The stack itself is 40 feet high, built with rough-surfaced limestone with pointed arches on each of its four sides.
Street address:
SE of Canaan on Lower Rd
Canaan, CT
County / Borough / Parish: Litchfield
Year listed: 1978
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Information Potential, Event
Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1825-1849
Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction
Current function: Landscape
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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