Beckley Furnace
N 42° 00.648 W 073° 17.565
18T E 641368 N 4652385
Located in East Canaan, Connecticut, this iron furnace was built by John Adam Beckley in 1847, with energy to operate its bellows being supplied by a dam constructed at the river flowing beside it.
Waymark Code: WM39K
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 11/02/2005
Views: 79
The furnace helped supply our country with pig iron for the manufacture of weapons, ship anchors, farm equipment, tools, hardware, household utensils and many other items, making East Canaan the center of Connectucut's Iron District. After eighty years of operation, the furnace closed in 1918. However, the property was purchased by the state of Connecticut in 1946 to be used as a state park. In 1978 the furnace was registered on the National Register of Historic Places, and subsequently, it was restored in 1996 by the town of Canaan's "Friends of Beckley Furnace" with a $250,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.