{"nrhp_refnum":"04000036","name":"Forge Farm, Old","other_names":["Zane's Furnace","Stephens Fort","marlboro Iron Works","0.34-0125"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7326 Middle rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middletown","county":"Frederick County","state":"VA","lat":39.077549243500044,"lon":-78.32527625549518,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry","Historic - Aboriginal","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Old Forge Farm is a 29-acre farm complex near Middletown in Frederick County, Virginia, with a limestone dwelling dating to the mid-1700s, a rare hexagonal icehouse, a 1930s mill, and archaeological sites. It stands on the site of the Marlboro Iron Works (Zane's Furnace).","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under all four criteria. The property was linked to Lewis Stephens, who sheltered settlers during the French and Indian War, and to Isaac Zane, whose Marlboro Iron Works was the largest industrial operation in the Shenandoah Valley and supplied ordnance in the Revolution. The hexagonal icehouse is architecturally rare, and a 2002 survey found Archaic and Woodland period occupation.","narrative":"Old Forge Farm is a 29-acre property along Cedar Creek and Fawcett Run in Frederick County, Virginia, where settlement and industry layered over many centuries. Its centerpiece is a two-story limestone house, probably built in the mid-1700s and rebuilt within its original walls after a fire. Nearby are a rare hexagonal stone icehouse, locally called Stephens Fort, a hammer mill built around 1932 on earlier mill foundations, and the abutment of a covered bridge burned in 1930. The land was home to Lewis Stephens, who sheltered neighbors during the French and Indian War. Isaac Zane later developed the Marlboro Iron Works here into the largest industrial operation in the Shenandoah Valley, supplying ordnance to the Continental Army. The furnace site lies across Middle Road. Archaeological work in 2002 found evidence of occupation between 5000 B.C. and 1600 A.D. Together these resources document early settlement, industry and prehistoric life in the lower Shenandoah Valley.","period_of_significance":"5000 B.C. - 1600 A.D.; ca. 1750-1954","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic","criteria":["A","B","C","D"],"status_note":"The dwelling is still in use as a single dwelling. The icehouse is in good condition and used for storage. The mill is in fragile condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.139195-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/6808/41680812/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04000036.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000036/07fea36662-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000036/07fea36662-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Joel Bradshaw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MiddletownVA-OldForgeFarm-building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Joel Bradshaw</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MiddletownVA-OldForgeFarm-building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680812","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Forge_Farm_(Middletown,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713016"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/frederick-county/forge-farm-old-04000036/"}