{"nrhp_refnum":"05000762","name":"Redwell-Isabella Furnace Historic District","other_names":["VDHR file no. 069-5252"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bet. VA 652 and Hawksbill Creek on N side of Luray","address_restricted":false,"city":"Luray","county":"Page County","state":"VA","lat":38.68077587100004,"lon":-78.45743001099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-07-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 9-acre historic district on the west bank of Hawksbill Creek just north of Luray, Page County, Virginia. It preserves remnants of an iron furnace complex begun around 1787, including two stone buildings from about 1800, a spring, a cemetery, a foundation and a furnace bridge mound.","why_significant":"The district contains the remnants of Page County's oldest iron furnace complex, Redwell Furnace, later Isabella Furnace, which operated until the 1840s. A forge, flour mill and woolen factory continued on the site into the late nineteenth century. It is significant for industry and for two surviving buildings, a putative furnace office and worker dormitory, that represent furnace-related building types now rare in Virginia.","narrative":"Just north of Luray, on the west bank of Hawksbill Creek, a nine-acre district preserves what remains of Page County's oldest iron furnace complex. Redwell Furnace was apparently established in 1787 by Derrick Pennybacker and later became known as Isabella Furnace, operating until the 1840s. A forge, flour mill and woolen mill followed, and industrial activity continued until the woolen mill burned in 1880. The surviving resources include two stone buildings from about 1800: the Isabella Furnace Office, with Georgian interior detail, and the Yager Spring House, a former dormitory-type dwelling with a large cooking fireplace. Also included are a cemetery, a stone foundation, the furnace bridge mound and Yager Spring, which powered the furnace and later mills. The district was listed for its role in the county's iron, milling and woolen industries and for its rare furnace-related buildings. No archaeological survey has been done, though further research could yield additional resources.","period_of_significance":"1787-1880","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The furnace itself is gone. The Isabella Furnace Office was in danger of collapse but its deteriorated stone walls were repaired in 2004. The property is owned by the Town of Luray, which is exploring rehabilitation options.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.807998-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/6824/41682436/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/05000762.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000762/dbf36eaa00-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000762/dbf36eaa00-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Redwell-IsabellaFurnaceHistoricDist_4893.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cecouchman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Redwell-IsabellaFurnaceHistoricDist_4893.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682436","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15272190"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/page-county/redwell-isabella-furnace-historic-district-05000762/"}