{"nrhp_refnum":"91001137","name":"Farrandsville Iron Furnace","other_names":["Lycoming Coal Co."],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jct. of Graham and Old Carrier Rds., Colebrook Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Farrandsville","county":"Clinton County","state":"PA","lat":41.17488986400008,"lon":-77.51410602699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-09-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sandstone blast furnace for smelting iron, located on the north shore of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River about a quarter mile from the river, in the village of Farrandsville, Clinton County, Pennsylvania. It is 54 feet high and 43 feet square at its base.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the furnace is a rare surviving example of an early American attempt to combine coke fuel with hot blast technology in iron smelting. It also cites the quality of its close-fitted stone masonry and its size at the time of completion as significant engineering features.","narrative":"Built in 1836-1837 on the north bank of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, this sandstone blast furnace rises 54 feet and stands 43 feet square at its base. Financed by Boston capitalists and probably supervised by Edward Thomas, a Welsh immigrant, it was built from stone quarried on the mountain behind the site. Its masonry is close fitted with very narrow joints, and the bosh is lined with refractory brick. The furnace is considered one of the earliest American efforts to pair coke fuel with hot blast, a method brought from Scotland by James Ralston in 1837. At completion it was among the largest blast furnaces in the country, with a stated capacity of 50 tons per week. Ore supply and transport costs proved unworkable, and the furnace closed in 1838. Its later use included a refractory brick works.","period_of_significance":"1836-1838","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The furnace closed in 1838 and there is no substantiated record of it being returned to blast; later it was part of a brickworks and was deeded to the Clinton County Historical Society in 1951.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.770301-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/91001137.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001137/9c439f332a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001137/9c439f332a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ruhrfisch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Farrandsville_Iron_Furnace_vertical.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ruhrfisch</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:Farrandsville_Iron_Furnace_vertical.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992796","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrandsville_Iron_Furnace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5436237"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/clinton-county/farrandsville-iron-furnace-91001137/"}