Copake Iron Works Historic District

Within Taconic State Park near Copake Falls, New York, about 18 acres hold the remains of the Copake Iron Works, an iron-producing complex established near the middle of the 19th century. The core centers on a c. 1872 charcoal blast furnace, now deteriorated and stripped of its stone veneer, along with retaining walls, a penstock, a railroad bridge abutment, an ironworks office with a brick powder house, a brick blowing engine house with a machine and pattern shop, and several modest workers' houses. The Greek Revival house built for Isaac Chesbrough, a partner in the company, is now the park manager's residence. The works belonged to the Salisbury Iron District, which spans parts of four states. It is described as arguably the most complete and readable 19th-century ironworks in that region. Most surviving features relate to the Miles family, who expanded the operation after 1862. Undisturbed ground suggests further archaeological potential.