Adjacent Lands Study: Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

KFS Cultural Resources Group; Kise Franks & Straw; Menke and Menke

Hopewell Furnace showcases an early American industrial landscape from natural resource extraction to enlightened conservation. Operating from 1771-1883, Hopewell and other "iron plantations" laid the foundation for the transformation of the United States into an industrial giant. The park's 848 acres and historic structures illustrate the business, technology and lifestyle of our growing nation. Kise Franks & Straw (KFS), as part of its preparation of a Cultural Landscape Report for Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, was also charged with preparation of a separate Adjacent Lands Study that identified, documented, and provided recommendations for the protection of, cultural resources "directly related to the operation and preservation of Hopewell Furnace, but currently outside park \ boundaries." The identification of cultural resources associated with Hopewell Furnace and located outside the boundaries of the 848-acre National Historic Site requires recognition of the fact that the present National Historic Site encompasses only about 20 percent of the total acreage owned by Hopewell Furnace’s ironmasters during the height of operations in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Most of the historic acreage not presently owned by the National Park Service was deeded to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the federal government in 1947, and is currently located within the boundaries of French Creek State Park. The historic boundaries extend as much as three miles to the west and north of the core village. In an effort to include all property adjacent to these historic boundaries a study area was established that measures ten miles in diameter, centered on the core village. This area almost entirely encompasses the iron mines, limestone quarries, and woodlands that supplied the furnace with raw materials, as well as residences of most of the furnace workers and farmers who supplied the furnace with seasonal labor or agricultural goods. The study area includes property that is not adjacent to either the present Hopewell National Historic Site boundaries or the land owned by the furnace’s owners during the eighteen and nineteenth centuries. For the purposes of this study a five-mile study area encompasses virtually all of the furnace’s "adjacent lands" and includes the iron mines, limestone quarries, charcoal woods, other iron industry sites, transportation depots, churches, schools, stores, farms, and workers’ residences mostly closely associated with the furnace.

Adjacent Lands Study: Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

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