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Hopewell Furnace Commemorates 250 Years of History

by Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

Aug 02, 2021
Hopewell Furnace Site

Hopewell Furnace invites you to join in commemorating 250 years of furnace history on the 83rd anniversary of the park’s establishment as a National Historic Site.  Programs and demonstrations will be offered throughout the day on Saturday, August 7th starting at 10:00 a.m. and continuing to 4:00 p.m.

Programs and demonstrations offered during the day include charcoal making demonstrations, Revolutionary War era historic weapons demonstrations, reenactors portraying Civil Conservation Corps workers, and much more.  These programs will highlight some of the two and half centuries of stories the site has to tell.  The park will also be reopening its visitor center for the first time in 17 months since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hopewell Furnace was established as a National Historic Site on August 3, 1938 and preserves the late 18th and early 19th century setting of an iron-making community, including the charcoal-fueled furnace, and its natural and cultural resources.  This community illustrates the essential role of industrialization in the growth of the early United States.  The furnace was established in 1771 by Ironmaster Mark Bird and operated as a furnace for the next 112 years.

The park’s facilities are currently open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  Hopewell Furnace is located at 2 Mark Bird Lane, Elverson, PA 19520 about five miles south of Birdsboro, PA, off Route 345.  Admission to the park is free.  For more information, call 610-582-8773 or visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/hofu.

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