1

Teaching Unit by Kellie DiBattista

Local History Project: Joanna Furnace Yesterday and Today

Big Ideas:

• Where is Joanna Furnace?• Why was it important to early

Pennsylvania economy?• Why is Joanna Furnace part of the

Heritage History Trail?• What can you find today at Joanna

Furnace?

2

Historic Joanna Furnace Introduction

• Joanna Furnace was an operating iron blast furnace from 1721-1898

• Located in Robeson County, PA (near our school)• Originally owned by John Potts, named after his

wife, Joanna• Bethlehem Mines donated Joanna Furnace to

Hay Creek Historic Society who renovated the site into a popular tourist attraction

• Today, Joanna Furnace is a popular spot along the Schuylkill Heritage History Trail

3

*Where on Earth is Joanna Furnace?

* http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=40.189540863&ln=-75.8882675171&z=4&k=2&a=1&tab=1

* http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=40.190746&ln=-75.887525&z=4&k=2

* Robeson, PA, USA

* Latitude and Longitude Coordinates: 40° 11' 26.69" N 75° 53' 15.09" W

* Copyright © 2010 Google.com. All rights reserved.

4

Credit: Potts Family Papers, Microfilm roll #3704, Pennsylvania State Archives, Draught of Lands at Warwick Furnace, 1768

Original map showing location of Joanna Furnace site

5

* Joanna Furnace in 1792

1792 photo depicting Joanna Furnace with blowing house to the left with pipe stoves for the hot blast in the center with the furnace and stock houses to the right.

6Have you seen Joanna Furnace? It is located on Hopewell Road

*Joanna Furnace as seen from the road…

7

*Why was Joanna Furnace important to PA’s

economy?

Answer: it created usable iron

How Stuff Works video on iron ore melting

* http://science.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=iron.htm&url=http

BBC animation of iron blast furnace, students may build their own iron blast furnace or watch a simulation of how one works.

www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/launch_ani_blast_furnace.shtml

BBC copyright 2011

©1998-2011 HowStuffWorks, Inc.

8

http://runescape.salmoneus.net/blast_furnace.html

“Runescape” game that shows players exactly how a blast furnace works

Teachers play Runescape using 3M projector and SmartBoard

This website and its contents are © 2002 - 2010 Sal's Realm of RuneScape. All Rights Reserved.RuneScape ® is a trademark of Jagex Ltd. © 1999 - 2010 Andrew Gower.

9

Use graph to analyze early iron industry in Pennsylvania

Credit: Bureau of the Census, US Census of Manufacturers (Washington, DC: GPO): 1820 (1823); 1860 (1865); pp. 493-536, 540 and 736. Arthur C. Bining, Pennsylvania Iron Manufacturing in the Eighteenth Century (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1938). John Peter Lesley, The Iron Manufacturer's Guide to the Furnaces, Forges and Rolling Mills of the United States (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1959). Directory of the Iron and Steel Works of the United States (Philadelphia: American Iron and Steel Association, 1901.)

10

Historic Joanna Furnace is an important destination on the Schuylkill River Heritage

Trail

11

Today, Joanna Furnace is being rediscovered. Thousands of visitors have attended festivals over the past thirty years, toured the historic buildings and absorbed the rich history of the site, leaving with a better understanding of what some have called ‘the Jewel of Southern Berks.’

Beginning in 2008, Living History Presentations of varied topics, crafts or artifacts will be presented, and historic buildings will be open, the third Saturday during the months of April-October.

12

FURNACE OPERATIONS DAYS AND BREAKFAST BUFFET - April 16, 2011HAY CREEK FESTIVAL - September 9 – 11, 2011HAY CREEK APPLE FESTIVAL - October 8, 2011CHRISTMAS AT JOANNA - December 2 – 5, 2011

Conclusion: What can you do at Joanna Furnace today?

COPYRIGHT © 2008 HAY CREEK VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

13

Stop in for a visit!