Karthaus Iron Furnace

"The general area of the old foundry is filled with old cans and refuse, while the furnace is gradually falling into a state of decay. "

 "The furnace, constructed of rocks of all sizes, is gradually falling apart, rock by rocks, and already one side has fallen away, exposing the center core."  

 Those could have been my exact description of the Karthaus furnace site we visited in October of 2019, but these are actually from a newspaper article written in n 1949.  The Furnace was completely restored in 1968, but sadly,  in 1970 it collapsed once again, looking as it did in 1949.  With the addition of a very old car buried in the rubble.  

There are two stones with dates carved in them on the furnace.  

One is 1827, the other 1967, for when the restoration began.  The furnace is said to have been built in 1817 by Peter Karthaus, and rebuilt in 1837 by Rittner and Say - making the 1827 stone somewhat confusing, unless it took 10 years for Karathaus to finish the furnaces construction.  

The  Wilkes Barre Leader

May 1937

This also ran in the Mansfield newspaper, Jan 1938

Peter Karthaus emigrated from Germany, made a fortunate in shipping during the War of 1812, then purchased a large tract of land in Clearfield County.  He partnered with Rev. Geissenhainer and erected a furnace, forge, gristmill, and several houses, around 1817.  Although the area was rich in iron ore deposits and timber needed for the iron making process, it lacked population and transportation to move the iron once it was made. The firm of Geissenhainer and Karthaus disolved in 1818.  (The stone on the furnace is carved with 1827, perhaps the furnace was not completed until then? )

A 1950 story in the Lock Haven Express tells us that in 1834 Karthaus wrote to the editor of 'Harzards Register' in Philadelphia, suggesting the extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Harrisburg to Lake Erie, but nothing came of his plan for another 20 years.

The same article tells us that Karthaus second wife died in 1838, at the same time he found himself losing all of his fortune.  He packed up, closed his various enterprises, and "Karthaus became a ghost town, or buried city".  

Explore PA History states that the Clearfield Coal and Iron company built a new furnace in 1836, with it running from 1838-1839 before failing in 1839.  https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2A9  I'm unsure how this fits in the Karthaus timeline I have here.  Was it the same furnace?  A different location?  Were they working with Karthaus, who did not leave the area until 1838?  I do not know.

Peter Karthaus died in 1861, leaving no children.  His papers, documents and ledgers related to his buisinesses, can be found here.

See many more photos in an album here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/FieldsOfHeatherPhotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1136405969895149

More Of the History:

In an article in the Clearfield Republican in January of 1873, 

The editor writes of the mineral resources in the area, and one mans findings.

In the article, this bit about the history of the Karthaus Furnace is included.

An article in the March 1949 edition of the Clearfield Progress state that the furnace at Karthus was the first to smelt iron with soft coal.

They base this headline on a quote from the 1846 State Book Of Pennsylvania, published by Thomas Burrows.  It also includes the above quotes from the Raftsmans Journal.

In the Atoona Tribune in 1888

1890

This Pennsylvania State Archives photo of Karthaus Furnace is dated 1890, and shows more damage than we saw when we visited in 2019.  The furnace was restored sometime in the late 1960s

The 1827 Stone was found during the 1967 restoration project.

"The general area of the old foundry is filled with old cans and refuse, while the furnace is gradually falling into a state of decay. "

"The furnace, constructed of rocks of all sizes, is gradually falling apart, rock by rocks, and already one side has fallen away, exposing the center core."

"Three of the four ovens on the furnace remain today, as they were 132 years ago when it was built"

This article in the Progress in March of 1949 was to help raise interest in restoring the furnace, which was done in 1967.  However, the article is an accurate description of what the site looks like once again, in 2019.

The Clearfield Progress

July 1968

The Pittsburgh Press, 1968

Sadly, in November 1970, the furnace caved yet again.

From The Progress, Clearfield PA, July 1971

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