Union Furnace - The Old Iron Furnace at Winfield PA

The Beaver, Geddes, Marsh & Co Iron Furnace, Winfield PA

History of that Part of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys

Embraced in the Counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania · Volume 2

1886

 

From The Lewisburg Journal, 1913

The iron industry rose, flourished and died away at Winfield and nothing is there now to reveal the workings of the years gone before than the old brick stack crumbling to ruin hear the river banks and at which location it was erected when the furnace for the melting of iron ore was built at that place in 1853. Like many other industries in other sections it grew from a small beginning to gigantic proportions and then as time grew onward to make the centuries the work gradually were left to ruin and the history of the  workings is preserved through the generations by the tales of the grandfathers as they sit around the fire on a cold winter evening, Such is the case with the old iron furnace at Winfield. Although it has not been so long ago that the last work was performed there, yet the beginning of the work on the grounds was far back in 1853 and the grandfathers of today are telling to their grandchildren the tales of work and of the melting of the iron on the river banks of the Susquehanna.

1876 Directory of Furnaces

But little, if anything is known, of the early date at which iron ore was discovered in these parts. The first authentic record we have at this day is according to Linn’s Annals, which states that in the year 1841 Napoleon Hughes, of Franklin county, found the iron ore at. the present site of “Yankee Spring” in Winfield. contained a good amount of metallic iron and he opened up a drift at that place and a short time later he also opened one in Miner's hollow, These places were worked intermittently, and as there was no furnace at Winfield. the product was loaded on boats at the Winfield ferry and then taken to Red Point on the North Branch of the Susquehanna river where the products were sold. 

In 1853. however, Samuel Geddes. James S.  Marsh, Frederick Marsh, Elisha C. Marsh and Joseph Shreiner, alt of Lewisburg. who were operating a foundry at Lewisburg under the name of Geddes, Marsh and Co., erected a furnace in Dry  Valley, Work on what was called the Union furnace at Winfield, the ruins which still stand a short distance on the other side of the Philadelphia and Reading R. R. tracks was begun in 1853. The stone for the stack was hauled from Blue Hill. In 1833 the houses which are now occupied by Daniel Crabb the constable at Winfield, and Jeremiah Burns were erected as well as the stone barn and farm house of James Snyder. The hotel at Winfield was kept by a Mr. Miteman. At the time of the erection of the Union furnace the virgin forest still covered Chestnut ridge and ran far down into the valley. Across the river the Philadelphia and Erie railroad was in process of construction The Philadelphia and Reading railroad which now runs through Winfield was not thought of at that time. A stage was run from Northumberland across Chestnut Ridge to New Berlin. At that time Winfield was only a hamlet of a few houses and was called Dry Valley.

In the fall of 1833 the from admitted three members. They were Thomas Beaver. of Danville: Peter Beaver, of Lewisburg. and Charles E. Morris, of Chester county. The latter named was the man ager until 1858. From that time until 1863 the firm was known as Beaver. Marsh. Geddes & CoDr. Levi Runke, who had been manager at the mines, was admitted as a partner in the firm in 1856

The plant when completed in 1834 comprised the large furnace stack, stock house. casting room engine and blowing tub room, four large boilers, a hot blast. and a flue stack nearly 100 feet in height The stack was made higher later on account of in sufficient draft. An additional hot blast was also built that the air could be heated to a high temperature before entering the furnace.

The Union Furnace, about 1912

One of the peculiar things about the furnace was the engine which was of crude construction no flywheel of any kind being attached thereto, The eccentric movement was obtained from a large horizontal bar the which a spring was attached. The movement of the big piston was slow and each change of motion mule a very sharp exhaust which was many times heard in Lewisburg when the evenings were clear.

To provide for the workmen the firm erected five blocks of house and a general store which for many years was carried on under the name of Beaver, Morris & Co.  The ownership was the same as that of the furnace. In the years of 1856 and 1857 a large grist mil was built close to the furnace from which the motive power was obtained.  This build is is still standing, but in these days it is used for another  purpose than it was used for in the days when the industry flourished in our neighboring town down the river,. 

The first filling of the furnace was commenced on October 25, 1854.

The efforts of the first few years were anything but successful, The management, however. were not to be undone by small failures. and kept steadily on and made the business flourish. Many break downs occurred, Many times the metal chilled and the contents of the furnace had to be drilled or blasted out while it was yet in a red hot state This was not an easy task. A walk along the east side of the furnace will yet show the immense blocks of metal which were taken out and which were at that time called salamanders. They weighed a great deal and when one sees the size of the he can realize what amount of work it must have taken to get these big chunks of metal, which chilled while in the furnace, out of it. Each of the operations, when the metal had to be drilled out of the furnace, cost in the neighborhood of $1,000 and it was not an easy task at that.

In 1857 and 1858 they were enable to manufacture iron more successfully, It was under most trying circumstances that the furnace was operated. To any one year of the ten which followed there was not a cent realized from the investment by the management and at the end of those ten years they were left in poorer circumstances than they had been before. Without the assistance of Thomas Beaver, who was a wealthy member of the firm the furnace would have been shut down and would have gone into bankruptcy many a time.

In April of 1863, Thomas Beaver sold his interest to his brother, Peter. , During the war times the furnace was in poor straits. The management was fearful that the furnace would be a failure. But it was not. From the year 1865 to 1872 the demand for iron, which the war had created, carried prices to what would seem a high price in these days and it was during this time that the firm prospered greatly, For a short time they operated a coal mine near Mt. Carmel, but they found that they could buy coal very much cheaper than it cost to mine it, and they consequently sold out. Leases were obtained on some valuable ore deposits at Millerstown, Perry county. The firm built many buildings at Winfield for the use of the men employed at the furnace. Again in 1873 to 1878 the furnace was in poor straits and

these years were lean ones for the management and the business was carried on at a loss. In 1875 1867, 1877, and 1878 the furnace was closed down nearly all of the time, and in 1878 the wages fell as low as eighty cents a day. In 1879 and 1880 the conditions at the furnace improved to considerable extent and from that time until 1890 the business improved although it never rose to the height obtained during the years following the war.

In 1890 the iron trade began to fall off to such an extent that Dr. Levi Rooke, both of his partners Mr. Beaver and Mr. Marsh, having died, decided to close down the plant. In March of 1891 the last casting was made at the old furnace and since that time it has stood silent, the ruins telling a story of iron ore industry in the days agone.

Two serious fire occurred at the furnace during the time when it was running. The inclined plane was burned in 1863 and 1880 the plane and storehouse suffered from the fames, it required herculean efforts to rig up apparatus in order that the furnace might not chill In the flood of 1865 which carried all but one span of the bridge which stood at the foot of Market street in this place, the water completely surrounded the plant at Winfield as was also the case in 1889. which caused the suspension of business.

The means of conveying the material to the furnace at Winfield iron the mines, were by teams Each day ore teams passed up and down on either side of the ridge just above Winfield and deposited the load on a large pile near the furnace. The iron during the first years that the furnace was operated was hauled to Northumberland, Later when Kapp's Siding was put in, it was taken by wagon across the ferry. During the winter. when the river was frozen over a mule was hitched to a small bob-sled and a half ton of iron loaded an the sled was taken over the river on the ice. Many times either the weight of the mule or the weight of the iron caused the ice to break and both were precipitated into the depths of the river. Barges were towed along the river the same as along a canal Coal and ore were brought by boats through the canal to Northumberland and from there to Winfield by the river. At first a two-horse tread power float was constructed for towing, but when that was worn out the barges were towed up the river by the horses. Later steam boats were substituted for the purpose, and until 1888, when the Philadelphia and Reading railroad was built through Winfield, were the means of getting the boats up the river from Northumberland.

John K. Kremer, cashier of the Union National Bank of this place helped to make the bricks for the stack at the furnace at Winfield in 1853. When the furnace was started he was made assistant book keeper and was later on given entire charge of the books of the company and continued with the firm until 1877. George M. Slifer, deceased also of Lewisburg, started with the company in 1854. Not long after that he was made superintendent at the furnace and continued as such until it was closed down in 1891. B.C. Ammon, a resident of Winfield came to the furnace in 1855 and has had record of continuous services in that town ever since with the exception of the time he spent in the Civil war. At present he is one of the esteemed residents of Winfield. Mr. Ammon ably assisted Mr. Beaver in the conduct of the general store for many years. and when Mr John K. Kremer resigned he took charge of the accounts. Among those were the assistance in erecting the furnace and who are still living in Winfield are John Dewire, William Drum, Isaac Stettler. Others who worked at the furnace and still reside in Winfield are James Dunlap, Samuel Fetter, Aaron Fetter, James Fitzgerald, William Young, William Bennet and Daniel Crabb

For the facts concerning the former iron industry at Winfield, we are indebted to Charles R. Reagan and a number of others.

The Union Furnace ceased operations in 1894.

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1832 Map labeled by Tom Rich for the Union County Historical Society

"A furnace and forge were in operation in Shamokin township Northumberland county as early as 1830 probably Paxinas A furnace was built at Shamokin in 1841 to use anthracite It was followed by Chulasky furnace in 1846 also anthracite A furnace and forge were built near Hartleytown in Union county in 1827 and called Berlin They were followed by Forest near Milton in 1846 and Beaver near Middleburg in 1848 both charcoal furnaces Union furnace to use anthracite was built in 1854 at Winfield Union county by Beaver Geddes Marsh & Co "   - Introduction to a History of Ironmaking and Coal Mining in Pennsylvania By James Moore Swank · 1878

"The Union Furnace stacks were more than 100 feet high. There were four large boilers, a stock house, casting room and blowing rooms. There was also a company store, where workers and their families could buy an assortment of everyday goods. Employees were charged rent or room-and-board for company-owned housing.

Article from the Daily Item:

Impressive brick furnaces fired by charcoal, coal or wood, once refined the iron ore from Union County's mountains. Forges and foundries once wrought and cast this iron into the tools and implements necessary for farms, homes and factories.

In the 1830s, iron ore was discovered in Shamokin Ridge (New Berlin Mountain). The ridge extends west from the Susquehanna River's West Branch past New Berlin. Iron ore was dug from mines the entire length of the mountain. Napoleon Hughes, an ore prospector from Franklin County, recorded rich iron ore in the ridge in 1841 and opened mines near Yankee Springs (now Winfield) and Miner's Hollow.

Ore was hauled in horse- or mule-drawn wagons along the road, now called Furnace Road, from Mifflinburg to Turtle Creek and then to Winfield.

Early on, the iron ore was transported across the river to Northumberland by ferry or by sleighs when the Susquehanna froze in winter, and by barges on the canal to the Danville furnaces.

The Union Furnace stacks were more than 100 feet high. There were four large boilers, a stock house, casting room and blowing rooms. There was also a company store, where workers and their families could buy an assortment of everyday goods. Employees were charged rent or room-and-board for company-owned housing.

The furnace employed 25-30 people. Ledgers from the furnace, which are in the Union County Historical Society collection, list employees, their wages and charges. In the 1870s, workers included L. Tierney, Conrad Hoover, William and John Driver, John Connery, John Trutt, Thomas Shannon, John Parker, Lewis Dieter, Charles Williams, William Renninger and Jacob Campbell. In the late 1800s, James Jones, Wesley and James Dunlap, Levi Leader, Edward Hines, Charles S. Bell and James Gill were among the iron workers.

Invoices from Union County foundries show the range of their goods: waffle irons and skillets, water kettles, butchering kettles, farm implements of all varieties, hand tools, kitchen utensils, fireplace equipment and more.

In 1841, Napoleon Hughes discovered iron ore along the Shamokin Ridge at Yankee Spring and later Miner’s Hollow. At first this iron ore was shipped to Danville or Glen Iron. It is written that Charles Reagan, as a boy in the mid 1880’s, saw four-mile long caravans of five-ton wagons heading to Glen Iron from the furnace which was just across the road from his home. John Youngman and Jesse M. Walter operated a mercantile and grain business near the mining of the iron ore and on the Mensch land in 1851.

 Union Iron Smelting Furnace in Winfield

The furnace employed 25-30 people. Ledgers from the furnace, which are in the Union County Historical Society collection, list employees, their wages and charges. In the 1870s, workers included L. Tierney, Conrad Hoover, William and John Driver, John Connery, John Trutt, Thomas Shannon, John Parker, Lewis Dieter, Charles Williams, William Renninger and Jacob Campbell. In the late 1800s, James Jones, Wesley and James Dunlap, Levi Leader, Edward Hines, Charles S. Bell and James Gill were among the iron workers." - The Daily Item

Lewisburg’s Oldest Foundry by Richard Sauers
In 1834, Peter Nevius and Nathan Mitchell started a small foundry business after they purchased the site of the original Methodist Church in Lewisburg, near the intersection of South Water and St. Louis streets. 

By the time the foundry was  purchased by Samuel Geddes and James S. Marsh in early 1848, it was known as the Lewisburg Foundry. The new owners promoted the Hathaway Stove, for which they had
the authority to manufacture by the inventor.

 In February 1851, Marsh purchased Geddes’s share of the foundry. In the spring of 1852, Marsh added several partners–Joseph W. Shriner, Elisha C. Marsh, and Frederick Marsh–and the firm became Geddes, Marsh & Company. 

The  new firm switched production from stoves to agricultural implements, ornamental iron,
railings, and mill gearings. The farm equipment included the Hussey reaper, Ross Patent Drill, Cumming’s Feed Cutter as well as ploughs. In April 1855, Elisha Marsh withdrew from the firm, which now included Samuel Geddes, James S. Marsh, Joseph W. Shriner, and Frederick Marsh, as Geddes, Marsh & Shriner.

The foundry was reorganized in September 1858, when Geddes, Marsh & Shriner was dissolved by mutual consent and renamed James S. Marsh & Company. The company continued its steady growth, enlarging its property in order to manufacture Valley Chief reapers. In June 1860, the firm’s name became the Lewisburg Foundry and Agricultural Works. Marsh’s partners included Elisha Shorkley, C. C. Shorkley, and Peter Beaver.

 The foundry continued its steady work, in spite of occasional accidents, the most serious of which took place on March 28, 1862. Sparks from the foundry’s smokestack blew onto the roofs of the company’s tin and pattern shops, which burned to the ground and had to be rebuilt.

In March 1872, Marsh purchased the foundry and became its sole owner. An employee of the Lewisburg Chronicle, which at the time was located a short distance to the west near the courthouse, visited the foundry in March 1878 and described it in detail as follows:

We found this establishment, in every department, running at the top of

its speed, and piles upon piles of reaper sections in different stages of

manufacture, stacked everywhere. The moulding room is one hundred

feet square, and is one of the liveliest places in this neck of the woods. To

get through that part safely, without getting sand in one’s eyes, or having

his shins burned, requires nice traveling, and a duly sober condition. This

is, we believe, the largest moulding room in this section. Then there are

the other adjuncts. The machine shop is a vast hive of wheels, belts, and

the endless numbers of machines which they drive. Although this would

seem amply large for an establishment of this character, the workmen

have no extra room to indulge in a waltz, other than that which their duty

requires. Above this shop is where the wood-work is constructed; and to

keep up with the iron “butchers” below, these faithful artizans [sic],

although quite numerous, have no time to throw away. The blacksmith

shop conveniently located, has been recently enlarged, and here a large

number of the disciples of Vulcan are also busy, breathing gentle zephyrs

into their brilliant furnaces, and punishing their anvils at a fearful rate.

Then come the paint shops, which are spacious and pleasant, and well

stocked with men who understand how to put the finishing touches on the

machinery sent to them. The pattern rooms are also ample, but they are

not so lively, just now, as the energies of all hands are taxed to their

utmost to manufacture articles over pattering [sic] already on hand.

Across the street from the works are three very large sheds nearly

filled with reapers and stacks of supplies, while more are constantly being

added. And near by is the business office, where Mr. D. S. Kremer and

several of Mr. Marsh’s sons are apparently trying to beat each other in the

“ruination” of white paper. The amount of stationery used up in this office

is immense, as we have good reason to know.

On inquiry, we ascertained that Mr. Marsh now employs more men

than he did since 1869. Five tons of metal are melted daily for the

manufacture of reapers (this being the special business of this

establishment). The stack of the boiler furnace has recently been raised,

and a new and superior engine is in process of manufacture.

We understand that this manufactory will be compelled to work up

to its utmost capacity to get out enough machines for the coming harvest.

The western demand for them is great and increasing. In some sections,

the farmers desire no other machine. This speaks well for Lewisburg, and

more especially for our esteemed neighbor

The Marsh foundry was the height of its business when the end came suddenly on September 13, 1878. Early that morning, a fire broke out, and in spite of the exertions of the firemen, the blaze completely destroyed the moulding rooms, machine shop/woodworking shop building, blacksmith shop, and painting/woodworking shop. The second story of the office, located across St. Louis Street, also was destroyed, togethe rwith a small frame house belonging to a neighbor. The firm’s loss was estimated at
around $100,000. About 200 reapers, stored in one of the wooden sheds, survived the flames. The payroll included the names of 180 men, who all lost their means of employment. Several men also lost their personal tools in the fire. Marsh immediately made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors to forestall any lawsuits against the company. It was probably the combination of paying off his debts, the inadequate insurance coverage (Marsh had $10,500 in coverage), and the lack of capital that led to
Marsh’s decision not to rebuild the foundry