Beckley Iron Furnace
East Canaan, CT
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Beckley Iron Furnace |
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East Canaan, CT |
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From Society for Industrial Archeology - New England Chapters newsletter Volume 18, Number 1, 1998, page 5 |
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Connecticut Commission Approves $.25M for Blast Furnace Preservation |
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Southern New England S.I.A. member Ed Kirby has announced state approval of $250,000 to fund the preservation of the John Adam Beckley Furnace in East Canaan, Connecticut. The Committee for the Preservation of the Beckley Furnace (CPBF), a local nonprofit group, of which Kirby is a member, has been working for more than eighteen months to raise funds and save the furnace. The Beckley Blast furnace was built in 1847 and operated until the winter of 1918 - 1919. It is Connecticut's only designated industrial monument and will become the centerpiece of the planned Iron Heritage Trail through the seven towns of the northwest corner of the state. Currently, the Connecticut Department of Public Works is reviewing plans for the restoration developed for the CPBF by Kirby and S.I.A. members Matt Kierstead, Victor Rolando, Bill Edwards, Karl Danneil and Carla Cielo. The Beckley Furnace, which stands 40 feet in height, was one of eight operated by the Barnum Richardson Company in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Most of the iron from this furnace and the others was transported to the company foundry in Lime Rock for the production of railroad car wheels for both national and international markets. Through the efforts of Charles Rufus Harte, the property was purchased by the state in 1946 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ed Kirby, Sharon, CT |
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Beckley Iron Furnace - Specifications and Preservation Study Report |
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kdanneil@capital.net |
