Isabella Furnace
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Isabella Furnace was a
cold blast Cold blast, in ironmaking, refers to a metallurgical furnace where air is not preheated before being blown into the furnace. This represents the earliest stage in the development of ironmaking. Until the 1820s, the use of cold air was thought to b ...
charcoal iron Charcoal iron is the substance created by the smelting of iron ore with charcoal. All ironmaking blast furnaces were fueled by charcoal until Abraham Darby I, Abraham Darby introduced coke (fuel), coke as a fuel in 1709. The more economical coke ...
furnace located in
West Nantmeal Township, Pennsylvania West Nantmeal Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2020 census. It and East Nantmeal Township were originally part of a single Nantmeal Township, which was divided in 1739. Hi ...
. The furnace was named for Isabella Potts, wife of one of the partners, a member of the Potts ironmaking family. Isabella was the last iron furnace to be built in the county, in 1835, and was operated by members of the Potts family and their partners until 1855, when they lost control of it in a bankruptcy. It returned to the family in 1881, when it was purchased by Col. Joseph Potts (nephew of Isabella), who modernized it. The furnace, the last to operate in Chester County, went out of blast in 1894, a few months after Col. Potts' death, but remained largely intact until after his son's death in 1943. The remains of the furnace complex have been listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
since 1991.


History

The original operators of the furnace were Henry Potts and his brother-in-law (and second cousin) John Potts Rutter, who bought a tract of land from Robert Wilson on April 1, 1835 for the furnace site.Diane B. Reed, 1991
NRHP Nomination Form for Isabella Furnace
/ref> The land was along Perkins Run near where that stream emptied into the
East Branch Brandywine Creek The East Branch Brandywine CreekMouth: 39 55'21"N, 75 38'58"W, elevation: 174 ft.; Source: 40 07'09"N,75 53'15"W, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tri ...
. The tract already included a fulling mill and a sawmill, and the transaction encompassed water rights to dam Perkins Run to power the furnace. The Potts and Rutter families were already extensively involved in the iron business in the vicinity of
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
; Henry's father Joseph was a partner in Glasgow Forge, on
Manatawny Creek Manatawny Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone C ...
near
Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts (Pennsylvanian), John Potts. The old name was abando ...
, and Henry was involved in ironmaking there and at Warwick Furnace, owned by his first cousin
David Potts Jr. David Potts Jr. (November 27, 1794 – June 1, 1863) was an Anti-Masonic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Potts was born at Warwick Furnace, Pennsylvania, about eight miles from Pottstown, Pennsylvania. ...
The furnace was completed by the end of the year and named in honor of Henry's wife Isabella, née Hitner. It proved to be the last sizable furnace erected in northern Chester County. In the spring of 1836, Henry's brother David, formerly the owner of Springton Forge, was brought in as a partner and manager of the furnace. Henry retained a half interest and David and John each a quarter interest in Isabella Furnace. Ore from the furnace was obtained from the Jones and Warwick mines nearby. These mines were operated by a partnership including members of the allied Potts, Rutter, and Brooke families. In 1839 and 1840, respectively, Henry and David's brothers Robert Smith Potts and Joseph Potts were brought into the partnership. Ultimately, David bought out most of the family interest, except for a
moiety Moiety may refer to: __NOTOC__ Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is divided ** A division of society in the Iroquois societal structure in North America ** An Australian Aboriginal kinship group ** Native Ha ...
held by his nephew, William A. Smith. David's nephew
Charles Follen McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the par ...
, later an architect, was born at Isabella in 1847. The furnace was well-run under David's direction, and in 1850, produced of iron per year. The furnace was converted to a
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
in 1853. However, changing conditions in the iron market in the mid-1850s badly damaged David's financial position. Isabella Furnace was assigned to Robert Smith Potts and Addison May, who sold it in the following year to John Irey and James Butler. Irey was a carpenter who, like David Potts, had made iron at Springton Forge. Under the new owners, the output of the forge in 1856 was of blooms. Irey bought out Butler in 1860 and thereafter operated the forge himself. During the early years of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, the East Brandywine and Waynesburg Railroad was built along the East Branch of the Brandywine on its way from Downingtown to Waynesburg, now Honey Brook. Its Wyebrooke station was about a half-mile south of the forge and provided a rail outlet for its products. The forge was remodeled in 1864 and it was presumably then that it became a furnace again, but Irey's operations during the Civil War were not profitable. He sold out in 1865 to the brothers Bentley H., William D., and Horace V. Smith, members of an ironmaking family associated with Joanna Furnace and the mines around Warwick. William D. and Horace V. Smith were particularly associated with the management of the furnace until 1881. About 1870, as the Wilmington and Reading Railroad built through the region on the way from
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
to
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, it established a station called "Isabella" about a mile northwest of the furnace. In 1880, a new figure appeared upon the scene: Col. Joseph D. Potts (1829–1893), son of David Potts. Raised at Isabella Furnace, he regarded it as home. Potts made a fortune in the railroad and transportation industry, in the employ of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
and elsewhere. When he retired from that business, he desired to return to the property where he had been raised and become an ironmaster, like so many of his family before him. He won over the Smith brothers, who were reluctant to sell, and closed on the property on February 28, 1880. Potts was willing to make substantial investments in modernizing the furnace. His improvements included conversion from water to the more reliable steam power for creating the furnace blast. Potts also arranged for the construction of a spur line to the furnace from the East Brandywine and Waynesburg, which had come under the control of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
in 1876. This facilitated the shipment of raw materials to, and iron from, the furnace; in 1884, Isabella was reported to be using a combination of the local ores and imported Spanish ore to produce "car-wheel"
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
, sold under the "Wyebrooke" brand. At this time, the annual capacity of the furnace had increased to of iron due to the modernization. Soon after buying the furnace, Col. Potts appointed his elder son, William M. Potts, manager of the furnace; William's younger brother, Francis L. Potts, was also associated with Isabella until 1886. In that year, Isabella underwent its last rebuilding. By 1892, the furnace was using a blend of local ores, ore from Lancaster County, Elba, and
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
, and reported an annual capacity of . In 1891, Col. Potts began building a nearby chateau-like mansion, "Langoma" (1891–95,
Theophilus P. Chandler Jr. Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr. (September 7, 1845 – August 16, 1928) was an American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He spent his career at Philadelphia, and is best remembered for his churches and country houses. He fou ...
, architect), which he intended as a residence for himself and his son William. However, he died in December 1893 and did not live to see it completed. William, his wife, and mother did move into "Langoma", but ironmaking at the furnace ended in April 1894, not long after Col. Potts' death. It was the last iron furnace operating in Chester County. The furnace and railroad spur were left largely intact, although unused. The slow dilapidation of the furnace produced a remarkable aesthetic effect.
Henry Seidel Canby Henry Seidel Canby (September 6, 1878 – April 5, 1961) was a critic, editor, and Yale University professor. A scion of a Quaker family that arrived in Wilmington, Delaware, around 1740 and grew to regional prominence through milling and bu ...
referred in 1935 to "its moldering cupola furnace, like a Persian mosque of the twelfth century, its long walls and sleepy half-drained dam." This slow decay was accelerated after the death of William M. Potts in 1943, when the railroad was taken up and other metal was reclaimed for scrap. Even after this,
HABS The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
photographer Ned Goode said of the furnace in 1959 that "its wild setting in an over-grown field is quite striking". After the death of William Potts, the ruined furnace was sold by his estate to Frank Bloise, who sold it in 1945 to Langoma Industries, a clothing firm with which Bloise was involved. Langoma Industries intended to set up a clothing factory and a surrounding worker's town on the Potts estate. It was still owned by Langoma Industries in 1959. Ultimately, the property was converted to a private residence by Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Leiberman, who sold the property about 1983.


Buildings

The original stack of the furnace was high, with a bosh. Either the 1864 or 1881 remodeling increased the height to , with a bosh. The last remodeling, in 1886, enlarged the stack to . A Hexamer General Survey plan of the furnace made in 1890 shows a number of structures arranged along the hillside sloping down to Perkins Run. Atop the hillside were a "coalhouse", "orehouse", and "screenhouse"; three large warehouses (about 100' x 50' each) with railroad trestles running into them for the delivery and storage of raw materials. Their elevated position allowed charcoal and ore to be moved directly to a crusher house and a charging house on the edge of the hillside; the mixed coal and ore could then move across a charging bridge into the top of the furnace stack, whose base was at the foot of the hill. Attached to the base of the furnace were a "wheel house", apparently used for storing casting sand and
fire brick A fire brick, firebrick, fireclay brick, or refractory brick is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. Made of primarily oxide materials like silica and alumina in varying ratios, these insulati ...
, and a casting house where molten iron from the furnace could run into molds. Just to the northwest lay the boiler shed and blowing engine for the furnace's steam-powered
tuyere A tuyere or tuyère (; ) is a tube, nozzle or pipe allowing the blowing of air into a furnace or hearth.W. K. V. Gale, The iron and Steel industry: a dictionary of terms (David and Charles, Newton Abbot 1972), 216–217. Air or oxygen is i ...
s, and several ancillary buildings also lay in the floodplain on both sides of Perkins Run. Current aerial photography shows the coalhouse, casting and crushing houses, blowing engine house, and a small storage building have been reroofed and appear to form part of a private residence. The furnace stack appears to be largely demolished, and other buildings are gone; the foundations and lower walls of the orehouse and screenhouse are still evident.


Notes

* * *


References


Further reading


American Iron and Steel Institute photograph collection (several photographs before and after abandonment)
in the
Hagley Digital Archives The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...
*Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Forges and Furnaces Collection (No. 212) (various records 1871–1921) *Historical Society of Pennsylvania, William McCleary Potts Collection (No. 1401) (correspondence of the last manager) *Pennsylvania State Archives, Photograph Collection MG-218 (one photograph)


External links

*
Hexamer Survey
showing plan of Isabella Furnace in 1890. * {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Chester County, Pennsylvania Ironworks and steel mills in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings completed in 1835 Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania