A landmark at the heart of Centre County history is undergoing restoration for the first time in more than 60 years to help ensure its preservation for decades to come.
The Centre Furnace Stack, located at the corner of East College Avenue and Porter Road in State College and maintained by the Centre County Historical Society, represents the birthplace of the county’s ironmaking industry in the late 18th century. On that site in 1791, Revolutionary War colonels Samuel Miles and John Patton constructed Centre Furnace, the first charcoal-fueled iron furnace in what would become Centre County.
After it went into blast the following year, the furnace “was an overnight success,” prompting rapid growth of iron furnaces and forges throughout the region, according to Roger Williams, president of the Centre County Historical Society. In less than 20 years, Centre, Huntingdon and Blair counties produced more than half the pig iron in the country.
Standing today as a recognizable artifact of the region’s first industry and 18th century origins, the limestone stack across from Centre Furnace Mansion was last restored in 1963. At the time, the Centre County Historical Society and others arranged for inmates trained in masonry at Rockview state prison to repair the structure under the direction of Roy H. Ellenberger of Pine Grove Mills.
“The 1963 restoration of the furnace stack has endured for six decades,” Mary Sorensen, CCHS executive director, said. “The stack consists of dolomic limestone, which is a very hard, less absorbent stone as compared with others. Luckily, we inherited a stack that now needs only a mild cleaning, spot repointing of cracked masonry joints, and an elastomeric coating on the top to seal it from water damage.”
The new $35,000 restoration project to clean and repair the stack was made possible thanks to a major gift to CCHS by longtime volunteers and benefactors Robert Van Druff and Cynthia Dawso Van Druff of State College,
“The Centre County Historical Society is extremely grateful to the Van Druffs for making this much-needed restoration possible,” Williams said. “They recognize that the furnace stack is of inestimable historical value, as it is the birthplace of Centre County’s first major industry—ironmaking. Fortunately, they have stepped up to ensure it endures for generations to come.”
Smith Masonry, Inc., of Hollidaysburg, which has previously performed work for CCHS and Penn State, is the contractor on the project.
Prior to beginning work, the CCHS confirmed with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Division of Architecture and Preservation that its plan conformed with historical preservation standards and best practices. Joseph Lauver, the division’s chief who oversees the at Eagle Iron Works in Curtin Village and Cornwall Furnace in Lebanon County, supported the work plan.
D-2, a a non-hazardous and biodegradable cleaner often used for cleaning tombstones, is being used in the restoration. The product is effective for surface contaminants from vehicle emissions and road salt, as well as biological stains such as mold, mildew and lichen, according to CCHS.
Williams said he considers the work to be a “once-in-a-generation” restoration, just as the CCHS had done with the Centre Furnace Mansion and the Boogersburg School in Patton Township.
“When the Centre Furnace Stack is restored this fall, we will have completed these three major restorations within five years, having raised a total of $850,000 from our leadership gift donors and our loyal membership, as well as the Hamer Foundation, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and other organizations. None of this would have been possible without their generous support,” Williams said.
