Thursday, March 28, 2024

Keep the Fires Burning: Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village

Combine iron ore, limestone, charcoal, and water power, and you have the ingredients necessary to produce one of the most significant materials of the industrial age: iron. Centre County was part of a unique region in the United States that produced some of the highest quality iron on the market: Juniata Iron. In its prime, the Juniata Iron District had more than a hundred charcoal-fueled and water-powered iron works spanning Centre, Mifflin, Juniata, and Huntingdon counties.

Among these, the Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village would thrive and survive to become one of the only of its kind.

After emigrating from Ireland, Roland Curtin moved to the Bald Eagle Valley in 1797. Relentlessly ambitious, he established businesses in Milesburg and Bellefonte, and he married into the prominent Gregg family. In 1810, Curtin partnered to build Eagle Forge along the Bald Eagle Creek, elevating his status to an ironmaster. Initially lacking a furnace, Curtin focused his business on the purchase of pig iron, which would then be hammered into wrought iron at the forge. About a year after the birth of his son and future governor of Pennsylvania, Andrew Gregg Curtin, Roland constructed a cold-blast charcoal-fueled furnace to pair with his forge, significantly expanding the Eagle Iron Works.

Day laborers, managers, working livestock, and a canine mascot are joined by Curtin Village children for this group photo taken in front of Pleasant Furnace around 1872. Photo courtesy of Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village. Colorized by Philip Ruth.

The operation of an iron works was incredibly labor-intensive. Colliers provided the fuel for Curtin’s furnace, iron ore was mined from nearby deposits and then transported to the charging house. The temperature to melt iron ore could not be achieved by simply burning the charcoal, which is where the “cold-blast” became essential. To reach smelting temperatures (about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit), air had to be pumped into the furnace. Curtin’s outfit utilized a system of bellows pumped by a water wheel to provide a continuous flow. Furnaces required constant monitoring, with the “keeper” adding raw materials each half hour to keep the furnace “charged,” and molten iron being tapped and formed into pig or cast iron every 12 hours. Once cool, this iron could be sent to market or to the forge, where further processing could be done. Curtin’s operation required a massive labor force who would become the first inhabitants of Curtin Village.

Circa-1910 photograph offers a glimpse inside the casting house of Eagle Furnace. Photo courtesy of Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village

Relatively isolated in Pennsylvania’s interior, the employees of Eagle Iron Works would need housing, food, and other amenities. To remedy this, Roland Curtin laid out a workers’ village across the road. Curtin Village grew to include as many as 60 houses, and more than 200 workers and family members. Residents were sustained by their own garden patches, a company store, a gristmill, and produce raised on the farms attached to the 900-acre plantation. They also had access to two churches, a primary school, a canal, and later a railroad. In 1830, as a testament to his wealth and power in the area, Curtin had his mansion built in the Federal style, with 15 rooms and 10 fireplaces. The Curtin Mansion remained a pillar within the community, as seven generations of Curtins occupied the home through the mid-1950s.

Sue Hannegan and Phil Ruth talk with Local Historia. Photo by Hidden Happy Valley

Sue Hannegan and Phil Ruth talk with Local Historia.

When the Eagle Iron Works burned down in 1921, it was the last operating cold-blast charcoal furnace in Pennsylvania, and one of the last in the country. After the Curtins vacated their ancestral mansion, the site sat vacant for 20 years. What was once an industrial hub within Centre County faced being lost to history.

The historic site was first in danger during the construction of Sayers Dam, but public outcry convinced the Army Corps of Engineers to spare the property. That’s when the Roland Curtin Foundation for preservation of Eagle Furnace was born. For the past half century, the foundation has partnered with the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission in restoring, preserving, and welcoming visitors to the only destination in central Pennsylvania where the major components of a 19th-century iron plantation are either still in place or have been expertly replicated.

Roland Curtin Mansion.

Unfortunately, the site again faces an uncertain future. The PHMC has recently determined that it must divest itself from the site, along with its administrative and maintenance funding. While the foundation regards itself as the site’s logical inheritor, the limited state of human and financial resources is such that the prospect of assuming ownership and maintenance responsibilities is daunting.

The best way this site can forge ahead and be secured for the future is through support, expressed through volunteering, attending events, tours, and financial contributions during annual events like Centre Gives.

Hidden Happy Valley explores the Eagle Iron Works at Curtin Village.

A special thanks must be given to Phil Ruth and Sue Hannegan, who provided much of the content of this article.

Local Historia is a passion for local history, community, and preservation. Its mission is to connect you with local history through engaging content and walking tours. Local Historia is owned by public historians Matt Maris and Dustin Elder, who co-author this column. For more, visit localhistoria.com.

This story appears in the August 2021 issue of Town&Gown.