My Wednesday walk today is to see the historic Stafford Flint Furnace at the Susquehanna State Park in Havre de Grace, Maryland. This was just part of my walk on this particular day so I'll be sharing other parts of my walk another time as well. The Stafford Flint Furnace is all that remains of the town Stafford. The furnace was built with Port Deposit granite, stones and bricks. It is 30 feet high and 12-15 feet in diameter.
The plaque above reads:
"The "flint furnace" is all that remains of the once thriving town of Stafford. Beginning in 1749 with the building of the Rock Forge, an iron works, by George Rock, a succession of furnaces, forges and mills, and other industries occupied the surrounding area. The population of the town fluctuated with the fortunes of the men who owned the companies. During one prosperous era the town boasted a school, boarding house and post office. Much of the town was destroyed by an ice gorge in 1904 after several years of decline."
"Various types of china that were similar to what was made using the flint from the Stafford Flint Furnace."
"The flint furnace was the last of these industries to survive. White flint was quarried several miles north of Stafford and brought to the furnace by wagons on the canal. The flint was layered in the furnace alternating with wood and set a fire. Heat from the fire drove water out of the flint, cracking it and reducing it to large pebbles. These pebbles were ground into a fine powder. Washed and bagged the flint powder was sent by canal to Trenton, N.J. where it was used to porcelainize pots and pans and to make porcelain china."
This next photo may give you a better idea of the size of this furnace.
The last time I was here, the furnace did not have the fencing around it but I'm glad it does now. From my understanding, it had been overgrown with vines and such but it was cleaned up and saved. It is a nice historic piece so it was good to see it being cared for. You are still able to walk around it if you are adventurous enough.
This is the bridge in the background that we walked across to get here. Don't worry..I didn't see any trolls under there.
The view across the river from the furnace.
In front of the furnace there is a bench and a few boulders to sit and enjoy the view and the sounds of the water and birds if you would like.
Walking over the bridge and back to the vehicle are more opportunities to get other shots of the furnace. You can see some of the big cracks in it and more of the lean it has now.
We were parked about a half a block from this sign.
This is my last photo and it is of the other side of the bridge and still no trolls. 😉
If you look closely, you can see the stone base that the furnace sits on.
Thank you @tattoodjay for #wednesdaywalk!!
