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Iron Furnace
Restoration Work
Newsletter
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Iron Furnace Park, Main Street
Lonaconing, Maryland
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Additional Restoration Pictures
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(Click a picture for a different view.) |
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| In an area of mountain springs, the fifty foot high retaining walls on each side of the iron furnace act as outlets for underground water which flows between the unmortared stones. The water also appears in the rubble-filled back alleys and presumably in the presently inaccessible rear chamber. The water supports vines, bushes and small trees which deteriorate the stonework. |
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| Both pictures - ceiling and upper wall of front chamber. |
Both pictures - left chamber with compressed air inlet visible and water pooling on the dirt floor. |
| Rainwater, which drops on the top and sides of the furnace, seeps into the interior of the furnace and attacks the interior mortar joints, dissolving some of the slightly soluble mortar ingredients. The water then drains out through the brickwork of the chambers and leaves the disolved mineral salts as calcium deposits on the ceilings and upper wall of the chambers. While somewhat unsightly, the deposits actually are indicators of deterioration within the furnace walls. |
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Left small picture -- Both alleys which access the rear chamber are blocked by rubble of unknown age.
Left large picture (click) -- The small stair case is the only access to the upper terrace and furnace structure.
Upper snapshots (small and large) -- The reinforcing tie rods, supposedly made of corrosion-sensitive wrought iron, have deteriorated and may well be broken inside the furnace structure.
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Questions? Comments! -- Lonaconing@midatlantic.cc
Letters to: George's Creek History Exhibit, P.O.Box 240, Lonaconing, MD 21539 |
