Canaan, CT

Iron Furnace: Canaan, Conn., rekindles its past

The sense of history in Litchfield County in the northwest corner of Connecticut runs as deep as the iron ore once mined from beneath its surface in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

More than 40 stone-and-brick blast furnaces once dotted the countryside. The huge chimneys are at least 30 feet high, and inside, raw ore was melted into pig iron to help feed a nation’s growing industries.

Nearly a century has passed since the fires were quenched, and only a few of these furnaces remain standing today. The primitive smelters, supported by rich deposits of ore nearby, were a memory in danger of being lost forever—until the town of Canaan decided to restore a few that remained standing.

The Beckley Furnace, built in 1837 in East Canaan, has received the most attention. With a $250,000 grant from Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection, the Friends of Beckley Furnace began in 1996 to oversee repair and restoration of the crumbling brick and stone furnace.

Built by John Adam Beckley, the furnace was primitive by today’s standards, but it helped supply the nation with pig iron for manufacturers producing weapons for the Civil War, ship’s anchors, farm equipment, tools, hardware, household utensils, and countless other items.

Giant bellows, driven by a nearby water wheel, raised burning charcoal in the furnace’s core to temperatures sufficient to melt rock. Rail cars carried raw iron ore to workers who fed it into the furnace’s glowing, red maw, where it was heated and processed to emerge as molten crude, or “pig” iron, and slag (waste material).

Through much of the early 19th century, East Canaan was a center of Connecticut’s “Iron District.” A hamlet really, the village is part of Canaan (pop. 4,000), whose downtown was once a railroad hub between Hartford and points north—one of the stops where iron was loaded on trains. The refurbished station, home now to several businesses, is a remnant of that era, and occasional freights still rumble through.

In Canaan’s commercial area, where routes 44 and 7 intersect, the old brick structures that catered to farmers still are evident—feed stores and agricultural machine shops. These are now joined by modern buildings and professional offices, but large dairy farms still are found in the countryside.

After 80 years of operation, the Beckley furnace closed in the winter of 1918-19. In 1946, the site was bought by the state for a park. In 1978, what remained of the old stone furnace was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the repaired furnace stands tall beside the Blackberry River Dam, which provided energy to operate the bellows. Its restoration, moreover, has been a catalyst for seeking designation of the Upper Housatonic River Watershed region as a National Heritage Area. Following approval by Congress last November, former President Clinton signed a bill authorizing the study of a region covering 893 square miles from Lanesboro, Mass., to Kent, Conn., including Canaan.

Ed Kirby, a local historian, geologist, and author of the book Echoes of Iron, is a member of the Friends of Beckley Furnace and a major participant in the restoration project. He enjoys telling about his great-grandfather, who came to Massachusetts in 1856, at the age of 14, to work in the iron mines.

“With the establishment of this National Heritage Area,” Kirby says, “we should be in a position to preserve additional remains of this important aspect of our history.”

Ron Jones, another member of the committee, notes the state recently purchased a building adjacent to the furnace, which at one time served as the furnace’s office, as well as 8 acres across the river where slag piles—now green with grass—still can be found.

“The preservation of the Beckley Furnace is the focal point, but more important is the celebration of the broader iron industry heritage of this area,” Jones says.

Perhaps more important still, a piece of Canaan’s memory, in danger of being irretrievably lost, is being recovered.

Ruth Epstein writes from the iron country in Connecticut’s northwest corner.

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