The spirit of 18th and 19th century Historic Joanna Furnace comes to life Sept. 11, 12 and 13 with the 2015 edition of The Hay Creek Festival. Each year, 1,500 craftsmen, artisans, interpreters, mechanical technology folks, food service workers and parking aids (all volunteers) bring the Joanna Furnace community to life through the years 1791 to 1950.
The almost forgotten craft: wooden water pipe drilling
This year, visitors are encouraged to take note of the 19th century Hay Creek Woodworkers as they demonstrate and interpret the almost forgotten craft, wooden water pipe drilling. This 19th century process shows how 10-foot logs are turned into water pipes. These pipes would have been used to supply running water to local communities.
In the early days water pipes would have been made with logs as long as 20 feet. As this was a slow, labor-intensive hand drilling process, a worker would take a 12-hour day to drill a two-inch hole through two 20-foot logs. It was all done by muscle power.
The Hay Creek wood working artisans are led by Emory Ritchie. He states, “We are very proud to be able to bring this old process to the Hay Creek Festival. We have been doing this for many years as part of our comprehensive woodworking interpretation. Our guys are very good at doing this and as a matter of fact, we have demonstrated at many other sites including the Mercer Museum. One thing that helps us relay the story of this process is that we have one of the best, most complete collections of drilling tools in this part of the state.”
While they are telling the story of pipe drilling, sometimes they allow visitors to try their hand at turning the drill. This involved process takes strength, determination and skill.
Making wooden beams and planksTo round out the early American woodworkers’ array of processes, demonstrations will also be on going around the pit saw and log hewing.
In the 18th century before the advent of the sawmill, the initial way to cut logs into beams was to use an ax and an adz. Essentially, the round log was debarked, and then “chopped” square and made the required length. This process was long and required a great deal of physical labor.
Later, a new log sawing process consisted of placing a log on a high trestle. A long two man saw was used to cut the length of the log. One man stood on the log and pulled the saw upward, and a second cutter stood under the log and pulled the saw in a downward stroke. This process is called pit sawing. Initially, rather than using high trestles to hold the log, a pit was dug and the “bottom man” stood in the pit below the log, hence the name “pit sawing.” This process allowed for the squaring of the log to produce a beam and also to rough cut thinner boards.
The pit saw was then replaced in the early 1800s by water powered sawmills. At the Hay Creek Festival visitors can also see a steam powered 19th century sawmill in operation.
The Hay Creek Wood Crafters will be interpreting and demonstrating woodworking processes and discussing the historic wood working traditions at the Hay Creek Festival on Sept. 11 to 13 at Historic Joanna Furnace near Morgantown.
Family-friendly festival admission prices
Prices are $10 for adults, $2 for children ages six to 12 and FREE admission for children five and younger. Free parking on the large easy access lot and free shuttle buses directly to the main entrance.
Friday, Sept. 11, is Student Day, when school groups and homeschoolers are admitted free to the festival. Teachers and chaperones are admitted at a reduced rate. For registration form contact education@haycreek.org.
The Hay Creek Festival is held at Historic Joanna Furnace, three miles north of Morgantown off PA Route 10. Free shuttle buses continuously move visitors from the parking area to the Festival grounds and return. For the safety of visitors, all are encouraged to park safely on the easy access lot one-and-a-half miles south of the Festival grounds off Route 10.
Main Festival events occur 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days. For more general festival information visit www.haycreek.org.
