The National Park Service invites the public to “Harvest Time” –a historic harvest day at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site on Saturday, Sept. 13, according to Hopewell Furnace NHS Superintendent Edie Shean-Hammond.
The day-long free event will feature the behind-the-scenes work and harvest activities of a 19th century “iron plantation.”
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. costumed volunteers and NPS rangers will demonstrate a variety of skills. The public is invited to learn how things were kept cold and stored during the winter months; to see and smell some of the many foods that could be made out of apples, to take a turn stirring apple butter; and to learn how broom-corn and other plants in the gardens were harvested and dried.
There will also be demonstrators on site to explain about weaving, woodworking, and the art of charcoal making. Kids activities include games, crafts, and a chance to draw a picture with charcoal pencils. All of these activities were integral parts of the operations of Hopewell Furnace.
New this year will also feature a Dutch Oven Gathering with the International Dutch Oven Society. Regional representative Randy Brown will demonstrate Dutch Oven Cooking and members of the society will feature a variety of apple recipes.
“Harvest Time is a fabulous American experience! We’re celebrating a time when America began changing from a land of almost exclusively agriculture to a land of expanding business and industry,” said Superintendent Shean-Hammond. “Farm and factory shared the workday at Hopewell, as did the men and women who lived here,” she added.
Hopewell Furnace is the pre-eminent example of a 19th century iron-making community. Park visitors can walk its pathways of history, exploring structures such as the cast house, ironmaster’s mansion, blacksmith shop and barn. Livestock at the park’s farm include those reminiscent of the types that were used to support the work force when the furnace was an active business and community.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site preserves and interprets an early American industrial landscape from natural resource extraction to enlightened conservation. The site is surrounded by the 73,000 acre Hopewell Big Woods, the largest unbroken forest in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Showcasing an iron plantation and its surrounding countryside, all of the park’s facilities are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through September.
Hopewell Furnace is located five miles south of Birdsboro, off of Route 345. Admission to Hopewell Furnace is free. For more information stop by the park’s visitor center, call 610-582-8773, visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/hofu, or contact us by e-mail at hofu_superintendent@nps.gov. Visitors with specific needs may contact the park for assistance before their visit.
