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Nestled in the mountains of northeastern Huntingdon
County, historic Greenwood Furnace State Park offers a unique
recreational experience. The park is on the western edge of an area
of Central Pennsylvania known as the Seven Mountains. It is an area
of rugged beauty, abundant wildlife, breathtaking vistas and
peaceful solitude.
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A walk through historic Greenwood Furnace evokes images of the
community that flourished here from 1834 to 1904. Greenwood Furnace was a
busy industrial complex, with all the noise and dirt of a 19th century
ironmaking community. The village throbbed with life: the roaring of
furnace stacks, the shouts of the workmen, the hissing of the steam
engine, the creaking of wagons loaded with charcoal, and the cast house
whistle signaling another pour of molten iron. The furnaces were hot
(3,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and cast clouds of smoke and cinders into the
air, which rained down indiscriminately on grass, people, livestock and
buildings, rendering everything sooty and gray. At night, the fire’s red
glow lit the sky, probably allowing residents to walk about without
lanterns. Greenwood Furnace was a village built around an inferno.
The park covers 423 acres, including a six-acre lake, and is surrounded
by an 80,000-acre block of Rothrock State Forest. The park office is open
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round, and daily during the
summer season.
Directions:
The entrance to the park is on PA 305; a 10-minute drive west of
Belleville or a 35-minute drive southeast of State College.
Information provided by the
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and National Resources. For
more information visit the official
Greenwood Furnace State Park web
site.
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