Hopewell Celebrates 81st Birthday as a Park Aug. 3

Photo Courtesy National Park Service

Iron moulding demonstrations will be among the activities Aug. 3.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.

You're invited to a very unique birthday party.

On Saturday, Aug. 3, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site will celebrate Establishment Day. 

This free event celebrates the site's 81st birthday as a unit of the National Park Service. 

Hopewell Furnace became part of the National Park Service on Aug. 3, 1938 and was originally known as Hopewell Village National Historic Site. In 1985, Congress changed the park’s name to Hopewell Furnace. Eighty one years after its founding, Hopewell Furnace remains one of a small number of National Park units devoted to our nation’s industrial history.

Activities will begin at 10 a.m. and continue to 4 p.m. throughout the historic site. 

Programs and demonstrations will include moulding and casting demonstrations in the cast house, weaving and spinning, cast iron cooking and more. 

Photo Courtesy of National Park Service

The process of making the charcoal used in early
iron furnaces was time consuming.

The wood pile for the summer charcoal demonstration will be lit at 10 a.m. 

There will be a special program at 2 p.m. commemorating Hopewell Furnace’s founding, role in the iron industry, and significance as a National Park. 

 Following the end of the presentation there will be birthday cake.

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site preserves and interprets an early American industrial landscape and community. 

Showcasing an iron making community and its surrounding countryside, Hopewell Furnace was active from 1771 to 1883. The park’s facilities are currently open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Hopewell Furnace is located five miles south of Birdsboro, PA, off of Route 345. Admission to the park is free. 

For more information, stop by the park's visitor center, call 610-582-8773, or visit the park's web site at www.nps.gov/hofu