Name: State grant will help stabilize historic New Florence iron furnace
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State grant will help stabilize historic New Florence iron furnace

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WestmorelandSean Stipp | Tribune-ReviewIn this 2013 photo, a worker in a high-lift clears debris from the historic Laurel Hill iron furnace in New Florence.Sean Stipp | Tribune-ReviewIn this 2013 photo, a worker clears debris from the historic Laurel Hill iron furnace in New Florence.&nbsp;The historical society has its headquarters in Laughlintown, next to the , a restored 1799 stagecoach stop that it operates. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, visitors are asked to wear masks for self-guided tours of the museum available 11-4 Fridays through Sundays.The museum was closed for two weeks in August, as a precaution, while the society awaited results for a staff member who ultimately tested negative for covid-19.TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.The Ligonier Valley Historical Society plans to use a state grant to help preserve a 19th-century hot-blast iron furnace in New Florence.Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Laurel Hill Furnace produced 750 tons of metal during its first year, 1855, and continued in operation for about a decade, according to a description by the National Park Service.The stone furnace stands 39 feet tall along Baldwin Run and is lined with refractory brick. Private owners donated it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which turned over ownership to the historical society in 1991.“We’ve been maintaining it ever since,” said Theresa Gay Rohall, executive director of the society. “Almost two years ago, we started noticing some subsidence in one of the corners and we wanted to find an historically accurate way to preserve it.“It’s one of the best-preserved furnaces of its kind in Pennsylvania, so it’s imperative that we stabilize it. It’s unusual in that it has four sides, rather than the normal three sides you find in our area.”Matching a $19,265 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical &amp; Museum Commission, the society hired Markosky Engineering to complete a study of the furnace and the property it occupies.“We had ground-penetrating radar to see what was below the surface,” Rohall said. “We found the casting pit, where the hot molten iron came out, and it still had iron in it.”The historical society now will look to proceed with preservation of the furnace, after raising a match for the additional Keystone Historic Preservation Grant of about $72,000 — among announced this week for 52 recipients in 24 counties.has included sealing cracks, capping the structure with a concrete roof and removing plant growth.A 500-foot tunnel connects the furnace to Baldwin Run, near a stone dam.Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at or via Twitter .and help us continue covering the stories that matter to you and your community.Categories:Local | WestmorelandThe historical society has its headquarters in Laughlintown, next to the , a restored 1799 stagecoach stop that it operates. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, visitors are asked to wear masks for self-guided tours of the museum available 11-4 Fridays through Sundays.The museum was closed for two weeks in August, as a precaution, while the society awaited results for a staff member who ultimately tested negative for covid-19.TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.More Westmoreland Stories

WestmorelandSean Stipp | Tribune-ReviewIn this 2013 photo, a worker in a high-lift clears debris from the historic Laurel Hill iron furnace in New Florence.Sean Stipp | Tribune-ReviewIn this 2013 photo, a worker clears debris from the historic Laurel Hill iron furnace in New Florence.&nbsp;The historical society has its headquarters in Laughlintown, next to the , a restored 1799 stagecoach stop that it operates. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, visitors are asked to wear masks for self-guided tours of the museum available 11-4 Fridays through Sundays.The museum was closed for two...

State grant will help stabilize historic New Florence iron furnace

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