BROOKVILLE, Pa. — “Transforming the Iron County: Legacies of the historic charcoal iron industry in Clarion County, Pennsylvania,” will be presented at the Friday, September 21st meeting of the North Fork Chapter 29 Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology in Brookville.

(PHOTO: Helen Furnace, 1978.)

Clarion County, once known as the “Iron County,” was one of Pennsylvania’s chief iron-producing regions in the mid-1800s.

Twenty-eight iron furnaces, fueled by charcoal made from Clarion County forests, produced pig iron from local ores and limestone flux from 1829 to 1884, a span of 55 years.

This presentation by Dr. Chuck Williams of Williams Ecological, LLC provides an overview of the charcoal iron industry in western Pennsylvania and presents a model for how the industry transformed the landscapes of Clarion County and set the stage for later developments in agriculture and industry.

The program begins at 7:00 pm at the Presbyterian Church Education Building located at the Corner of Main and White Street in Brookville. It is free and the public is invited.