BEST Geo-Art: E01/18
Robeson Township, Berks County, PA
A remnant of Berks County’s industrial past, the Joanna Furnace Complex is a restored 18th-centry iron works and blast furnace, which operated from 1792 to 1901. It was founded by Samuel Potts and Thomas Rutter III and named for Potts's wife Joanna.
After the Civil War the charcoal-fired furnace was owned by Clement Grubb's son-in-law, L. Heber Smith, a Civil War Colonel who married Clement's daughter Ella Jane Brooke Grubb in 1868. It passed through several hands before Smith took ownership, probably after the war and before his marriage to Ella Jane. It is likely that the Grubbs assisted with the furnace's major technological upgrade in 1889, when Ella Jane was an heiress to her father's sizable estate that year. The furnace continued in operation under Smith until it was "blown out" after his death in 1898 at the age of 61.
In 1979 Bethlehem Mines donated the site to the...
A. Berks County Historical Association (N 40° 28.956 W 075° 53.965)
B. Tulpehocken Creek Historical Association (N 40° 28.962 W 075° 53.968)
C. Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (N 40° 28.962 W 075° 53.957)
D. Schuylkill River Historical Association (N 40° 28.962 W 075° 53.946)
Note: Joanna Furnace is located at N 40 11.467, W 75 53.367. The furnace and its associated buildings were listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1980.
Note: This cache has the hunting attribute selected. Hunters wear orange, and when the time is right, and so should you. During hunting season, it is best to do this series on a Sunday. The majority of the cache containers are hidden within 10 - 20 feet from the trail. Since these caches are hidden in the woods, you will encounter things like wildlife, poison ivy, bugs, ticks, etc. That is just part of geocaching in the great outdoors. Good Luck.
Please note that GC4GQMT - Cache Quest #10: The Final Quest and GC45V8Q - Cache Quest #9 A Questers Pilgrimage were archived to make room for this BEST Geo-Art geocache. Thanks Rentell.