Bellefonte Furnace

Bellefonte Furnace was a hot blast iron furnace located in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1888, it was the first hot blast, coke-fueled iron furnace to be built in Centre County, Pennsylvania. While its founders hoped to transform Centre County's iron industry with modern technology, the furnace struggled to operate at a profit and was out of operation from 1893 until 1899. Thereafter, it operated more or less continuously until 1910, and was demolished four years later. It should not be confused with the charcoal-fueled Bellefonte Furnace and Forge on Logan Branch, which was replaced by Valentine Furnace.

The Bellefonte Furnace Company was formed in April 1887 by a group of investors from Bellefonte, Hollidaysburg, and Philadelphia. Principal investors included John Reilly, railroad contractors Phil and Tom Collins, and their nephew, Tom Shoemaker. The Collins brothers had already constructed the Buffalo Run, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Railroad from Bellefonte to Struble, opening up the iron ore deposits of the western Nittany Valley. Building a modern furnace to smelt the ore was a logical extension of their interests, since as yet all the furnaces in Centre County were charcoal-fueled cold blast furnaces.

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