The unusual Codorus Furnace supplied munitions for the Revolution and War of 1812 and is the oldest surviving landmark of York County’s iron making history.
Codorus Furnace is located on the northwestern edge of Hellam Township in York County PA. The furnace is situated against the side of the Codorus Creek ravine just before the creek flows into the Susquehanna River. There is a gravel parking lot adjacent to the furnace that can accommodate 3 or 4 cars.
Codorus Furnace was preceded by the Hellam Hills Iron Works built in 1765. Codorus Furnace was later built on the site in in 1837 by William Bennet and changed hands several times throughout its life. Notably the site was operated by James Smith, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Two notable features are the furnace’s cylindrical tapering stack and the brick cubicle on top.
As you can see from the photo below, the brick cubicle houses multiple pipes. The purpose of the brick cubicle was to capture the heat emanating from the furnace and use it to pre-heat the blast air before it was blown into the furnace. Such “hot blast” furnaces were significantly more efficient than their “cold blast” predecessors. The hot blast technology is an indicator of when a furnace was built (or upgraded) as hot blast furnaces were first introduced to the United States in the 1830s.
After exploring the furnace, we headed up the hillside via some convenient steps built as an Eagle Scout project. If you explore the hillside above the furnace, you can find the stone ruins of the charcoal shed. Below is a picture of the side of the furnace where the blast pipes would have entered.
What fun it was exploring Codorus Furnace, a remarkable piece of American history. But the adventure is not over yet. Cross the road to the sycamore-lined Codorus Creek and find the trail heading upstream.
After a short walk you will encounter these stone ruins. We love the stone arches.
Don’t be shy; go inside and see what you can find.
The building up the hill in the upper right of the photo below is the ironmaster’s mansion. It is privately owned and was on the market a few years ago.
Codorus Furnace is located at approximately 40.051899, -76.655421.
Codorus Furnace is an easily accessible roadside relic of our nation’s proud iron making heritage and is well worth your visit. Word must be getting out about it because there are often visitors on weekends. There is also opportunity for nearby adventures, such as the Susquehanna Riverlands, Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve, and the Mason Dixon Trail, subjects of future adventures. Get out there and see what you can find.
Be sure to check out our other adventures.
