Etna Furnace: Juniata Iron Country

About a mile east of here, the remains of Etna Furnace still stand in the wooded hillside. Built in the first decade of the eighteen hundreds by the firm of Canan, Stewart and Moore, the iron furnace operated for nearly seven decades before closing in eighteen seventy-seven. It was part of a thriving iron industry centered along the Juniata River, where the combination of iron ore deposits, abundant hardwood for charcoal, and water power made this one of the most productive ironmaking regions in nineteenth-century America.

Juniata iron had a reputation for quality, prized by manufacturers across the eastern United States. The stone stack and some of the original stone buildings of Etna Furnace survived long after production ended, a reminder of the industrial landscape that once shaped this quiet Pennsylvania valley.