Virginia Furnace

Virginia Furnace
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	WV 26, along Muddy Creek, near Albright, West Virginia
Coordinates	39°31′45″N 79°38′0″W / 39.52917°N 79.63333°WCoordinates: 39°31′45″N 79°38′0″W / 39.52917°N 79.63333°W
Area	6.4 acres (2.6 ha)
Architectural style	Other, Stone Blast Furnace
NRHP Reference #	99000790[1]
Added to NRHP	July 1, 1999

Virginia Furnace, also known as Muddy Creek Furnace and Josephine Furnace, is a historic water powered blast furnace and national historic district located near Albright, Preston County, West Virginia. The district encompasses three contributing structures and one contributing site. The furnace was built in 1854, and was a "charcoal" iron furnace used to smelt iron. It is constructed of cut sandstone, and forms a truncated pyramid measuring approximately 34 feet square in plan and rising about 30 feet. The district includes the nearby wheel pit, blast machinery, and salamander. The furnace remained in operation until the 1890s, and was the last "charcoal" iron furnace to cease operating in northern West Virginia. In 1933, the Virginia Furnace was acquired by the Kingswood Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution who created a roadside park at the furnace site.^[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.^[1]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Lee R. Maddex (October 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Virginia Furnace" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-09-01.