NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Pennsylvania July 2017 Foundation Document To Birdsboro, 724 & 422 LL HI M il d T l a U N Cr o L T ee e S k R n a E pe H C d Trail e Trail Sh HOPEWELL FURNACE FRENCH CREEK NATIONAL HISTORIC STATE PARK SITE Raccoon Trail d a o R Site of k Brison House r Church House (dry) a P (not open to public) Head e Visitor c Ra ard zz Tr Center Site of u a i B l Mule Barn Wood Lot East House S p West Head o Creek Run u French t Race B Lloyd House e t H Furnace (not open to public) h 345 e o s p d e m a w HOPEWELL s Carriage Shed ti e l p l LAKE a B C h u r Bethesda Church c R Hor h o s and Cemetery e a - S d h Creek o Nathan Care House T r e (not open to public) a i l MOUNT T r a Care Barn i PLEASURE l (not open to public) NATURAL Site of H a Harrison Lloyd LANDS TRUST r ri House so n ad North o H R BERKS CO. o Ll r oy se d To St. Peters CHESTER CO. -S h R o a e o d a s T d e r h a t i ( e l u 0 0.1 Km 0.3 n B p a v e 0 0.1 Mi 0.2 d ) To Warwick, 23 Historic trace and Morgantown, 76 (not open to vehicles) Hiking Trail STATE GAME LANDS Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 4 Park Significance 5 Fundamental Resources and Values 6 Other Important Resources and Values 7 Interpretive Themes 8 Part 2: Dynamic Components 9 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 9 Special Mandates 9 Administrative Commitments 10 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 10 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 10 Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 26 Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 30 Planning and Data Needs 32 Part 3: Contributors 37 Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site 37 NPS Northeast Region 37 Other NPS Staff 37 Appendixes 38 Appendix A: Secretarial Order and Subsequent Amendment for Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site 38 Appendix B: Northeast Region Interpretive Theme Matrix 39 Appendix C: History of Historic Structures at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site 45 Foundation Document Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well- being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity. While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/. 2 Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Park Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site encompasses 848 acres of land in southeastern Pennsylvania and is surrounded by French Creek State Park. The furnace site straddles the border between Berks and Chester Counties and stands astride French Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River, which flows from the Appalachian Mountains across the Pennsylvania Piedmont and empties into the Delaware River at Philadelphia, 40 miles from Hopewell. Southeastern Pennsylvania had already become known for its furnaces, forges, and bloomeries by the time Mark Bird began his iron-making operations at Hopewell about 1771. Bird actively supported the American Revolution and served as deputy quartermaster for the Continental Army, and it is likely that Hopewell Furnace supplied cannon and shot for the American forces. Due to the financial difficulties of Bird and other early owners, Hopewell Furnace was sold several times in the 18th century before being purchased by the Buckley and Brooke families in 1800. These families retained ownership of the property until the federal government purchased it in 1935. The furnace reached its peak of production and prosperity during the 1830s under the direction of manager Clement Brooke and went out of blast for the final time in 1882. During its period of operation, which lasted from 1771 to 1883, the iron-making complex at Hopewell comprised several buildings, including the furnace, wheel house, bridge house, charcoal storehouse, connecting shed, cast house, employee housing, barns, and various sheds and shops. The operation produced pig iron and cast iron products such as stove plates and kettles, employing, for most of its history, the cold-blast method of iron production and using charcoal for fuel. In this process, a blast of cold air provided by bellows or blowing tubs intensified the furnace’s heat to smelting temperature. Cold-blast furnaces required certain natural resources—iron ore, wood to make charcoal, limestone for the smelting process, and water to power the blast machinery—that were readily available in the Schuylkill Valley. The large tracts of land and numerous workers needed for such an operation resulted in the development of iron-making villages, of which Hopewell Furnace is an example. Similar to the agricultural plantations of the southern United States, these communities sought self- sufficiency.