We arrived at ODW Williamsburg Resort in Norge, VA on 06/16/2010 for two weeks stay. Then we moved to Cherry Hill RV Park on 06/30/2010 for two weeks of seeing doctors and friends. On 07/14/2010 we drove to TT Hershey Resort in Campbelltown, PA. While we were there, we visited Valley Forge National Historic Park in Valley Forge, PA on 07/17/2010. Valley Forge received its name from the iron forge built along Valley Creek in the 1740’s. By the time of the Revolution, a sawmill and gristmill had been added, making the place an important supply base for the Americans. The British destroyed the forge and mills in 1777, and only ruins remained at the time of the encampment. The Continental Army of 1777 is often pictured as a ragtag bunch of inexperienced fighters. But Washington’s men fought with skill and were often on the offensive while campaigning against superior numbers of professional soldiers. They only needed a little more training to reach their full potential. While the soldiers who entered camp at Valley Forge on December 19,1777, were not well-supplied, they were not downtrodden. A former Prussian army officer, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben, arrived in camp in February 1778 and under his hands-on training program helped the army become a more proficient marching machine. The picture is of an Enlisted Hut at the Muhlenberg Brigade camp.
The picture is of Abigail on a cannon at the Redoubt 3 near the west end of encampment.
Then on 07/24/2010 we visited Danel Boone Homestead State Historical Park in Birdsboro, PA. The Boone House evolved from a one-story log house, built by Squire Boone in 1730, into the present two-story stone house. Daniel Boone was born in the log dwelling in 1734. Following the Boones’ departure in 1750, William Maugridge lived here until his death in 1766. In 1770, John De Turk a Pennsylvania German farmer purchased the house. By the 1790’s, the section of the house fronted by the porch was added to the log house. By the early 1800’s De Turk replaced the walls of the log house with the stone house to the left of the porch. The picture is of Boone House after it evolved.
We arrived at ODW Gettysburg Farm Resort near East Berlin, PA for two weeks. During our stay we visited Union Mills Homestead in Union Mills, MD. The main house of Union Mills, a weathered gray clapboard dwelling, nestles comfortably against a hillside and looks out on a valley pierced by a fast stream known as Big Pipe Creek. The old building has been there through many stages of growth, beginning as four rooms in 1797 while George Washington was still president. Across the lane stands a tall brick grist mill from which Andrew and David Shriver and their families built a prosperous milling business, then tannery and canning enterprises in addition to their necessary farming pursuits. The house ever expanding, became the center of activity hosting country meetings and the political barbeques essential to the elections in the 1800’s. It served as post office, wayside inn, and schoolhouse at various periods. In late June 1863, legions of both Blue and Gray headed into Pennsylvania as the battle of Gettysburg neared. The picture is of the Grist Mill.
Then on 08/07/2010 we visited the Codorus Furnace near Mount Wolf, PA. One of our most historic structures is the Codorus Furnace which still stands today on the south side of the Codorus Creek near the Susquehanna River. Located on Codorus Furnace Road about six miles southeast of Mt. Wolf, it was one of the earliest industries in the Township and a very important industry in Pennsylvania. The furnace was also known as Hellam Iron Works, Hellam Forge and later Codorus Forge. In 1765 William Bennet built the forge and furnace on a 150-acre tract that he obtained from the Penn family. The furnace is made of selected stone bound with iron hoops and lined with sandstone and fireclay. The furnace was built against the side of a hill with a bridge from the hill to the top of the furnace. Over this bridge the workers carried baskets of ore, charcoal and limestone and poured the raw materials into layers at the top of the furnace. Blasts of very hot air were forced into the furnace and the resulting liquid was percolated to the bottom. It was then tapped off at intervals into large ladles. This molted iron is called “pig iron” or just “pig”. In 1771 James Smith, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Continental Congress, bought the furnace. The furnace produced iron bars, pots, pans and cast iron until it ceased operation in 1850 after an existence of 85 years. The first dwelling house built at the furnace was a log structure measuring 22 x 24 feet. Tax records from 1798 list one log house, nine outbuildings, a stone barn, a sawmill, and a forge. There is also evidence of workmen’s houses, probably constructed of log. The picture is of the Codorus Furnace.
The picture is of Pixie and Abigail in front of the furnace.
We arrived back in Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD on 08/11/2010 to visit more doctors. Then on 08/18/2010, we moved to Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm Resort near Dover, PA. While we were there, on 08/21/2010, we visited the Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The Pine Grove Furnace was built in 1764 by partners George Stevenson, Robert Thornburgh, and John Authur. It manufactured ten plate stoves, fireplace backs, iron kettles, and possibly munitions during the American Revolution. In 1883 the furnace produced 6,000 net tons of cast iron, the peak year of production. The Pine Grove Furnace went out of business in 1895 after 131 years. The picture is of the Pine Grove Furnace stack.
The Picture is of Abigail next to the Pine Grove Furnace out port.
The Appalachian Trail crosses the Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the half way point is in the park. An Appalachian Trail Museum opened up several years ago. The picture is of an Appalachian Trail shelter built by Earl Shaffer and was the last of the six shelters built by Earl. The Shelter is in the Appalachian Trail Museum. Then on 09/01/2010 we arrived at TT Hershey Resort in Campbelltown, PA for two weeks.
