The Manufacture of Charcoal Iron at Centre Furnace

The success of Centre Furnace led to rapid multiplication of other ironworks in the area, known as the Juniata Iron Region. The quality and quantity of this Juniata Iron made it the nation's primary iron-producing region from 1800 to 1850.

Centre Furnace Village was at the heart of the operation. In addition to the ironmaster's mansion, furnace stack, and other buildings associated with ironmaking, this self-sufficient community included grist and saw mills, a post office, a company store, a church, a school, and housing for iron and farm workers and their families. The village extended roughly from Thompson Spring (located west of the Duck Pond), along properties bordering Thompson Run to Millbrook Marsh and the nearby location of its early grist mill. Surrounding the village were a number of tenant farms owned by the iron company to meet the agricultural needs of the Centre Furnace community.

Centre Furnace Grist Mill

Centre Furnace School

By the early 1840s two local ironmasters, James Irvin and Moses Thompson, had taken over the ownership and operation of Centre Furnace. Irvin and Thompson were partners and brothers-in-law. Thompson and his family became the mansion owners and residents, living at Centre Furnace until 1912.