The Hopewell Furnace was a community in and of itself when the furnace was producing iron from its charcoal-fired furnace along the French Creek in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The iron from Hopewell was used in the manufacture of stoves and other items in demand by Philadelphia’s swelling population.
Buildings of various sizes have been restored on Hopewell Furnace, an ironmaking village that operated in southeastern Berks County and is now a national historic site. (STEVEN HENSHAW-READING EAGLE)
It was a working community, with the ironmaster’s house sitting high above the homes of workers who fulfilled vital roles in keeping the business going. The Big House, as it was called, and many of the smaller homes were preserved as a national historic site to give visitors a glimpse of what life was like in the 1800s on the plantation 5 miles south of Birdsboro.
One can imagine what Christmastime was like for Hopewell residents before electricity, automobiles and highways. A time when most of the population resided at their workplace.
National Park Service staff does a yeoman’s job in recreating this setting every year with “Iron Plantation Christmas.”
Saturday’s event was held in balmy weather from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors could stroll the bucolic grounds at their leisure. Guided by maps, they could visit stations where there were activities such as making gingerbread ornaments, creating holiday decorations out of greens and other natural sprigs and using a quill pen to write holiday letters.
Wendy King of Elverson took her grandchildren Ash, 7, and Piper, 5, to Hopewell for the fall apple harvest at the orchard on the grounds, and they had a great time.
“They wanted to come back in the worst way,” she said.
They began at the letter-writing station. Piper and Ash each prepared Christmas cards using a quill pen and ink. Their grandmother showed the cards, which were sealed with wax stamps the way letters were sealed back in Colonial times.
Under the guidance of bakers Marlene Adams and Lia Bowen, who wore period garb, the brother and sister pressed cookie cutters shaped like a Christmas tree into a thin layer of gingerbread dough. After adding their initials, the unbaked cookie was placed in a wood-fueled brick oven for them to pick up at the end of their visit.
In the meantime, they were headed to the mansion porch, where the children were to make yarn dogs.
“There’s so much to do here,” King said. “I told my daughter we’d be two hours, but we’re going to be longer than that.”
King said she likes that the displays and activities are especially accommodating to people with disabilities.
Der Belsnickel, portrayed by William Lange, offers fruit or candy to brothers Owen, 6, left, and Jace, 10, of Robeson Township after asking if they’ve been good heading into the Christmas season. Their mother, Adrienne Breden, woke the boys early Saturday to experience what Christmas was like in the 18th and early 19th centuries as demonstrated during Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site’s “Iron Plantation Christmas.” (STEVEN HENSHAW-READING EAGLE)
Adrenne Breden of Robeson Township said that when she heard about the Iron Plantation Christmas from a friend, she knew it was something that would be good for her sons, Jace, 10, and Owen, 6, to experience.
Visitors gawk at gigantic waterwheel at Hopewell Furnace. The wheel powered blast machinery that directed air into the heart, raising the fire in the furnace to smelting temperature. (STEVEN HENSHAW-READING EAGLE)
“It was hard to get them up early on a Saturday to do something outside, but I wanted to show them how Christmas used to be,” she said.
They visited Der Belsnickel, a mythical bearded character draped in furs. Belsnickel, a German tradition, predated the popularity of Santa Claus and was portrayed by William Lange, a National Park Service employee.
Belsnickel would be invited by parents to visit their home and implore children to be good, promising they would be rewarded with something nice on Christmas if they abided.
Even Jeff Jones, the Hopewell Furnace site manager, got into the act. He was baking minced pies in a Warwick stove in the kitchen of what he described as a middle-class home of a worker.
The stove was used for heat as well as cooking in the 1800s, he said.
“I liken it to the first readily available kitchen appliance,” he said.
Jones said the Christmas celebration is the grand finale of events held throughout the year. The site has something for each season..
“I’ve been here for three years, and one of the things that really struck me is the expression of love and joy for Hopewell,” he said. “Every season there’s something that brings people out.”
Source: Berkshire mont