Catoctin Furnace, Maryland

Catoctin Furnace is an unincorporated community located on Route 15 between Frederick and Thurmont in the northern part of Frederick County, Maryland, United States.^[1] It is the site of the Catoctin Furnace Historic District.

History

Catoctin Furnace (also known as Catoctin Iron Furnace) was constructed in 1774 by four brothers Thomas, Baker, Roger and James Johnson to produce pig iron from locally mined hematite. The village of Catoctin Furnace grew in the land around the iron furnace. Furnace workers lived in company-owned stone and log houses. During its most prosperous time, the village of Catoctin Furnace boasted three furnaces, a sawmill, a gristmill, a school, and eighty houses for workers all situated on 11,350 acres.

By 1903, operating a small iron furnace complex was nearly impossible due to techonological advances environmental restraints, and the furnace was shut down. After the furnace went out of business, many people from the community were forced to seek employment outside the tiny village. In 1923, the property again changed hands, and the families residing in the formerly company-owned houses were given the opportunity to purchase their own house.

Preservation

In 1973, the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc. was formed by G. Eugene Anderson, Clement E. Gardiner, J. Franklin Mentzer, and Earl M. Shankle to “foster and promote the restoration of the Catoctin Furnace Historic District…and to maintain the same exclusively for educational and scientific purposes…to exhibit to coming generations our heritage of the past…” The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc., celebrates, studies, and preserves the rich history of this pre-revolutionary industrial village, including the architecture, cultural landscapes, lifeways, and foodways of the workers.

References

Municipalities and communities of Frederick County, Maryland, United States
County seat: Frederick
Cities	Brunswick Frederick
Towns	Burkittsville Emmitsburg Middletown Mount Airy‡ Myersville New Market Thurmont Walkersville Woodsboro
Village	Rosemont
CDPs	Adamstown Ballenger Creek Bartonsville Braddock Heights Buckeystown Jefferson Libertytown Linganore Monrovia Point of Rocks Sabillasville Spring Ridge Urbana
Other communities	Balmoral Broad Run Catoctin Furnace Clover Hill Creagerstown Discovery Fairhaven Fairview Feagaville Foxville Garfield Graceham Green Valley Ijamsville Johnsville Knoxville Ladiesburg Lewistown Lake Linganore New London New Midway Petersville Rocky Ridge Sherwood Forest Spoolsville Sunny Side Tuscarora Unionville Utica Wolfsville
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Coordinates: 39°34′45″N 77°27′57″W / 39.57917°N 77.46583°W / 39.57917; -77.46583

External links

• catoctinfurnace.org Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc. website