Have you ever lived near something only to visit it after moving away? For me, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is one of those places. I grew up 20 minutes from here and only visited it this week for the first time. I said to my dad, maybe we didn’t go when we lived nearby because it wasn’t a National Historic site. Well, that theory didn’t hold up when I asked the ranger how long it had been a historic site. They let me know it has been since 1938. Haha! Better late than never!
After visiting The National Centre for Padre Pio, we were having lunch. I looked up how far Hopewell Furnace was from where we were. It was half an hour, but Google was telling me it was closed. I went to the NPS website, and it said it was open. I called Hopewell Furnace, and they were open. The ranger let me know that Google was incorrect, and I was glad I called them.
I love visiting national parks and historic sites. I was a history major and thought I would be a history teacher. The National Park system has passport books and you can get stamps for the ones you visit. Before I travel somewhere, I look to see if there are any parks or historic sites to get stamps.
I was so impressed with Hopewell Furnace. The grounds and buildings are so beautiful. The ranger let me know that they have about 60,000 visitors a year. We visited on a hot day in July. I didn’t walk the whole grounds of Hopewell Furnace, so I plan on visiting again to do more exploring.
The furnaces that were manufactured here are so beautiful and these photos don’t do it justice!
The most surprising thing for me was waterwheel in barn. I wasn’t expecting it and said WOW out loud. There is a trough outside that feeds water into the waterwheel.
Travel With Laughter 