Making furnace fuel

Throughout surrounding hills are remains of hundreds of pits such as this one in front of you. Workers, or colliers, tended these pits to transform wood into charcoal — a pure carbon fuel.

Colliers ignited stacked wood covered with leaves and dirt to begin making charcoal. It took ten days to two weeks for wood to "come to foot" or char completely. Around the clock, colliers kept a watchful eye on smoldering pits to prevent an open flame from igniting and ruining the charcoal. Hopewell's best charcoal was made by gradually charring chestnut, oak, and hickory wood.

Master colliers and their helpers made charcoal during spring, summer, and fall. Seldom seen here, they lived as nomads in primitive, cone-shaped huts. By centralizing their homesites, two or three charcoal workers could tend up to nine charcoal pits at a time.

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Show me all markers in:  Elverson, PA  |  Berks County  |  19520  |  Pennsylvania  |  United States of America

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Anthracite Furnace
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