beckley furnace industrial monument

The Beckely furance is just one furance that once operated in Canaan,CT. This facilty has been beautifuly restored. The other furnaces are gone except for thier foundations. This site sits along the banks of the Blackberry River, A really nice waterfall splashes down just up river from the furance. The water in the Blackberry is very clean. My kids have played the shallow water down from the falls on hot days. The waterfall was recenty repaird and reinforced so it is very safe for children.You can walk right up and around the furnace. It is amazing to see the level of technology that went into this structure. It was built in the late 1800s. It produced @ 700 tons of iron a month!. Most of the iron was used to produce cannons and iron for railroad wheels. The wheels were actually made in Salisbury Ct. There is small house next to the road by the furance. This was the paymaster's office back in the day. It is open sometimes and you can see some of the artifacts from the furnace. The site is nicely maintained with sitting areas and some nice signage. On Saturdays you can meet up with a local historian who will provide some great color on the history of the area and the Iron Industry.Just across the river from the furnance you can find some great hiking trails to take you up to the top of Canaan Mountain.The top on the mountain has large stone outcroppings which provide a great stop for lunch and viewing the neighboring valley. If you are a strong enough bike rider you can mountain bike up the trial. It is not very well maintianed for biking so you need to be technically skilled in riding to access the submit. The furance is a wonderful resource to see what it was like to live and work in that part of the state in the 1700 and 1800s. The winery down the road is the Land of Nod Winery. The family that owns and runs the winery was around during the operational days of the furnace. They have handwritten letters from the Ironmasters as wel as some cool iron artifacts. They are worth stopping by to see.

We stopped on our way to Stockbridge, MA and enjoyed looking at a remnent of the time when Connecticut was a manufacturing behemoth. Since guides are only available on Saturday, we had to make do with the signs posted around the property. They do give a good explanation of what once was there. It is worth taking a half hour to walk around the property.

I saw the handprinted sign by the road that tours were given on Saturday. The volunteer docent, Dick, was a deep well of information. Although the site is small and can really be 'toured' by just standing and looking at the furnace, the stories he told made the history of the location come alive. It's just down the street from an amazing limestone quarry and the Land of Nod Winery, so if you are wandering the Quiet Corner and see the sign that the monument is open for tours, do stop by. I think it is wonderful that a small town has worked so hard to keep this piece of their history alive and available for future generations. Dick elevated the visit from a so-so average to a very good!