Colebrook Furnace 2020

John Tome(s) (1775-1835) arrived in America a little over two hundred years ago and settled first at Cornwall Furnace, PA and than later at Colebrook Furnace, PA. John Tomes and his sons were just a few of the many German and Irish Catholics that worked the charcoal furnaces in the early 1800’s.

According to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania‘s Forges and Furnaces collection, “Robert Coleman (1748-1825) founded Colebrook Furnace in 1791 on Conewago Creek, two miles west of Mt. Gretna in South Londonderry Township in Lancaster County. (Now Lebanon County) It received its ore from the Cornwall Mines which was located about six miles to the northeast.

The original Day Book indicates from April 1791 to April 1792, the furnace was called Mt. Joy. The name was changed to Colebrook at that time. Coleman was born near Castle Fin, which is near Londonderry, Ireland in 1748 although he was of English parentage. Bining indicates he came to America at sixteen and by 1773, he was working at Reading Furnace in Chester County near Warwick Furnace for James Old. Coleman married Old’s daughter. Venturing into iron manufacturing during the war, his rise was phenomenal. He leased and bought interests in many ironworks and built several others. After his death in 1825, he was succeeded by his son Thomas Bird Coleman, and then in turn by his son William Coleman. After William Coleman’s death in 1861, the property passed to Robert H. Coleman. Robert erected the Colebrook Furnaces in 1880-81, but these were a different work in West Lebanon Township.

Grittinger indicates that under William Coleman’s ownership it was run by a succession of individuals. Samuel Jacobs was connected with the early management of the fuwrnace and Henry P. Robeson, later manager of Robesonia Furnace, was in charge from 1834 to 1843. Mr. John Benson, who apparently remained at the furnace until it closed, succeeded him. The furnace was almost continually in operation until about 1860, when it was abandoned and afterwards dismantled.”

According to the description above, the furnace at Colebrook was dismantled and until recently most people thought that all traces of the actual furnace buildings were gone.

The barn that you see behind me in the picture above, has recently been determined to be the charcoal barn used for Colebrook Furnace operations. There is a nice article about the barn and surrounding area at the Lebanon News blog below:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ldnews.com/amp/3843063002

The furnace is thought to have been positioned between the flat ground below the barn and the flowing Conewago Creek that is seen in the foreground. Many small log homes would have been nearby for the workers of the furnace. John Tomes and his family would have probably lived in some of these small log homes that dotted the landscape around the furnace area.

One major home that still stands, is the IronMasters’s mansion that is located on southwest corner of the intersection of Elizabethtown Rd (Rt 241) and Mt. Wilson Rd (Rt 117). The mansion was built in the 1790s and would be a part of the village which included; the furnace, charcoal barn, company store, workers housing, grist mill, and sawmill. The picture below is what the IronMaster’s mansion currently looks like.

John Tomes and family lived and worked near the ironmasters mansion above. Along with the Tomes family, Thomas “Burd“ Coleman is listed on the 1820 Londonderry Township Federal Census and is most likely living in this house.

Below is a map that I labeled with the Colebrook Furnace‘s existing buildings. The unlabeled tag between the barn and the mansion is the believed location of the actual furnace.

Today, Colebrook is a small unpretentious farming community that is known generally for the rail hiking trail that runs through it. If you happen to have time to check out the area, its a nice day trip to Colebrook and perhaps hop on over to Mt Gretna for an ice cream at Jiggers Ice Cream shop. (Seasonal-Open May through Sept)