We’re happy to welcome you at Beckley Furnace!
During the summer of 2024 our Saturday hours (when there are experts on site to answer your questions, provide you with a little information about the history of Beckley Furnace and the historic iron industry of the Upper Housatonic Valley, or just chat about the park) are 10 AM until 2 PM. Just look for us at the picnic table with the umbrella in front of the furnace.
The final Saturday session of the Summer will be Saturday, September 8.
Theodore Perotti, a promising local filmmaker, has just provided us with a great new video he made introducing people to Beckley Furnace. Take a look!
In this video you will see some of our most knowledgeable people giving you a glimpse into how Beckley Furnace worked. You’ll learn a little bit of history, a little bit of chemistry, and a little about the Beckley Furnace site itself.
(Special thanks to Ted, of course! And thanks as well to Dick Paddock and Ed Kirby, whom you’ll see in the video.)
A long-range planning committee has been created at Beckley Furnace! The committee has had one meeting and already there are new ideas being considered. One of them is an animated diorama of the site. In this context, “animated” means we will have lights and moving characters. A video projection to show how the site was a part of the iron industry in the upper Housatonic Valley is also being considered. The board will be considering these ideas at their meeting on August 14th.
In other news, school kids from Lake Oswego, Oregon have enjoyed the welcome video from this site, which shows that our goals of this being in schools is slowly starting to work.
Look for more progress coming soon at Beckley Furnace!