Pine Grove Furnace State Park

Tucked along Mountain Creek at the northern tip of South Mountain in south-central Pennsylvania, Pine Grove Furnace State Park preserves one of the region’s most compelling industrial histories — the rise and fall of the Pine Grove Iron Works.

From Furnace to Fortune

In 1764, George Stevenson, Robert Thornburg, and John Arthur built the Pine Grove Iron Works along Mountain Creek, the second of nine iron furnaces in Cumberland County. The 33-foot stack, fueled by charcoal and powered by waterwheel-driven bellows, smelted iron ore into everyday essentials — wagon wheel iron, kettles, stoves, and fireplaces — and later supplied components for Baldwin Locomotives.

By 1782, entrepreneur Michael Ege had purchased the works and steadily expanded his holdings to include four furnaces across the region. His son Peter inherited the operation and invested boldly: in 1829 he built an English Tudor-style red brick mansion on the property, and the following year added Laurel Forge to convert cast iron into wrought iron.

The financial panic of 1837 brought the ironworks to its knees. It lay dormant until 1864, when Jay Cooke & Company — backed by the man history would call the “Financier of the Civil War” — purchased the property and established the South Mountain Iron Company. Cooke had raised $1.2 billion selling federal treasury notes during the war, amassing enormous wealth. But the post-war economic depression proved his undoing, and the collapse of Jay Cooke & Company helped trigger the financial panic of 1873. The ironworks went to sheriff’s sale in 1874, found no buyers, and was eventually reacquired by Cooke through his associate Jackson C. Fuller.

Under engineer John Birkinbine, the furnace was modernized — converted first to a hot blast system in 1877, then remodeled in 1878 to run on coke and anthracite coal. Production peaked in 1883 at 6,000 short tons before declining steadily. The furnaces fell silent in 1895. By 1913, the land had passed into the South Mountain Forest, and in 1931, it was established as Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

A Park Born from Industry

Today, the 696-acre park wears its industrial past lightly. Two former industrial water sources — Fuller Lake, an old iron ore quarry, and Laurel Lake, which once powered the Laurel Forge — are now beloved swimming and fishing spots. The stone furnace stack still stands as a quiet monument to the community that once surrounded it.

The park sits within the larger Michaux State Forest, offering access to vast public lands across South Mountain. Visitors can explore the area by foot or bike, walk a section of the Appalachian Trail, or stop into the Appalachian Trail Museum to learn about the legendary footpath that passes right through the park.

Pine Grove Furnace State Park offers more than 14 miles of trails ranging from easy strolls to challenging backcountry terrain, giving every visitor a way to explore its forests, wetlands, and industrial heritage on foot or by bike. The crown jewel is the Appalachian Trail, which passes directly through the park, connecting thru-hikers and day-trippers alike to the Ironmaster’s Mansion, the A.T. Museum, and the general store — with Boiling Springs and Caledonia State Park each roughly 20 miles away for ambitious section hikers. The ADA-accessible Hiker Biker Trail offers a gentler 3-mile route past Fuller and Laurel Lakes, while the Creek Trail winds past the historic furnace raceway and vernal ponds, and the Koppenhaver Trail meanders through towering pines and hemlocks along Tom’s Run and Mountain Creek.

For those seeking a more rewarding challenge, the Pole Steeple Trail climbs steeply through Michaux State Forest to a dramatic quartzite rock outcropping with panoramic views of the entire park, and the Buck Ridge Trail offers a rugged 6-mile crossing to Kings Gap Environmental Education Center. Shorter connector trails — the Brickyard, Campground, Mountain Creek, and Swamp trails — thread the park together, offering easy access to historic sites, fishing along Mountain Creek, and a quiet forested swamp teeming with plants and wildlife. Together, the trail network and the surrounding Michaux State Forest make Pine Grove Furnace a destination as rich in natural exploration as it is in history.