Carrick Furnace

After setting out for Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, with which I was already familiar, I set out for an unfamiliar place.  It was a short drive from said state park to Carrick Furnace, located along Pennsylvania Route 75, which has a junction with PA 16 in Mercersburg.  The furnace sits in a field just north of a place named Metal.  According to Wiki, the furnace was built in 1828 and operated until 1837.  It sat idle until 1879, when it was adapted to provide steam for a blowing engine.  This operation continued until 1884.  I walked through some overgrown vegetation to get this shot of the furnace and some adjacent machinery, possibly the remains of the blowing engine.

I got close enough to get a shot of the central opening.

Finally, I got a shot of what's left of the blowing engine, or whatever this machine once was.

Since there's no parking lot, I had to use the shoulder of PA 75.  For this reason, my visit was brief.  The furnace now belongs to the Franklin County Historical Society, who have a page for the furnace.