Beckley Furnace

Beckley Furnace is a well-preserved charcoal blast furnace built in 1847 by John Adam Beckley on the banks of the Blackberry River in northwestern Connecticut. The ironworks operated until 1919, and since 1978 it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places — the only industrial monument of its kind in the registry. Today it functions as a Connecticut state park, where the rough-cut stone furnace stack stands intact amid wooded riverside scenery. On-site interpretation panels walk visitors through the iron-smelting process, and trails along the Blackberry River extend the experience well beyond the furnace itself.