The Mary Ann Furnace Historic District, also known as Trexler's Furnace, is an historic "

iron plantation Iron plantations were rural localities emergent in the late-18th century and predominant in the early-19th century that specialized in the production of pig iron and bar iron from crude iron ore. Such plantations derive their name from two sourc ...

" and national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in Longswamp Township,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1991.

History and architectural features

This district encompasses five contributing buildings, one contributing site, and one contributing structure. They are the iron furnace stack (1789), a stone and frame

bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one are ...

(c. 1830-1860), the manager's house and office (c. 1830-1860), a blacksmith shop (1854), a charcoal house (c. 1850), a stone dam, and a small stone house (c. 1830-1850). The furnace remained in operation until 1869. It is commemorated by a historical marker that was erected in 1924. Today, it is owned by the Rohrbach family, which continues to keep the property as historical accurate as possible. ''Note:'' This includes It was listed on the

in 1991.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic districts in Berks County, Pennsylvania 1789 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania Blacksmith shops