Old Forge Farm, also known as Zane's Furnace, Stephens Fort, and Marlboro Iron Works, is a historic home and farm located near Middletown,

Frederick County, Virginia Frederick County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. It is Virginia's northernmost county. ...

. The original section dates to the 18th century. The house is a two-story, asymmetrical, three-bay,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

dwelling with a two-story addition connecting the main house to a one-story former summer kitchen. Also on the property are the contributing 18th century hexagonal ice house of unusual design, an early 20th-century root cellar,

privy Privy is an old-fashioned term for an outdoor toilet, often known as an outhouse and by many other names. Privy may also refer to: * Privy council, a body that advises the head of state * Privy mark, a small mark in the design of a coin * Privy Pur ...

, and shed. The property was first known as Stephen's Fort, built by Lewis Stephens, son of Peter Stephens, for protection during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Sold in 1767 to Isaac Zane, whose Zane's Furnace (Marlboro Iron Works) was a major manufacturer of munitions for the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

Grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

operations continued into the 1950s. an
''Accompanying three photo''
/ref> 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 2004.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses in Frederick County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Virginia {{FrederickCountyVA-NRHP-stub