Virginia Furnace, also known as Muddy Creek Furnace and Josephine Furnace, is a historic water powered

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

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 near

Albright Albright may refer to: * Albright (surname) * Albright, Alberta, Canada * Albright, West Virginia, United States * Albright College, a liberal arts college located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States * Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New ...

, Preston County, West Virginia. The district encompasses three contributing structures and one contributing site. The furnace was built in 1854, and was a "charcoal" iron furnace used to smelt iron. It is constructed of cut sandstone, and forms a truncated pyramid measuring approximately 34 feet square in plan and rising about 30 feet. The district includes the nearby wheel pit, blast machinery, and salamander. The furnace remained in operation until the 1890s, and was the last "charcoal" iron furnace to cease operating in northern West Virginia. In 1933, the Virginia Furnace was acquired by the Kingwood Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution who created a roadside park at the furnace site. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

References

Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Historic districts in Preston County, West Virginia Industrial buildings completed in 1854 Buildings and structures in Preston County, West Virginia Sandstone buildings in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Preston County, West Virginia Blast furnaces in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia 1854 establishments in Virginia Roadside parks {{PrestonCountyWV-NRHP-stub