Bellefonte Forge House
Encyclopedia
The Bellefonte Forge House, also known as the John Dunlop House, is located just south of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
, in Spring Township
, Centre County
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, due to its connection with prominent figures in the iron industry of the early 19th century and because of its domestic architecture influenced by the Federal
style.
, John Dunlop
, who lived there with his wife and four daughters until he was killed in an iron mine collapse in October 1814. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, this -story house was constructed in the vernacular form of the Federal
or Georgian
style with ten and a half foot ceiling heights. It originally had nine fireplaces, but two were removed to make a modern kitchen in the 1930s. It is thought that a John G. Lowry was the architect, as he was the only registered architect in the area at that time and was also in the employment of his cousin, John Dunlop. Building receipts for the finish carpenter, John Patterson, can still be found in the Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte.
porches in the 1860s.
Today, the Bellefonte Forge House still overlooks the water of Logan's Branch where John Dunlop started his Belle Font Forge in 1797.
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, in Spring Township
Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania
Spring Township is a township in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Centre County
Centre County, Pennsylvania
Centre County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 153,990....
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, due to its connection with prominent figures in the iron industry of the early 19th century and because of its domestic architecture influenced by the Federal
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
style.
Origins
It was built in 1803 by an ironmasterIronmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
, John Dunlop
John Dunlop
John Dunlop may refer to:*John Boyd Dunlop , Scottish/Irish inventor of the pneumatic tyre and founder of the Dunlop rubber company*John Colin Dunlop , Scottish historian*John L...
, who lived there with his wife and four daughters until he was killed in an iron mine collapse in October 1814. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Construction
Made of limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, this -story house was constructed in the vernacular form of the Federal
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
or Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style with ten and a half foot ceiling heights. It originally had nine fireplaces, but two were removed to make a modern kitchen in the 1930s. It is thought that a John G. Lowry was the architect, as he was the only registered architect in the area at that time and was also in the employment of his cousin, John Dunlop. Building receipts for the finish carpenter, John Patterson, can still be found in the Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte.
Role in the Iron Industry
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Bellefonte became the center of a large iron industry. John Dunlop was one of the most energetic and prosperous of those that went into that business, building Harmony Forge (1795), Belle Font Forge (1797), Logan Furnace (1797), and Washington Forge (1810). It was his father, Lt. Col. James Dunlop, and his brother-in-law, James Harris, who actually laid out the town, now a Borough, of Bellefonte from land that John Dunlop owned.After John Dunlop's death
After John Dunlop's death, his iron business was rented, then bought by ironmasters in the Valentine family 1815–1879. This home represents the wealth of those ironmasters as the Valentines added the VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
porches in the 1860s.
Restoration
The Bellefonte Forge House was continuously used until 1994, when it became vacant and was damaged by vandals and animals. However, after 2001 it was restored to its past condition by Michael C. Immel.Today, the Bellefonte Forge House still overlooks the water of Logan's Branch where John Dunlop started his Belle Font Forge in 1797.