furnace town living heritage museum

If you didn't know before, you will know about iron smelting from bog iron. Fascinating. A real insight into mid-19th century life.

I love the history of the physical environment. The old furnace remains are still available for view. Awesome.

I have visited this place twice. Both times they had never had anyone dressed in period attire doing work. It is hard to experience the living history when you do not have people walking around. It is nice to see the historic buildings and the old furnace. It would be a great place if there were actual people to see other than the cashier.

wonderful cypress forest trail. Replica and restored early 1800's village very interesting. Check out the garden, and if you are lucky, the gardener will be there to tell you about his crops. It was fun to watch a few craft people and local painters at work.

Well worth the few dollars to visit. best in school months. Watch the blacksmith at work, a weaver, a broom maker, and others! CUTE gift shop with LOW priced items. I brought home a handmade broom for under $15.00 Nice way to teach our kids about our countries' past. CLEAN restrooms and picnic tables for a bring from your home lunch.

'Twas very dank. The good dank. Me and my acquaintance got uplifted in the broom house at this marvelous historic site. :)

A recreation of the company town that sprang up in the 1800's producing iron. They have Artisans on site at different times/days, we got there rather early and there was only the gardener, who was a very nice elderly gentleman and was great with the children. All of the buildings were open and children were able to handle some things. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed it, but recommend visiting when they have events/festivals and most of the Artisans are on duty.

I remember this site as a teenager growing up a few miles away in the early 70's. There was nothing there but a dirt road off the blacktop that led down into the swamp, surrounded by tall gloomy cypress trees. The only thing visible was the tall brick furnace, which at the time had a fairsized tree growing out of the top. It was not a pleasant place to be by yourself in the evenings when the shadows began to crawl across the swamp....Okay, now fast forward to the 21st Century, when the furnace has been restored, and a little town has been reconstructed around it, much as it might have been when the furnace was operating back before the Civil War. There is a blacksmith's forge, church, and various other craftsman's shops to show you a little of how the people on the lower Eastern Shore lived "back in the day" There are often at least a couple craftsmen at work. The Interpretive center is very nice, as is the gift shop. The nature trail is also nice, but be sure and bring some bug spray in the summer or the deer flies and mosquitos will carry you away. It's well worth driving off the beaten path a little to get to.

We enjoyed the iron smith and the weaver. The buildings were explained by signs and an informative Map. Pleasant gift shop with items made by the smith and the weaver and historical books. I wish we had time for the hike.

The blacksmith demonstration was wonderful. He made a square iron hook with a twisted shank from a round rod of iron and spoke about the craft as he did it. Much history about the town, and well worth it.

It was laid out very well. There were expert "artisans" available at some of the areas. Very friendly staff.

This is such a fun place to learn about the settlers who lived in Furnace Town. I really loved watching the Iron Worker. He was so facinating that I did not want to leave. Be careful not to visit when there are bus loads of screaming school children or at a time when the staff has just dealt with a bunch of unruly and disrecpectful children, because the staff is not quite as friendly under these circumstances. Otherwise, this is a really fun place to visit. The front desk personel were very friendly and helpful.

Quaint historic spot that was interesting to see. Particularly the original iron furnace that is still standing. I would not leave without going on the Nature Conservancy's Leifer trail. Neat to see the cyprus trees up close as its not common this far north!

After driving past the signs for furnace town several times (it being only 30 min from my home) I decided to check it out one day with my 8 year old. It was a great find! It's like a mini-Williamsburg with several historical homes, church, buildings, farm/garden and a furnace. I'd like to go back again and take the rest of my family.

An interesting piece of history and worthwhile. We got a great expalnation of the iron furnace before we walked around the outdoor museum. It was raining hard and while we were waiting for the rain to stop, the blacksmith gave us the background of the iron furnace and why it failed.