Buchanan Furnace stands in a quiet meadow along the north bank of the Clarion River, just northwest of the bridge where PA 378 crosses the water. From Callensburg, it is a short walk north, then west along a dirt track to the site.
Built in 1844, the furnace was a cold‑blast charcoal operation with two tuyeres and a nine‑foot bosh. Rising about 33 feet, its stone stack still shows remarkable integrity. The base measures thirty‑three feet across on the south side and thirty feet on the east and west facades. All four corners remain intact, though fallen stones have damaged the top. The tuyere arch has collapsed in places, while the cast arch survives in good condition. On the north side, a small rise marks where the charging ramp once stood. No other buildings or foundations remain.
At its peak, Clarion County was home to thirty‑one furnaces, most built between 1840 and 1850. They supplied local markets as well as Pittsburgh's mills. Buchanan Furnace is the most intact stack in the county, a testament to the masons' It embodies the westward expansion of the iron industry beyond the Alleghenies and the engineering traditions of its time.
The furnace produced up to 1,200 tons of iron a year. In 1850, it was operated by S. F. Plummer and F. G. Creary (later spelled Crary) of Kittanning, along with Arnold Plummer of Franklin. By 1857, Crary had become the sole proprietor. But the following year, the furnace was abandoned. The decline of the local economy, combined with the exhaustion of wood for charcoal, brought its operations to an end. Since then, the site has remained largely untouched, save for a few vacation cottages built nearby.Today, Buchanan Furnace endures as a silent monument to the county's iron‑making past, its weathered stones recalling a brief but vital chapter in Pennsylvania's industrial story.
