Collier's Hut at Elizabeth Furnace

This reconstructed collier's hut is near the parking lot for the interpretive trails at Elizabeth Furnace. A collier is someone who collects coal or (in this case) charcoal.

A small sign nearby has a drawing of a hut like this with a door on it. The text on this sign says:

Colliers Hut

This here is just one of the places we'll use this season. We put it up while we're coaling this part of the woods. It don't look too grand but it ain't so bad now.. suppose you peek inside.

So of course, I peeked my camera inside and took a picture looking upwards.

An adult could not stand up in this hut but it looks like it would keep out the rain.

See my 2005 photos of the walls of the old iron furnace at Elizabeth Furnace. If you get a chance to visit this interesting historical site, you'll find that it's surrounded by lovely scenery and recreational opportunities. It's in Fort Valley, which in turn is within the Shenandoah Valley, walled off by the Massanutten Mountains. It's easily reached from Front Royal, Strasburg, or Edinburg, VA.

A Walk at Elizabeth Furnace

I drove Sue and her family to Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area for a short hike yesterday. There are interpretive signs along the trail to tell you how iron was made here in the 19th century. Now it's part of George Washington National Forest.

After we walked the loop trail around the iron furnace, we took a second interpretive trail, the Charcoal Trail. Since the signs there were written in the first person as though told by a charcoal maker and later the iron master, Doug read the signs in various voices, to the amusement of the rest of us.

At the time of the iron industry, all the trees were cut down in this area in order to make charcoal. The forest today is typical second-growth Virginia forest. A brochure about Elizabeth Furnace is available on the Shenandoah County website.

Sharing with Good Fences

and Reconnect with Nature

A Stop at Elizabeth Furnace

Frank's sister enjoys visiting antique shops and historic sites so we took her to Strasburg Emporium and continued up Virginia Route 55 to Waterlick, turning right on Fort Valley Road. We stopped at Elizabeth Furnace to see the old cabin.

My 2005 post of Elizabeth Furnace.

See the Historic Markers Database page on this cabin which has more pictures of this area, including some that I contributed.

Cows at Liberty Furnace

We were driving along route 717 in western Shenandoah County a few months ago when we saw cattle grazing at Liberty Furnace. It's a charming location so we stopped the car and took a couple of pictures.

Liberty Furnace, now privately owned, was the site of an iron ore operation in the 19th century. According to a Forest Service article, " there were several essentials for the location of a furnace found in the Valley -- an adequate supply of iron ore and limestone, sufficient waterpower to turn a water wheel that operated a bellows for the fire, and an abundance of timber for charcoal that was the fuel for smelting the iron ore." The article also tells us that Liberty Furnace was burned (but not totally destroyed) during the Civil War. Nearby Columbia Furnace was burned three times by Union forces!

Liberty Furnace is on the side of Great North Mountain between Wolf Gap Road and Jerome. I included it on a Basye area tour map last year.

See also my pictures of Elizabeth Furnace

Return to the Charcoal Trail

My 2009 post showing a collier's hut still gets a surprising number of visitors, so I couldn't resist posing at the hut when we returned to Elizabeth Furnace recently. We took a short hike on one of the trails. I didn't see a sign explaining which trail this was but it goes off to the right from the Pig Iron Trail.

Link, National Forest site: Elizabeth Furnace

Since the trail is an interpretative trail, there are signs telling a story. In this case there's a main character, Paddy the Collier. Paddy's job is making charcoal out of trees that he cuts down.

Paddy builds his own shelters out of wood. He tells us via a sign that "We build these cone-shaped huts while we're coaling this part of the woods. Inside we put a wood stove and a small log bunk. It don't look too grand but it ain't so bad."

My guess is that a real collier's hut was a little larger than the one I saw, or a log bunk and wood stove would not fit inside.

The term "hut" often refers to a temporary structure but not always. A hut is made from local materials. Some Native American structures from olden days would qualify under this definition, as would some cottages.

Back to the interpretative signs, there was one telling how charcoal was made. (Click on it to see a large version.) Apparently the secret to making charcoal from wood is to limit the amount of oxygen that reaches the logs as you "char" them. Large amounts of charcoal were needed for the iron-making furnace nearby, which functioned in the 19th century.

Suspension Bridge, Elizabeth Furnace

This bridge connects the picnic area with the Elizabeth Furnace Cabin. It's in the George Washington National Forest.

• Read about the cabin and iron furnace on HMDB.org.
• Directions are on the Forest Service site.

Autumn Arrives in Fort Valley

It's still warm here and we're seeing touches of fall color, but not far away the leaves are turning more. Fort Valley in the Massanutten Range is always pretty, but in autumn it looks spectacular.

There are farms and rural homes surrounded by George Washington National Forest. I recently learned that there was another old iron furnace there and went looking for it yesterday. Unlike Elizabeth Furnace, this one is on private property but you can see it from Mine Mountain Road. I almost missed it because my eye was caught by a national forest sign across the road.

Behind the big stone structure there is a substantial stone wall visible through the trees. If you tour nearby Elizabeth Furnace you will find signs explaining how these furnaces were used for making iron before the Civil War. Since iron was used for making cannons in Richmond, Federal troops came through and destroyed these factories. Later some of them were rebuilt but they never fully recovered. 

Our car's map shows the approximate location. I'll try to remember to photograph this feature when I take photos of places of interest.

Here's a couple more farm photos from the area. I'm sharing these pictures with Tom's "Backroads Traveller" linkups.

Elizabeth Furnace

These show remains of an old iron furnace at Elizabeth Furnace in Fort Valley, Virginia.

Playing with Photospray

After playing with tubes in Paint Shop Pro, I wanted a similar tool to use on my Mac. Finally I purchased Photospray Vol. 1 for Mac. Of course I couldn't wait to play with it. Here's my first try.
This is the old cabin at Elizabeth Furnace (nestled in the National Forest in the Massanutten Range). I "sprayed" on extra foliage and flowers using Photospray as a Photoshop plug-in.

For historical background of the cabin at Elizabeth Furnace and some natural-looking pictures of it, see HMDB's When Pig Iron was King.

At the Swinging Bridge, Elizabeth Furnace

When Frank's sister visited last month, one of the many places we took her to see was nearby George Washington National Forest. There we stopped at the Elizabeth Furnace picnic area and walked across the swinging bridge.

2009 Post: Suspension Bridge

Passage Willy Nilly

It's Willy Nilly Friday and that means a chance to mix things up a little.

1. Here's a lane in springtime with white fences.

Sharing with Fences around the World.

2. Friday Bliss / Floral Friday. A driveway was surrounded with creeping phlox so bright I was compelled to pull over and take a picture.

3. Skywatch: Our weather has been erratic so here's a windblown selfie on a blustery day. There's a chance of frost tonight.

4. These are covers of record albums that meant a lot to me when I was young. Two of them (broadway shows) belonged to my parents, and I think John Brown's Body (an epic poem) was from the public library. I owned the other albums. I don't have them any more, having given away vinyl records at some point when I moved. 

5. The remaining three photos are from a brief stop at Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest. I was glad to find the parking lot open, since so many places are closed at this time.

6. Black and White Weekend: This tree trunk looked interesting. I cropped the picture to bring out the odd sculptural look. What do you see?

7. Weekend Reflections: Passage Creek in Elizabeth Furnace attracts people who want to fish. Here I was attracted to the reflections of trees.

Stay safe, have a pleasant weekend!

Passage Creek and a Path in the Forest

George Washington National Forest

This is a view of Passage Creek in the Elizabeth Furnace Day Use Area.  It’s a popular fishing spot, and adjacent to a picnic area.

Not far from there is a path where I stopped to take Charlie for a short walk. 

 

Mosaic Linkup

Two Barns and an Old Store

This farm near Toms Brook almost disappears behind a hill as you draw close to it. I took a second picture of the silo so you can see it better.

The next one is not far from Cedar Creek. I'm linking up with the Barn Collective.  Tom has some beautiful snow scenes there today!

Finally we have the old store at Waterlick. Until a few years ago it had a overhang that eventually was taken down by some truck that ran into it. I remember when the store was open. My goodness, I stopped there about 40 years ago to pick up a can opener when we went camping in Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area. I had forgotten to pack that essential item! 

Sharing with Tuesday Treasures

A Simple Garden

I believe the white flowers are a variety of sedum, with echinacea (purple coneflower) in the background.

Seen at Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest.

(The campground there is described in The Best in Tent Camping Virginia by Randy Edwards and Marie Javins.)

Friday Odds and Ends

...Some Odder than Others

Here it is Friday again! I'm catching up on posting some photos and joining some linkups, starting with Willy Nilly Friday.

1. This old log wall is part of a cabin being restored to serve as a jewelry artist's studio. 

Black and White Weekend

2. This week's topic at My Town Shootout is Walking Path. There are many fine paths in my area. This one is in Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area in the National Forest.

3. A short walk from there is Passage Creek.

Weekend Reflection

4. I was looking for shoes in Harrisonburg and found a "LOVE" sign! It's behind the Quilt Museum.

Signs, Signs and Orange You Glad It's Friday 

5. The first store I tried did not have the comfortable shoes that I needed but the clerk said that "The Yellow Button" carried Birkenstocks. I tried to find it on my car's navigation system but these were the only "Yellow" names it knew of.

Nope, not driving to Yellowstone National Park! I did find the little store though and bought a pair of sandals.

The Lion's Tale Trail

I'd heard about the Lion's Tale Trail but had not been there until yesterday. It's near Camp Roosevelt and Fort Valley. A project of the Lions Clubs of Virginia, it was built with special features, such as a places where a child in a wheelchair can touch spring water or dip his toes in a pond. It's only half a mile long and provides a pleasant walk in the National Forest.

The interpretive signs will appeal to children. They feature a mountain lion telling about the sights of the forest. (Don't worry, mountain lions haven't been seen in this area for generations.)

I imagine this area will be lovely in a month when the colors change. I know Passage Creek farther down at Elizabeth Furnace is gorgeous in autumn.

The Lion's Tale Trail is on Forest Road 274, which I think is a little hard to find coming from Edinburg or Mt. Jackson. At the intersection next to Camp Roosevelt, it's the road that is not well-marked! (Camp Roosevelt Road and Moreland Gap Road are more easily identified, at least for me. FSR 274 is also called Crisman Hollow Road.) Fortunately I had a little map in a Forest Service brochure called Massanutten Motor Mountaineering which cleared things up. If you come in from US 211, 274 is easier to find. It's practically across from the old visitor's center at New Market Gap.