Apple sales start Sept. 4 at Hopewell Furnace
ELVERSON >> Beginning Saturday, Sept. 4, and continuing while the crop lasts, the apple orchard at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site will be available for apple picking from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day the park is open.
Persons wishing to pick apples should stop by the park’s visitor center to obtain park provided picking poles and buckets along with information on the varieties ready for picking.
Apples cost $1 per pound regardless of variety or quality with the proceeds of apple sales going towards maintaining the orchard and other historic entities of the park. Regular updates on varieties ready for picking will be listed in the park and through the park’s social media platforms.
The location of Hopewell’s orchard is nearly as old as the iron furnace itself first being mentioned in contemporary accounts in the 1780s.
The present orchard includes 30 varieties of apples, many of which are historic types that may have been found at Hopewell when the furnace was an active industrial site. Some of these varieties are hard to find today since they are no longer raised by modern commercial orchards.
Hopewell Furnace preserves the late 18th and early 19th century setting of an iron-making community, including the charcoalfueled furnace, and its natural and cultural resources.
This community illustrates the essential role of industrialization in the growth of the early United States. The furnace was established in 1771 by Ironmaster Mark Bird and operated as a furnace for the next 112 years.
The park’s facilities are open daily through Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park will be closed Mondays and Tuesday starting Oct. 18 until Memorial Day weekend. The park is also closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Jan. 1.
Hopewell Furnace is located at 2 Mark Bird Lane, Elverson, PA 19520 about five miles south of Birdsboro, PA, off Route 345. Admission to the park is free.
For more information, call 610-582-8773 or visit the park’s website at www. nps.gov/hofu.