The Hopewell Big Woods is the largest contiguous forest in southeastern Pennsylvania. Spanning northern Chester County and southern Berks County, the region is approximately 73,000 acres or 114 square miles. Most of the forest is located in the Schuylkill River watershed.
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1.5 km
French Creek State Park is a 7,730-acre Pennsylvania state park in North Coventry and Warwick Townships in Chester County and Robeson and Union Townships in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It straddles northern Chester County and southern Berks County along French Creek. It is located in the Hopewell Big Woods. The park is the home of two lakes: Hopewell Lake, a 68-acre warm water lake, and Scotts Run Lake, a 22-acre cold water lake. The state record smallmouth bass was caught in Scotts Run Lake. There are extensive forests, and almost 40 miles of hiking and equestrian trails. The park is also friendly to mountain bikers, having some renowned technical trails. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, which features a cold blast furnace restored to its 1830s appearance, is surrounded by the park. The Six Penny Day Use Area and Group Camp are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. French Creek State Park is located off of Pennsylvania Route 345 to the south of Birdsboro.
French Creek State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and its Bureau of State Parks as one of "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
2.0 km
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in southeastern
Berks County, near Elverson, Pennsylvania,
is an example of an American 19th century rural iron plantation, whose operations were
based around a charcoal-fired cold-blast iron blast furnace.
The significant restored structures include the furnace group, as well as the ironmaster's house, a company store, the blacksmith's shop, a barn and several worker's houses.
Hopewell Furnace was founded about 1771 by ironmaster Mark Bird, son of William Bird, who had been one of Pennsylvania's most prominent ironmasters. The site's most prosperous time was during the 1820-1840 period with a brief return to significant production during the American Civil War. In the mid-19th century, changes in iron making, including a shift from charcoal-fueled furnaces to anthracite-fueled steel mills, rendered smaller furnaces like Hopewell obsolete. The site discontinued operations in 1883.
In 1938, the property was designated Hopewell Village
National Historic Site under the authority of the Historic Sites Act, thereby becoming one of the
earliest cultural units of the National Park System.
Today, Hopewell Furnace consists of 14 restored structures, 52 features on the List of Classified Structures, and a total of 848 mostly wooded acres. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is located in the Hopewell Big Woods and bordered by French Creek State Park on three sides and State Game Lands 43 on the south side, which preserves the lands the furnace utilized for its natural resources.
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The North Warwick Historic and Archeological District is a national historic district that is located in Warwick Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
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Geigertown is an unincorporated community in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Geigertown is located within both Union Township and Robeson Township along Hay Creek Road from Geigertown Road to Fire Tower Road. It is also home to the Geigertown Central Railroad Museum off Geigertown Road.
4.1 km
Geiger Mill is a historic grist mill located in Robeson Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The mill was built in 1783, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, with basement, banked stucco-over-stone building. The adjacent miller's house was built about 1783, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, stucco-over-stone dwelling. Also on the property is a contributing one-story, stucco-over-stone smokehouse. The mill ceased operations about 1919.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.