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Beckley Furnace Area Topographic Maps
| It is interesting to see the rather small
topographic impact the Iron business made at the years when it was at its
peak. Despite the fact that the three maps on this page are in
different scales, the first two are most notable for what is NOT shown in
the Beckley area. |
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| Above, from the Sheffield Quadrangle, 1897 (15
minute series), USGS |
| On this map, Beckley is found at the road
intersection an inch or so southwest (left) of the East Canaan village, on
the Blackberry River. Assuming that the map above is accurate
(generally a poor assumption for any topo map done before the advent of
photographic confirmation by air of field mapping), the devastation
of the 1896 fire must have been extraordinary, eliminating most structures
on both sides of the road.
In the photo on the right, the furnace can be seen
peeping out above the building on the right (with the rounded top).
The stone wall still present on the uphill side of the road is visible in
this picture in the left center. (The photo is from Scrap
Book of North Canaan, published circa 1897) |
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It's this kind of thing that makes one
question old topographic maps! Although the scale is larger, the 1900
"remapping" of the area shows NO additional structures on the
Beckley site, even though we know that the supporting structures had been
rebuilt and the furnace had been back in blast for some time before
1900. One wonders if the surveyors did not just say "Oh, just
some factory buildings there..." and decide to re-use the 1897 survey. |
| above, from the Housatonic Quadrangle, 1900 (30
minute series), USGS |
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| Above from the Ashley Falls Quadrangle, 1949 (7
1/2 minute series), USGS |
| There's clearly more detail
present in the 1949 map, as would be expected given the scale of this map,
but also given the fact that by this time surveys were subjected to at
least limited comparison with aerial photographs. Viewed from the
ground, however, even this more accurate map raises questions. For
example, where is the Beckley furnace? where is the residence
adjacent to the former paymaster's office (which appears to be the sole
building on the river side of Lower Road in this area)? |
to go to the Friends of Beckley Furnace
website
to go to our Iron page
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