​I was looking for attractions in the Harrisburg area for our upcoming trip when I stumbled upon the Fort Hunter Mansion and Park.   I was immediately intrigued.  A 100 (some sections are more than 200 years old) year old mansion that we could tour? That sounded like something right up my alley as I adore history!   Even better, this mansion sits within a park that contains numerous historic buildings.   Are you still not convinced?  The property borders the Susquehanna River and also touches the remnants of the Pennsylvania Canal.  This was going to be a grand place to visit, I could feel it in my bones!

​After parking, we made our way up the walkway.  I could see a large house sitting before me, splendid with its impressive size.  I stopped for a quick picture and then followed the signs to the gift shop.   I had read online that tours begin at the top each hour throughout the day.   As we were on a relaxing weekend get-a-way, I didn’t want to be tied down to a specific time for a tour, so I had not purchased tickets online, so I was on a mission to purchase tickets for the next tour!  The gift shop is situated around the side of the house and I could just make out the beauty of gardens and outbuildings as I rang the bell to gain access to the gift shop.  The shop is small, but had a nice selection of books and local trinkets.   The cashier was friendly and we quickly had our tickets in hand.   We had about 15 minutes before our tour started, so we decided to explore the gardens and grounds by the house. The gardens open up on the right side of the house, with flowers and some vegetables.  An Ice house and a Small Dairy building sit amidst the garden confines.   The left side of the house is all yard, with an amazing view from high up of the Susquehanna River

​At the appropriate time for our tour, we headed to the front porch where we were welcomed into a small parlor.   The tour guide welcomed us and invited us to watch a short 5-minute video history of the family and house.   The video was informative and the tour guide even more so when he returned to the room.  We were given the basic information about when the house was built (the first section in 1786) and more about the families that once resided in this house.   The tour guide than said something that blew my mind, in a good way.   99% of the furnishings and artifacts in the house were actually in the house when it was last lived in.  This is such a rare find! The family members that inherited the house, in the early to mid-1900’s had worked to preserve the house and its belongings.     The attic was full of various artifacts that had been stored away in the attic during the houses occupancy and the museum had carefully catalogued them and worked to display the amazing collection.

​The house was decorated exquisitely and had so many extra knickknacks and touches that it was easy to imagine that the owner had just stepped out for a moment. Each room was a plethora of artifacts and history that had my eyes roaming as I soaked in the information from the tour guide.     All too soon, the tour was over.  It was over so quickly, not because it was short but rather because I was enthralled the whole time.   I am absolutely sure that if I went back and did the tour again, my eyes would feast on other items that I totally missed during this first tour.

​The grounds surrounding the Fort Hunter Mansion are split by a roadway and contain numerous buildings.   As I mentioned above, the house and gardens contain a small dairy and Ice house, but there is so many more things to see.   With a map of the park in hand, we headed out to explore. We headed along the Susquehanna River when we left the Mansion tour.   A paved path meandered along the way, passing restrooms and an access to the Susquehanna River.  We wanted to see it all, so we headed toward the Susquehanna river to check out the river bank before heading to the first building on our exploration.  

​The first building we decided to check out was the Heckton Church.   This church was once a Methodist Church and sits at the end of the parking lot on the same side of the road as the mansion.  The church is not in its original location.  It was moved within the last 15 years to preserve it from the periodic flooding of the nearby river.   

​This was the only other building on this side of the road, so we carefully crossed the road and began to explore the other buildings within the park.  There is a Large bank barn, a stone stable, a Tavern, smokehouse, and springhouse.  We were in the height of summer when we visited so we were able to enjoy the vegetable garden that resided between the bank barn and the stone stable.
Beyond these buildings sits a covered bridge.  This is the covered bridge that was built in 1881 to span the little Buffalo Creek.  The covered bridge is not in its original location.  The founder of this park and museum mansion bought the bridge to save it from its demise when the need for the covered bridge became obsolete.  The bridge was dismantled and moved to this property, where it now sits over a small swampy area.  

​Beyond the covered bridge is the remnants of the Pennsylvania Canal.   There are a number of signs to educate the visitor about the canal and the various means of transportation over the years.
We opted to drive to the last historical building within the confines of the park.   That is the Fort Hunter Station built in 1929. .  This was a gas station that was privately owned and operated as a gas station, restaurant, tourist cabins, miniature golf course and came complete with a beer garden.  Everything a tired traveler would need.   The building looks to be in the process of being remodeled inside, but the stone building is still standing well to the changes of time. 

This park and mansion was a great place to spend a few hours.  We were able to immerse ourselves in history that dated from the 1700’s to the 1900’s.  It is truly a remarkable collection that should be visited by all.   We can only thank Margaret Wister Meigs who was the family member that was instrumental in saving this amazing property and contents in the early 1900’s. Her foresight is a blessing to those of us that can visit in today’s day and  age.
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On a recent hike in the Catoctin Mountain Park, we hiked the Charcoal trail.  It was super informative and sparked our interest in the industry.  We had stumbled upon the preserved Catoctin Furnace a few months earlier while we were the way to the Catoctin Zoo.  We hadn't explored to deeply, so we decided to go back and check it out and see where the charcoal that we created up on in the mountains was used.

The signs along the road are unobtrusive, announcing the 'historic Catoctin Furnace District".  I had driven by them numerous times and paid them no attention, but when I finally drove down that road, a whole new world of history opened up to me.  

The Catoctin Furnace was in blast and operational as early as 1776 when it was instrumental in providing munitions to George Washington and his men.  The furnace remained in operation, under different ownership until 1903.  The grounds are well maintained and where applicable, beautifully restored. The Catoctin Furnace complex is spread out throughout the historic district but is all within short walking distance 

The Catoctin Furnace Museum is housed in a restored iron workers house.  This free museum is bright and cheery and the volunteers were quite friendly.  As you walk in, a map of the complex is affixed to the floor allowing you to get a clear view of where you are and what there is to see as you explore this historical site. 

The museum has a good number of artifacts on display.  There are both items that were used at the iron works as well as items that were created and manufactured at this site.  The displays are informative and interesting to see.  The museum is not large.  It only took us about 30 minutes give or take to view all it had to offer.  Before we left, the volunteer manning the visitor center reminded us of the places that we should check out within the complex.   We headed outside and started to explore. 

The museum has restored two of the old houses in the area to use for museum purposes.  The first building is a two story log cabin that was a colliers house.  This home in particular housed two different families.  Many times, these families would take in boarders to supplement their income.

The second house  is the Forgemans house  This stone house is absolutely adorable and has been renovated to include a working bathroom and kitchen.  We were advised that we could peer into the windows but this building can be rented out for overnight trips. 

The furnace is still standing and the historical society has rebuilt the shed that is connected with it.    The size of the furnaces always enthralls me as I can only imagine the heat that must have emanated!

Some of the buildings at the Catoctin Furnace complex are lying in ruins, too far gone to restore.   One of these is the Iron masters Mansion.  This mansion was built on a small hill so that the iron master could keep an eye on the workings of the whole village from the comfort of his own home.   

It is hard to not stand at the ruins of what was once a large and grand house and not notice the difference between the iron master and the colliers houses.

There are two main trails at the Catoctin Furnace.  The first is a short interactive trail that is dotted with signs that give information about the history of the area and the ironworks.  The trail ends at the site of an African America gravesite where workers from the ironwork lay.  The gravesites were discovered during the building of the nearby route 15.  In recent years, archeologists have worked to identify the remains in that are buried here and in the museum they have two busts that were created using the information that they discovered during their archeology expeditions.

The other trail that is on this property is a trail that meanders over streams and through the woods.  It is also an interactive trail that has signs to give more historical information.  This trail will lead you right to the Cunningham Falls State Park. 

This small historical site has been well maintained and preserved.  The history is rich and displayed in a manner that is interesting as well as easy to understand.   Our entire visit took about 2 hours.  That includes visiting all sites and hiking all portions of the short trails.  It is well worth the visit!

To see where they made Charcoal to fuel this furnace check out the Catoctin Charcoal Trail post. 

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We were out geocaching in West Virginia wen we drove by this gorgeous stone chapel.  We just had to stop to explore!

The stone marker on the front of the building identified this historic chapel as the Halltown Union Colored Sunday School.  I was immediately hooked and I wanted to know more!

Built in 1901 on land donated by a West Virginia Supreme Court Justice, Daniel Lucas; this small stone church serviced the black community in this area until 1967.  Even after the church no longer held Sunday Services, the church building remained in use for weddings, funerals and community events. 
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The building was restored to it's original appearance in 1982-1983.   It was successfully added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.  The original pulpit still resides in the building. 

Just a few mere feet away from the stone chapel sits a small stone building.  This was once the Halltown Colored Free School.
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This school was built in 1870.  It was used as a school house until the year 1929 after which it was used as a residence.  The building is owned by the same group that owns the church.   That historic preservation group was successful in getting this fascinating building on the Historical Register in 2004.