Heritage Day - Ironville, New York

Heritage Day - Ironville, New York

The small hamlet of Ironville was a focal point of the Adirondack iron industry during the nineteenth century. Located in the Town of Crown Point, Ironville is the site of the first industrial use of electricity in the United States. With the completion of the Champlain Canal in 1823, Ironville processed the locally mined iron ore and sent it by railroad to Lake Champlain to be shipped to major manufacturing centers. Iron from the area was used to construct the Ironclad Monitor during the Civil War. Visiting the hamlet of Ironville today, it hardly seems possible that this was once the scene of major industrial activity. All but twelve of the buildings supporting the iron industry are now gone.Today, the Ironville Historic District is a national historic district .The home of Allen Penfield, now serves as the Penfield Homestead Museum, preserving the history of the ironworking industry in the Town.The historic district contains twelve contributing buildings including the Penfield Homestead (1828), boarding house (1827), Congregational Church (1842), commercial building / grange hall (1870s), and the cemetery.