DANVILLE -- There will be an added bang to this year's Iron Heritage Festival in Danville.
For the first time in more than 130 years, black powder will be crafted from locally-made charcoal and detonated at the original site of Danville's powder mill behind Geisinger Medical Center along Powder Mill Road, giving festival visitors an up-close look at what the earliest iron workers did to mine iron ore.
The black powder project is the latest experiment derived by Van Wagner, a Danville native and local historian, and his faithful volunteers, who have spent each year of the festival adding their own special touch to the annual celebration of Danville's rich history of iron-making.
The group has done many living history re-creations over the years, such as handcrafting an early 19th century log raft and floating it down the Susquehanna River, as well as setting up a week-long charcoal-making campsite last year to showcase the authentic process of turning wood into charcoal.
That same homemade charcoal will be used again this year to make black powder.
"Since black powder was one of the key ingredients behind the iron industry, we figured that would be a neat thing to try," Wagner said. "If you couldn't blast loose the iron ore, limestone and coal, there wouldn't be iron."
Wagner, a science teacher at Lewisburg Area High School, researched how to make black powder and tested the process at his Danville home. From the successful experiments, Wagner is now eagerly looking forward to putting the practice to use for the festival.
"We will lead a hike up to the site where we believe the mill was and have a short discussion on the techniques used then, and then detonate the powder," Wagner said. "It doesn't matter what age you are, there is something special about fireworks."
Wagner said black powder was the explosive that made mining iron ore in the Danville area possible from the 1830s until mining ceased about 1890. The exact location of the powder mill is not known.However, the charcoal pits are still evident in the area, Wagner said.
"Many people are aware that charcoal was used in the iron industry before the introduction of Anthracite coal in blast furnaces. However, it's also a key ingredient to making black powder," Wagner said. "To make black powder, charcoal was mixed in specific proportions with sulfur and sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrate is derived from both bat and bird droppings. In caves where bat colonies had created thousands of years of droppings, the waste was mined and referred to as guano.' It's also possible to use bird waste to create sodium nitrate."
According to Wagner, an explosion in 1879 reportedly destroyed Danville's powder mill, and it's unclear whether anyone was killed in the incident.
n E-mail comments to jnorth@dailyitem.com.
News
Related Photos
-
Robert Inglis/The Daily Item
Discussion
Crafters dig deeper into Danville history
Black powder to be mixed, then lit for festival
- News
-
-
'To Do': Montandon Community Days
MONTANDON - Montandon Community Days will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 26 along Railroad Street.
-
California’s Coronado named nation’s best beach
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.
That’s one of the reasons why Coronado — flanked by the iconic hotel featured in Marilyn Monroe’s 1958 film “Some Like It Hot” — has been named the No. 1 beach in the United States in the 2012 survey by “Dr. Beach” professor Stephen P. Leatherman of Florida International University. -
Typical CEO made $9.6M last year, AP study finds
Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs.
-
Barnstorming cattle badger citizens for beer
BOXFORD, Mass. (AP) — Police say a roving group of cows crashed a small gathering in a Massachusetts town and bullied the guests for their beer.
-
'A Day in Towne' tradition draws crowds to Boalsburg
May 25--For the 148th year, Boalsburg will be the gathering place for regional families to remember all ranks of Armed Forces veterans.
-
Fired Pa. president gets more time to clear office
CALIFORNIA, Pa. (AP) — A judge has canceled a hearing to determine whether California University of Pennsylvania president Angelo Armenti can remove his personal property from his former office, because state officials have given him more time to do so.
- Weird crime of the week: Peddler in pickup scams bargain-hunting meat seeker
-
Police Log 05.25.12
A roundup of police news reported by departments across the Central Susquehanna Valley.
-
Four charged in ripoffs that hurt eight local senior citizens
Four Philadelphia men have been charged with operating an elaborate scam that targeted hundreds of elderly residents across Pennsylvania, including eight Valley seniors.
-
Jerry Sandusky charity to shut down and transfer programs
PHILADELPHIA — The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago — and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he is charged with sexually abusing — said today it is seeking court approval to shut down and transfer its programs to a Texas-based youth ministry that serves abused and neglected children.
-
Memorial Day Observances
Here is a listing of Memorial Day events this weekend in the Central Susquehanna Valley.
-
Man pleads guilty in 2006 Penn State student death
STATE COLLEGE — A man whose murder conviction was previously thrown out in the fatal beating of a Penn State student six years ago has pleaded guilty in the killing under a deal with prosecutors.
- More News Headlines
-
'To Do': Montandon Community Days
