110 years ago

This appeared in the "Out of the Past" section of last week's newspaper:

Looking for iron at Speedwell, LancasterOnline.com

Friday Morning's Record
November 29, 1895
Speedwell Forge - Last week two men from Allentown got off the cars here and proceeded to the Speedwell Farms in Elizabeth Township on the site of the old iron forge which was abandoned some forty years ago, where they examined a cinder bank and took some of the cinder with them for the purpose of having it assayed. If there is enough iron in it to pay to have it re-melted it will be resurrected, brought to Lititz on wagons and taken to Allentown to take all the iron out.

A "cinder bank" is apparently what you create from all the waste from a plant. I really liked the reference to "got off the cars," obviously referring to a train. I have no idea if they actually took the cinder bank or not. Today, nothing remains of the forge but I know exactly where it was, because they say ironmasters always built their home so they could see the forge from the front door.

110 years ago, the road apparently was much lower as well
(Why else would there be a drain 12" under the road?)