Located just north of Luray, the Redwell-Isabella Furnace Historic District bounds approximately nine acres in Page County, on the west bank of Hawksbill Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The steeply-to-gently sloping site consists of pasture, woodlots, and the oblong pool of Yager Spring, the power source for the furnace and later mills. Derrick Pennybacker is believed to have established the Redwell Furnace in 1787, making it the county’s oldest iron furnace. Later known as Isabella Furnace, it operated until the 1840s; subsequently, a forge, flourmill, and woolen factory operated at the location into the late 19th century. The district includes a cemetery (now devoid of markers), a stone foundation, the furnace bridge mound, and two circa 1800 buildings—the Isabella Furnace Office, a two-story stone building with Georgian interior detail, and the Yager Spring House. The property also contains a two-story stone structure, with a large fireplace for cooking and a later 1965 stone-and-frame addition. The town of Luray owns the Redwell-Isabella Furnace Historic District property and at the time of listing in the registers it was exploring options for its rehabilitation.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia