J. & J. Wister Furnace

J. & J. Wister Furnace was located north of Mulberry Street in Harrisburg along the Pennsylvania Canal. It is pictured here about 1870. At least three men are posing for this shot: two stand on a wooden platform left of center and another is in the doorway at right. Wister manufactured pig iron, so named because the molded pieces of iron were formed in groups that resembled a litter of suckling pigs. Before modern vertical integration of manufacturing, the pig iron ingots would be transported to other facilities that melted and processed them into wrought iron, steel, and other products. Photo ID: OZ03307.