A Revolutionary War cannon buried for 245 years near historic Warwick Furnace is headed for a permanent public display in West Chester Borough.
The Chester County History Center plans to install the 4,500-pound cannon at the corner of North High Street and East Chestnut Street in a pavilion expected to open this fall, according to the history center's website. The pavilion will be open 24 hours a day with full ADA accessibility.
The cannon drew a crowd before it reaches West Chester. More than 2,000 people turned out Saturday, Sept. 19, for Warwick Township's free America250 celebration along Warwick Furnace Road near Glenmoore, the Daily Local reported.
The artifact is one of four cannons unearthed in 2022 from fields at the Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve, the site of the former Warwick Furnace. Ray Bentley and Jim Moore of the nonprofit Great Marsh Institute, working with the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, commissioned geophysical surveys of the property. West Chester University geology professor Martin Helmke used a drone-mounted magnetometer to pinpoint the hiding place. Each cannon measures seven feet long and weighs 4,500 pounds.
Patriot ironworkers had concealed the cannons in fields next to French Creek rather than surrender them to the British after Washington's Continental Army lost the Battle of Brandywine on Sept. 11, 1777, according to the Chester County History Center.
During the 2022 dig, Moore yelped "Holy Cow!" when he scooped into the earth and found the ribs of the first cannon, the Daily Local reported.
At the Sept. 19 celebration, visitors watched live cannon and musket fire, toured a Continental Army encampment staged by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment and met historical interpreters portraying George Washington, Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. The event ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Blacksmith Luke DiBerdardines pounded hot metal for the crowd. "I was born in the wrong century or time period," he told the Daily Local. He said the ideal temperature for forming iron is 1,800 to 2,000 degrees, when the metal turns orange or yellow.
Warwick Furnace was established in 1737 by Anna Nutt & Co. and was among the earliest ironworks in colonial Pennsylvania, according to event organizers. The furnace produced 60 cannons during the Revolution. Benjamin Franklin's first "Franklin Stove" was cast there, and George Taylor, an early clerk, later signed the Declaration of Independence. Washington's roughly 8,000 troops camped at the furnace on Sept. 17 and 18, 1777, after the Battle of the Clouds, according to event materials, before marching to Valley Forge.
Historic groups including Hopewell Furnace, Pottsgrove Manor, Historic Sugartown and Historic Trappe House offered demonstrations throughout the day.
Upcoming Chester County history events:
- Warwick Fall Fest: Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Warwick County Park, 191 County Park Road, Pottstown. Free admission and parking.
- Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day: Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Paoli Battlefield, 1st & Wayne Avenues, Malvern. $10 per person; $20 per family of up to four.
