| Official Name: | Farrandsville, Pennsylvania |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | Pennsylvania |
| Pushpin Label: | Farrandsville |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Pennsylvania |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Clinton |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Subdivision Name3: | Colebrook |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 587 |
| Coordinates: | 41.175°N -77.5125°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP |
| Postal Code: | 17745 |
| Area Code: | 570 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 1192450 [1] |
Farrandsville is an unincorporated community in Colebrook Township in Clinton County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is on the north side of the West Branch Susquehanna River, approximately 4miles upstream from Lock Haven at the northern end of Farrandsville Road.[2] Whisky Run and Lick Run flow through Farrandsville.[3]
The community was named for William P. Farrand,[4] a representative of the Lycoming Coal Company. He founded the village in 1832.[5] Two years later, the West Branch Canal was completed to Farrandsville, giving the village access to supplies and markets by canal boat.[6] The village became the northern terminus of the canal, which was never extended further upstream.[7] During this era, a steamboat named Farrand operated on the West Branch Susquehanna River on the pool of water behind the Dunnstown Dam at Lock Haven. It made regular trips as far upstream as Farrandsville.[8]
In 1836, a group of investors from Boston financed construction of a blast furnace at the village site. Completed in 1837, the Farrandsville Iron Furnace, 43feet square at the base and 54feet high, was one of the largest such furnaces in the United States. Coke made from bituminous coal from a nearby mine fueled the furnace, which used hot blast technology that was new at the time. The furnace produced 50ST of iron a week, second only to the Lonaconing Furnace in Maryland.[6]
Although supplied with local coal, the furnace was more than 100miles by canal from the nearest iron ore, in Columbia County. The cost of obtaining ore as well as limestone needed during the smelting process was high. This cost, combined with lower income during the Panic of 1837, led to closure of the furnace in 1838.[6]
Despite the furnace shutdown, other industries thrived in Farrandsville through the first decades of the 20th century. Businesses included a fire brick company, a cigar company, and lumber mills. Harbison-Walker Refractories Company of Pittsburgh bought the brickworks in 1902 and continued operations there until 1925. In 1951, the company gave the iron furnace to the Clinton County Historical Society.[6]