Three members of the Friends of Beckley install QR codes on interpretive signs at the historic Beckley Furnace site in East Canaan. From left are Charlie Race, president David McCunn and Christian Allyn.
NORTH CANAAN — The historic Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument has come into the modern age. QR codes have been placed on all the interpretive signs at the site located on Lower Road on the north bank of the Blackberry River.
Christian Allyn, a member of the Friends of Beckley group, explained the codes will assist visitors in learning about all the details of the furnace and its environs.
Volunteer guides for years would welcome guests and give tours, but those numbers have dwindled. “We decided we couldn’t have those Saturday tours because we didn’t have volunteers to lead them. In 2024, five of them were no longer available,” Allyn said.
Recently a crew set out to install the stickers to allow for self-tours of the site, which preserves a 19th-century iron-making blast furnace, which turned iron ore, charcoal and limestone into pig iron.
The QR codes link to webpages on beckleyfurnace.org with text, photos or videos about the history of the site along withmaps to guide guests.
The 12 acres were designated a state park in 1946 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Situated in a rural setting, it is a popular tourist destination, where visitors can not only learn the history of the site, but enjoy picnicking and fishing as well.
The main furnace is a large stone structure, 40-feet tall and 30-feet per side at the base, gradually sloping to 20 feet at the top. About 100 yards upriver is the dam, a stone structure with a penstock providing access to a turbine chamber. Further downstream are the remnants of two more dams and furnaces, and there are large piles of slag mounded on the south side of the river, which visitors love to collect. For most of the time, the furnace was owned by Barnum & Richardson Co.
The furnace was built by John Adam Beckley in 1847 and continued to operate until 1919. It was the second of three working blast furnaces built at the site; a fourth furnace was under construction in the early years of the 20th century but was never operated. The works successfully adapted to changing conditions, but was unable to compete on scale, and closed in the early 1920s.
The stack was restored by the state in 1999.
The dam that was built on the Blackberry River to provide power for the furnace and other industrial operations was repaired by the state in 2010.
HVRHS’s Victoria Brooks navigates traffic on her way to the hoop. She scored a game-high 17 points against Nonnewaug Tuesday, Dec. 16.
FALLS VILLAGE — Berkshire League basketball returned to Housatonic Valley Regional High School Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Nonnewaug High School’s girls varsity team beat Housatonic 52-42 in the first game of the regular season.
The atmosphere was intense in Ed Tyburski Gym with frequent fouls, traps and steals on the court. Fans of both sides heightened the energy for the return of varsity basketball.
HVRHS started with a lead in the first quarter. The score balanced out by halftime and then Nonnewaug caught fire with 20 points in the third quarter. Despite a strong effort by HVRHS in the last quarter, the Chiefs held on to win.
Housatonic’s Victoria Brooks scored a game-high 17 points and Olivia Brooks scored 14. Carmela Egan scored 8 points with 14 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists. Maddy Johnson had 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and 2 points, and Aubrey Funk scored 1 point.
Nonnewaug was led by Gemma Hedrei with 13 points. Chloe Whipple and Jayda Gladding each scored 11 points. Sarah Nichols scored 9, Bryce Gilbert scored 5, Gia Savarese scored 2 and Jazlyn Delprincipe scored 1.
CORNWALL — At the Dec. 9 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, the commission had a pre-application discussion with Karl Saliter, owner of Karl on Wheels, who plans to operate his moving business at 26 Kent Road South, which is an existing retail space.
Saliter said he will use the existing retail section of the building as a mixed retail space and office, and the rear of the building for temporary storage during moving operations.
There will be no external “personal” storage proposed for the property.
The commission decided that Saliter should go ahead with a site plan application under the regulations for “retail stores and trades.”
P&Z also set a public hearing on a proposed text amendment on dimensional requirements for properties in the West Cornwall General Business (GB) zone. It will be held Jan. 13, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Cornwall Library.
FALLS VILLAGE — The Board of Selectmen at its Dec. 17 meeting heard concerns about the condition of Sand Road.
First Selectman David Barger reported a resident came before the board to talk about the road that is often used as feeder between Salisbury and Canaan.
“The person said there is not proper maintenance of that road and it is often the scene of accidents,” Barger said in a phone interview. “There is a problem with the canopy of trees that hang over it, making it hard to keep clear, but there is also the problem of speeding, which is terrible.”
As a former state trooper, he said he is familiar with the problem of drivers going too fast on that road, describing one case in which he had to charge someone for traveling way above the speed limit.
Barger said the town cannot reconfigure the roadway at this time, but officials and road crew members will keep an extra eye on it as a short-term solution.
In other business, Barger said the selectmen plan to call a town meeting sometime next month. Residents will be asked to take the remaining funds, which total $48,200, from the non-recurring capital fund to allow for Allied Engineering to perform engineering studies on the proposed salt shed. Money for construction has already been secured through a STEAP grant, which the town received in the amount of $625,000.
“We’re looking at critical infrastructure projects and this is one component,” he said.
At that town meeting, there will also be a vote to take $2,000 from the town’s discretionary fund to pay Cardinal Engineering for work on repair of the Cobble Road bridge.
