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HOWARD -- Summer Tour Season at Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village launches this Sunday, June 8, with a special Civil War program presented in association with Bellefonte's Civil War Weekend. The program is offered only to rail excursion ticket holders. Purchase your tickets from www.bellefontetrain.org. The train will leave Bellefonte Train Station at 10 a.m. with return to the station at 1 p.m.
Upon arrival at Curtin Village, passengers will walk a short distance to the quaint Curtin United Methodist Church to hear the stories of eight Curtin Village Civil War veterans. In total, there were 37 soldiers who left Curtin Village to support the Union cause (as determined to date from scattered records). A third of those "iron men" had a brother who also served. Curtin and Bathurst first cousins marched off to fight alongside Shultz and Funk father-son duos. For them and the loved ones they left behind, Civil War service was very much a family affair.
Featured during the program will be James Barnhart Curtin, twins Constance and James Barger, William Hugh Shultz, Samuel Bryan, Austin Curtin, Adam and Sarah Peese Boyer and John Irvin Curtin.
At the conclusion of this program, guests will be offered a complimentary, 34-page booklet titled, Iron Men in Union Blue: Eagle Iron Plantation's Civil War Soldiers. This booklet includes biographical sketches of the 37 soldiers and is only available at this time to train excursion passengers. Photographs accompany the text when available.
Following the Civil War program, guests will walk back to Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village for tours of the Curtin Mansion and the Iron Furnace Complex. The morning's programs conclude with the train's departure from Curtin Village at 12:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available.
This program is being offered in conjunction with Bellefonte's Civil War Weekend through the generous support of the Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society, The Roland Curtin Foundation and the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association. Financial support has also been provided by a grant made possible by The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Board of Commissioners. The booklet "Iron Men in Union Blue" was made possible by the excellent research and resolute dedication of Philip Ruth.
Contact Sue Hannegan at curtinvillage@gmail.com or call 570-220-9290 for more info.