By 1789, Hopewell Furnace was the second largest of 14 furnaces in Pennsylvania with annual capacity of 700 tons. Yet, the operation was still not profitable. In 1794, James Wilson bought the operation, but was forced to auction the complex in 1796, and fled to North Carolina to avoid his creditors. In 1800, Daniel Buckley, and his brothers-in-law Matthew and Thomas Brooke, purchased the furnace and operated it as a family business for the next 83 years. Daniel Buckley was succeed upon his death in 1828 by his son Matthew Brooke Buckley, and then his grandson Edward S. Buckley. In 1801, the two bellows were repaired. In 1804, the furnace was renovated, a new
charcoal house built, the water wheel and
head race remodeled, with the
overshot wheel replaced by a breastshot wheel. In 1805, a
stamping mill helped recover iron from the slag, which operated until 1817. The partners were forced to close down operations from 1808 until 1816, due to the national recession, and land title litigation. In 1817, a
cupola furnace was added to resmelt
pig iron into
cast iron to
sand cast sash weights, pots, skillets, kettles, flat irons, wheels, mill screws, apple mill nuts, clock weights, anvils, hammers, grates, grindstone wheels, mold boards, and stove plates. The 1830s were the most profitable years, and from 1825 until 1844, stove plates were the most lucrative product. In 1839, 5,152 stoves were produced. While Clement Brooke served as resident manager and iron master from 1816 until 1848, he added a cellar, kitchen and southwest wing to the ironmaster's house, enlarged the spring house and company store, and built tenant houses and a schoolhouse. Stove plate production ended in 1844, and over the next four decades, mainly pig iron was produced. Customers included the
Reading Railroad. Dr. Charles M. Clingan, Clement Brooke's son-in-law, succeeded as resident manager over the next 10 years. He was followed by John R. Shafer for the next 15 years, and Harker Long as the last resident manager. The furnace ceased operations on 15 June 1883, and the remaining pig iron stock sold off over the next five years. ==Restoration==