OLEY FORGE, south of the little hamlet called Oley Churches, and about ten miles from the confluence of the Manatawny and Schuylkill rivers, was organized by John Ross in 1744, and was in active operation for one hundred and twenty years. In 1760, a valuable deposit of iron ore was found in Oley Township, and in 1765 Dietrich Welcker erected OLEY FURNACE, near the mountain; it was owned by General Daniel Udree during the Revolution. PINE FORGE was among the earliest of those erected in the Manatawny district, on land conveyed by William Penn to Thomas Rutter; the original patent is in possession of the Rutter family. There is every evidence that the group of early forges and furnaces had a general interchange in their business affairs, as the owners of the plants were almost identical; William Bird, in 1733, was cutting wood for the use of Pine Forge, at two shillings ninepence a day. Ten years later we find him renting one-eighth of Pine Forge at £40 per annum. The management of the old forges was patriarchal in its character; grist mill, sawmill, and the village store were all under control of the company, and the records of the old forges and furnaces are filled with human interests of an earlier day. WINDSOR FURNACE, [Illustration: TRINITY CHURCH, READING, BUILT IN 1791] on Furnace Creek, under shadow of the Blue Mountains, besides making pig iron and the usual hollow ware cast in colonial times, was noted for remarkable artistic work under the management of Jones, Keim & Co.; one casting, being a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” is now in possession of the Philadelphia Exchange. [Illustration: BEDFORD COUNTY] IX BEDFORD COUNTY Formed March 9, 1771; named by Governor John Penn, in 1776, from fort of this name in the county. Is widely known for its mineral springs. When first established it embraced entire southwest part of the province. Mean altitude 1100-1200 feet above sea level; in northwest at Blue Knob, near Blair and Cambria County line, is highest elevation in Pennsylvania, 3136 feet above sea level. Surface is broken by parallel ranges of mountains, with narrow, beautiful valleys, in a high state of cultivation. Chief industries are farming, stock raising, and apple growing. It is said that the most important fields of bituminous coal in Pennsylvania are largely in the northeast of this County known as “The Broad Top Coal Fields.” Population Scotch-Irish, German, and English.