By Dari Kotzker
NJ Today

State, county and local officials, along with archeologists and historians, officially opened the newest historic exhibit at Trenton’s Capitol Complex — Petty’s Run archeological site. The site is one of five places in 1750s America where steel was fabricated and was an integral part of the Industrial Revolution.

Archeologist Ian Burrow says it’s the only excavated colonial steel furnace in the United States and the entire North America. Throughout its 300 year existence, the location has gone through several phases or landscapes, including a hidden fresh water stream used by Indians and early colonists, a plating mill building in the 1730s, a steel furnace in the mid-1740s and Trenton’s first cotton mill in 1812.

The archeological dig is located between the State House and Old Barracks Museum, so officials anticipate this site will be visited by thousands of students and tourists as they travel between the other historic buildings. Petty’s Run has six interpretive panels and a walkway around the site where visitors can look and learn about its history, ranging from the Revolutionary era to the Industrial Revolution.

The project was funded by the State and Mercer County, with the total cost of $1.8 million. The agreement also calls for the state, through the State Capitol Joint Management Commission, to contribute an estimated $300,000 for maintenance and upkeep over a 10-year period.

GALLERY:

Follow @DariNJTV