1162 Salt River Furnace

Category: Markers

Marker reads, Stood one mile west. It was a stone stack 33 feet high with a maximum inner diameter of 10 feet Its fuel was charcoal, and its air blast machinery was driven by a steam engine, blowing preheated air through the stack. Built in 1832, perhaps by John H. Baker, it produced 700 to 800 tons of iron and castings annually until operations ended, 1853. Back of Marker- Iron Made in Kentucky - A major producer since 1791, Kentucky ranked 3rd in US in 1830s, 11th in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, limestone supplied material for numerous furnaces making pig iron, utensils, munitions in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, Green River Regions. Old charcoal furnace era ended by depletion of ore and timber and the growth of railroads.