According to the website: (
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Olive Furnace is another of my favorite furnace sites, owing to the unique arch. The furnace was built with a brick arch to support the boilers. A rear arch enabled the furnace to be charged, but this portion of the structure has fallen away. Evidence of the road leading to the furnace can be found in the woods behind the stack.
The inner stack has partially fallen, leaving a nice cross section, though not nearly as nice as the Buckhorn cross section. The RH tuyere leads upward to the underside of the arch and can be seen clearly in the last picture.
Unlike many furnaces, the Olive Furnace has a tuyere located to the rear of the furnace.
The furnace is currently in fair condition and may be on private land. It would be nice to preserve the furnace and arch, due to it's unique structure and prominent location.
First Visit: 1Q-2001
Last Visit: 1Q-2002
History
Start of Operation: 1846 (Lesley reports 1847)
Blowout:
Daily Tonnage: 16
Built By: Olive Furnace was built by John Cambell and John Peters. Madison Cole, William Clements and J.L. Thompson were also involved in the construction of the furnace. John Peters was also an original owner of the Olive Foundry and Machine Shops. (Lawrence Register)
Stack: 37 feet (Lesley reports 36 feet w/9 foot bosh)
Blast: Hot
Type: Charcoal
Per J.P. Lesley, the ch fn was owned by Campbell, Peters, Bimpson & McGugin and managed by William N. McGugin. The fn produced 1,932 tons of grey iron out of hematite ore from the outcrop of some of the beds of the lower coal measures.