St. Charles (Cocheo) Furnace
Posted by: 
miatabug
N 41° 01.303 W 079° 23.316
17T E 635479 N 4542418
The remains of this furnace can be seen from the side of the road. There is a pull-off for a public fishing area about 50 yards from the coordinates.
Waymark Code: WM44H6
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/06/2008
Views: 41
The St. Charles Furnace, originally called Cocheco Furnace, built in 1844 or 1845, was one of the largest stacks in Clarion County. It was 10 feet across the bosh, 33 feet in height; situated on Leatherwood Creek, about 2 miles from the Low Grade Railroad. The property, adjacent to Donald G. Phillips, is now [ca.1887] owned by Reid and Howley of Pittsburgh. It was built by John and Samuel Wilson. Andrew Reed, a son of James and Jane (Blair) Reed, broke the first sod for the furnace. It was purchased in the spring of 1846 by J. and P. Kerr of Clarion, leased in 1861 to Michael McCue who operated it until 1865 when it was dismantled.
Originally St. Charles Furnace [Cocheo Furnace] was built as a charcoal iron furnace. The Hot blast was introduced in 1857. It is the only furnace that employed raw coal. Though essentially a charcoal stack, this furnace was run for one year on coke, made from the Freeport lower coal seam and for nearly a year on raw coal from the Freeport upper coal seam, which in this vicinity is a "block" character [coal]. Innumerable thin layers of mineral charcoal disseminated through the bed, divide the bituminous portion intop such thin laminae that any appreciable swelling or melting of the mass is rendered impossible, and each lump preserves its shape until it is entirely consumed.
In 1845, it produced 1,000 tons; in 1850 it produced 2,000 tons. Furnace was dismantled in 1865.
All that remains today [ca.1887] is a, crumbling pile of stones, and many passersby never notice it as they travel along the Rockville Road, Route 854.
(from History of Clarion County, 1887)
Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you or your GPS with the iron furnace ruins.