Vesuvius Iron Furnace - Ironton, OH
Posted by: 
fatcat161
N 38° 36.332 W 082° 37.823
17S E 358037 N 4274264
The Vesuvius Iron Furnace was one of 46 charcoal iron furnaces located in the six county Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio. It is in the Wayne National Forest.
Waymark Code: WM6YH8
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2009
Views: 7
The Vesuvius Iron Furnace was one of 46 charcoal iron furnaces located in the six county Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio. The furnaces produced iron from 1818 to 1916. By 1875, southeastern Ohio led the nation in iron production. Civil War armaments, pots, kettles, steel tires, train wheels, and other tools were made of iron from this region. The hulls for both the Monitor and Merrimac were fired from ore mined in this region.
Marker Text:
The Vesuvius Iron Furnace was one of 69 charcoal iron furnaces located in the six county Hanging Rock Iron Region. This 100-mile long region extends from Greenup County, Kentucky to Hocking County, Ohio. Built in 1833, Vesuvius began production using the cold blast method to produce iron. In 1863, this furnace was the first to experiment and adopt the revolutionary hot blast method. Vesuvius Furnace produced 10 tons of iron each day until its final blast in 1906.
Today only this stack remains, but in its prime Vesuvius Furnace supported hundreds of workers and their families and played a key role in the early iron industry.
The men who owned the furnaces were called ironmasters, and many played another significant role in history. Many of them were strong abolitionists and supported the Underground Railroad. The furnace complexes provided safe houses and money for the movement of slaves seeking freedom. The secret routes that the runaway slaves followed lie along the same roads as southern Ohio’s iron furnaces. With the help of the ironmasters, other families and supporters of the Underground Railroad, hundreds of escaped slaves reached their ultimate goal: FREEDOM.
Address:
13700 US Highway 33
Nelsonville, Oh USA
45764
Web site: [Web Link]
Site Details: free
Open to the public?: Public
Name of organization who placed the marker: Ohio Underground Railroad Association
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