Iron Furnaces were built to extract iron from the iron ores native to the region. Producing iron requires 3 things: iron ore, limestone, and coke. Tremendous amounts of raw materials were needed to produce the iron. Roughly 300-350 acres of timber were consumed each year to provide the charcoal needed to fuel each iron furnace. The land surrounding them was literally stripped clean.

The iron industry flourished in the mid nineteenth century. Ohio had 47 iron furnaces throughout the legendary Hanging Rock Iron Region. This area extended from Logan, Ohio to Mt. Savage, Kentucky, and it contained all the materials necessary to produce high grade iron. This region was one of the leading iron producers in the world at the time.

Small villages grew up around each of the iron furnaces. They were named after the only reason for them to exist in the first place, the iron furnace. The villages contained a church, schoolhouse, cemetery, company store, company office, and numerous houses. The villages quickly faded away into oblivion after the iron furnaces went out of blast.

The iron industry in Southern Ohio ceased in 1916 when the last operating iron furnace, Jefferson, went out of blast. The discovery of richer iron ores in the Great Lakes Region, and the lack of timber required to fuel the iron furnaces, led to the end of this era.

Today, only 18 iron furnaces remain intact within the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, and most are in varying stages of decay. I've successfully located and photographed them all.