During the same period, rich iron seams near Lake Superior were discovered. But shortly after the Civil War, the Hanging Rock seams were largely gone. This was the home of the Ironmaster of the Olive Furnace, due north of Vesuvius Furnace.Д®arly predictions had boasted the iron ore in the Hanging Rock region would never be excelled in quality and was in sufficient supply to produce iron for 2,700 years. The Ironmasters, however, lived quite well. This kept the workers tied to the site since the scrip they earned had limited use. The workers were normally paid in 'scrip', shown below, which was actually money printed by each furnace and redeemable only at the Company Store. The boom brought in workers who were housed in 'company towns' that sprawled around the furnaces. Even so, the forests couldn't grow fast enough to keep up with the furnaces, and an ever-widening circle of land was required to cut and haul wood. Charcoal made from second or third growth wood was said to be superior to that made from virgin timber. Each furnace required cutting 300 to 350 acres of timber annually to keep up with the demand. To fuel the furnaces, the forests were repeatedly cut, and the wood converted to charcoal. It was said that during the War, the demand for iron became so great that many iron masters would start the pigs of iron off to war before they cooled, and occasionally the hot iron would set the wagons on fire on the way to market. Hanging Rock iron was noted for its rust and corrosion- resistant characteristics. Other armaments as well as pots, kettles, wagon wheels, and other implements were made of iron from this region. The steel hulls for both the Merrimac and the Monitor were fired from ore mined in this region (a lump of hematite or iron ore is shown below).Дuring the war, the Hanging Rock Iron District was one of only three places capable of producing the high quality iron needed for heavy cannon.

The furnaces produced iron from 1818 to 1916, and by 1875, southeastern Ohio led the nation in iron production. The Vesuvius Iron Furnace was one of 46 charcoal iron furnaces located in the six county Hanging Rock Iron Region of southern Ohio. Throughout southern Ohio are the remnants of the iron industry. GPS Lat/Long coordinates for the furnace are 38 deg 36' 20' / 82 deg 37' 50'. For a downloadable brochure on Iron Furnaces on the Wayne National Forest click here

The forest iron forest