From Belmont to Fitchburg: Discovering Kentucky’s Iron Furnace Legacy

While iron production in Kentucky dates back to 1791 with Bourbon Iron Works, it was in the 1830s that Kentucky became a major player in iron production, ranking 3rd in the nation behind New York and Pennsylvania. 

With Kentucky producing so much iron at that time, it’s no surprise that 80 iron furnaces were built throughout Kentucky between 1790 – 1900. I seriously had no idea how this all worked, so as I always do, I went to work researching pig iron (yep, pig iron) in Kentucky. 

What was an Iron Furnace?

Iron furnaces were sandstone pyramids, typically built with a 25-foot square base and a height ranging from 25 to 40 feet. This pyramid of stone, lined with fire brick, was built along a hillside allowing easy access to the open top where iron ore, limestone, and charcoal would be dumped into the furnace to be burned in order to extract pure iron from the ore (a process called smelting).

In addition to needing a hillside, a water supply would also be required for power. The all-important bellows, needed to force air into the furnace to raise the fire temperature to roughly 2,192° F, were powered by a water wheel (a few were later steam-powered). A large shed holding casting molds was built in front of the furnace. The liquid iron was released from the base of the furnace into the molds on the floor of the shed.

Once cooled, the iron bars were sent on wagons and/or flatboats to forges and blacksmiths, where the iron would be heated and crafted into utensils and munitions, such as kettles, frying pans, hand tools, nails, wagon wheels, and cannon balls. (Kentucky pig iron was used to craft munitions for both the War of 1812 and the Civil War.)

Pig iron could also be refined further into wrought iron.

Why was it called pig iron?

Of course, I had to know where the name pig iron came from, so I had to do a little more research. The answer was quite silly.

The moulds were laid out in sand beds such that they could be fed from a common runner. The group of moulds resembled a litter of sucking pigs, the ingots being called “pigs” and the runner the “sow.”

Metallics.org

Iron Plantations

Running an iron furnace was a major endeavor.  It not only required over 400 acres of ore and timber to keep it going for a year, but it also required a manager and numerous workers. Typically “company towns” called iron plantations were built around the furnace which included worker cottages and stables, a general store, carpenter and blacksmith shops, schools for the workers’ children, etc. The Ironmaster, the owner of the furnace company, typically did very well, living in a larger home near their business.

A well-run operation required a physician, bookkeeper, company store manager, stonemasons, colliers and woodcutters, founders, blacksmiths, quarrymen, haulers, and other support personnel.

Kentucky’s Historic Iron Work Industry / National Park Service

Kentucky Iron Industry comes to an End

With the depletion of our natural resources (timber and iron ore) and the growth of larger, more efficient iron corporations located in more industrialized states, “the hearts of the old charcoal furnaces grew cold, and Kentucky’s once-famous iron industry came to its end” as it neared the turn of the century. (NPS History)

Our Visit

One of my cousins had contacted me a few months ago, showing me pictures of an iron furnace he had once visited. At that time, he explained to me that it was on private property, so we discussed going together to see it, since he knew its exact location. We finally made that happen this past Saturday.

We jumped in the truck and headed out to Belmont Furnace in Bullitt County. We were lucky that the owner of the property was at home when we arrived and that he was kind enough to let us go back to see the furnace, located in a field behind his home. (Due to it being on private property, it can not be toured, and I won’t disclose its exact location.) This furnace was built in 1844. During six months of 1857, the furnace produced 1,140 tons of pig iron that was shipped to Louisville to be made into nails. 

Photo 1: The Belmont Furnace as it is today, on private property. Photos 2 & 4: The sides of the furnace where bellows would have moved air to increase the fire temperature. Photo 3: The interior of the furnace is lined with fire bricks. Photos 5 & 6: Kentucky Historical Markers located on the main road explaining the history of Iron and the Belmont Furnace / All Personal Photos

Belmont is a Bullitt county community a few miles south of Shepherdsville. It was established early in the nineteenth century at an iron furnace called Crooked Creek Furnace. The furnace was later bought by a Pennsylvania company and renamed Belmont. The furnace closed in the 1870s.
The Crooked Creek Furnace post office opened in 1847, was renamed Belmont in 1854, and later moved to the new Louisville and Nashville Railroad station. The post office closed in 1974.

Kentucky Atlas

Reflection

So, I knew absolutely nothing about the Iron Industry in Kentucky when I wandered out with my cousin to see the furnace. I was intrigued by the stone pyramid he had shown me in his pictures. Having never seen anything like it, I wanted to see it in person. As I always do, I researched the history upon my return, and I found it fascinating. I’m really not sure how I missed this piece of our history. Truly…. I’m baffled.

Just as the spring houses are all that remain of our Revolutionary War stations, the stone furnaces are all that remain of our Iron Plantations of the mid-to-late 1800s. (If only more things had been built with stone!) I am overjoyed that sketches exist to show the entire structure. I always try to relate the unknown to the known, and I imagine the water wheel and bellows to function similar to that of a grist mill. I’m still a little unsure about how the iron was removed from the other materials. My educated guess is that something like a super-sized colander or sieve separated the solids from the liquids. I know there was slag that was a by-product of the process, but that’s all science, and I’m a history person! I think I’m as close as I’m going to get when it comes to understanding how it all worked. LOL!

At first, I wasn’t going to make a post out of this visit because the furnace was located on private property. You know that I’m all about sharing places that you can visit, too. So, when I located four Iron Furnaces that can be visited, I changed my mind! I had to share this piece of Kentucky history. After all, I couldn’t possibly be the only one who didn’t learn about this in history class!

I have listed the four locations below, but if I had to pick only one to visit, I would highly recommend the Fitchburg Furnace. It’s a historical site that touts some pretty cool stats!

The historic Fitchburg Furnace was constructed in 1868 and operated at the peak of the iron industry. It was the last charcoal iron smelting furnace built in America. Standing 81 feet tall, the furnace is considered the largest charcoal furnace in the world. Its intricate architectural design places it among the top 25 dry-stone masonry structures worldwide.

National Park Service

I do hope that if you have the opportunity to see one of these iron furnaces, you take it. To me, the craftsmanship is unbelievable, making each one beautiful and worthy of a visit.

What are you waiting for? Get out and see Kentucky!

Happy Travels!