A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770 - 1970

In the northern Ranger District of the Daniel Boone National Forest can be found the remains of a once-thriving iron-smelting industry, in the form of piles of squared stone blocks overrun with vines and surrounded with chunks of material resembling glass. At other locations, pyramidal stacks of similar blocks spell out the location of a long-defunct iron furnace. A few of these furnaces are relatively intact to the point where they are now a tourist attraction and a danger to small boys with a spirit of adventure.

The iron industry started early in the life of Kentucky. On October 3, 1782, a German, Jacob Myers by name, left Richmond, Virginia, for the wilderness of Kentucky. While the Kentucky country lured many men in search of gold or silver, Myers was in search of a baser metal iron. He apparently found what he was searching for, as records show that he surveyed, entered, and patented nearly 10,000 acres of land on the watersheds of Slate and Mill creeks in what, today, is Bath County, Kentucky. These lands were conveyed to him under grants signed by the Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry.

In March of 1791, he started the construction of Kentucky's first iron furnace on Slate Creek, just below the mouth of Mill Creek, for the purpose of smelting iron ore from deposits found locally. Today, the well-preserved remains of this old furnace may be found beside Ky-36, about four miles southeast of the town of Owingsville. On the site of this aging furnace is a large, bronze marker, which reads:

"Bourbon Furnace Built 1791.
Land Patented 1782 by Jacob Myers.
Fort Protected Furnace from Indians.
First Blast 1792.
Myers' Interest sold to John C. Owings & Co.
1807 Col. Thos. Deye Owings contracted to supply
Cannon balls to American Navy.
Ammunition was floated down the rivers in 1812
to Andrew Jackson at New Orleans.
1822 Col. Owings sold furnace to Robert Wickliffe
who sold it to Major Mason.
Last blast made 1836."

This was the first and most widely known blast furnace in Kentucky. During this period, there were at least six furnaces in blast for the smelting of iron ore in Bath County, which provided most of the iron west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was from this source that all of Kentucky, for many years, received its iron and iron products. The Bourbon Furnace was the first iron foundry situated west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Each furnace operation was a bustling, self-contained community known as an iron plantation, which operated under the direction of an owner, or iron master. The plantation consisted of the mansion of the iron master, cottages for the laborers, tool and storage sheds, shops for canpenters and blacksmiths, a store for general merchandise, stables for mules and oxen, a school for the employees' children, and the blast furnace itself.

Although the furnace required only a small crew to operate it, dozens of men and animals were required to support its operation. For example, many crews were required in the woods to fell timber, burn it into charcoal, for working the ore diggings, for mining the limestone, and for hauling the ore, charcoal and limestone to the furnace site, as well as caring for the oxen and mules used in the operation.

The general store operated at the Bourbon Furnace was one of the first in this section of the state. The goods and supplies which could be found at this store were purchased in Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh, and floated down the Ohio River in flatboats to Limestone (today's Maysville), and hauled from there to the Bourbon Furnace store by wagon.

The Bourbon Furnace became the meeting place of many distinguished men of that period. The soldiers and statesmen who came west to claim land granted them by Congress stopped there to rest, purchase supplies, and obtain advice from the more-experienced woodsmen. General Spotswood of Virginia was a visitor for a part of the year 1795, as was Louis Philippe, who afterwards became King of France.

The Bourbon Furnace went into its initial blast in the summer of 1791. Its blast machinery was driven by water power from Slate Creek which, during dry periods, frequently failed to produce sufficient power to provide the required blast to operate the furnace regularly.

Iron ore to supply the furnace came from an area about two miles to the southeast, and was hauled to the furnace site by teams of oxen. The production of this furnace was about three tons of iron per day when in full blast. (This was probably the origin of the slang term, full blast, for an operation working at maximum effort.) This operation lacked much inefficiency, requiring about three tons of ore to produce one ton of iron, as much iron was thrown off in the slag.

Once the iron was manufactured, it posed a problem of delivery to market. To solve this, a trail known as the Iron Works Road was built through the wilderness. Beginning at the town of Owingsville, it reached directly west, passing between the towns of Mount Sterling, Winchester and Paris, skirted the northern section of Fayette County, came close to the village of White Sulphur in Scott County, and terminated at Frankfort on the Kentucky River. The products of the Bourbon Furnace were hauled over this road by oxcart to central Kentucky. Many iron castings were sent by boat down the Ohio River to Cincinnati and Louisville. When the Mississippi River was opened to navigation by the Treaty with Spain, shipments of boatloads of castings from the Bourbon Furnace to New Orleans became a regular event. In 1807, the Bourbon Furnace contracted with the American government to supply cannonballs to the Navy. These cannonballs were hauled to Maysville by oxcart, then sent by river to New Orleans. There still exists a receipt for such a shipment which reads: "Received from Thomas Deye Owings the following balls to be delivered to the commanding officer at New Orleans, viz: 413, 24-pound balls and 375, 32-pound balls weighing in all 21,912 pounds — in good order and neatly executed. John C. Owings, Jr., Sergeant Major."

During the War of 1812, the Bourbon Furnace supplied the Army Corps of Artillery with cannonballs, canisters and grapeshot. It is a known fact that some of the cannonballs fired by General Andrew Jackson's artillery at the Battle of New Orleans were cast at the Bourbon Furnace.

The Bourbon Furnace was originally built for the purpose of casting ten-gallon kettles, which were greatly in demand by the pioneers for the evaporation of water from the salt springs for salt and for boiling the sap of maple trees, which was the principal source of sugar. However, the demand for other necessities of the frontier resulted in the production of cooking pots, household utensils, nails, plowshares, axe blades, and similar items.

The final blast of the Bourbon Furnace was made in August of 1838, after continuous operation for 47 years.

About the year 1820, Beaver Furnace on Brushy Creek, about four miles from Frenchburg in what is now Menifee County, was erected by J. C. Mason, and began operation in that year under the management of Robert Crockett, iron master. In addition, Beaver Furnace supported not only a blast furnace, but a forge from which they furnished castings of every description and pattern, as well as bar iron of any size and shape.

The remains of the Beaver Furnace were in evidence, but were covered by the waters of the impoundment of the Cave Run Lake on the Licking River.

The Estill Steam Furnace was constructed in 1829, by Thomas Deye Owings, the leader in Kentucky's once-thriving iron industry. Here, iron ore, charcoal and limestone were utilized to make pig iron, which was made into finished products by the forges at Clay City. This furnace was unique in that it utilized steam to operate its blast, rather than water power, which was used by most such furnaces.

This furnace operated continuously from its construction to 1879, with the exception of the period of the Civil War, 1860-1866. After 1879, the industry declined due to the obsolesence of the manufacturing process and the openings of the iron area in the northern Great Lakes Region. The ruins of this furnace are located on privately owned land within the Daniel Boone National Forest approximately six miles north of the junction of Ky-52 and KY-213 in Estill County. A more accurate map location of the remains of the Estill Steam Furnace is at the junction of Ky-213-1057 and Forest Service Road 920.

In 1838, another blast furnace, known as the Caney Furnace, was constructed on the Caney Fork of the Licking River. This furnace went into blast in August of 1838. The remains of this furnace still exist on Caney Fork at the extreme north end of the Pioneer Weapons Area of the Daniel Boone National Forest. However, unfortunately, this site was also covered by the waters of the Cave Run Lake.

Another blast furnace, known as Clear Creek Furnace, was located within the boundaries of the Daniel Boone National Forest about five miles south of the present town of Salt Lick, Bath County, on Forest Service Road 129. This furnace was built in 1839. It is of cut stone, the stack originally being 40 feet in height and 10-1/2 feet across inside. This furnace burned charcoal, using air and air blasts developed by steam power. Its iron was used mainly for railway car wheels. This furnace operated from its construction in 1839 to about 1857, when it became idle. It was rebuilt in the period 1872-1873, and was renamed Bath Furnace. In 1874, it produced 1,339 tons of pig iron. The final blast of this furnace took place in 1875. The site of this furnace is on government-owned land administered by the Daniel Boone National Forest on Forest Service Road 129 on the south border of the Pioneer Weapons Area. The remains of this furnace have been cleaned up, and are protected by a fence. The U.S. Forest Service has constructed a camp and picnic area adjacent to the furnace, and has erected signs informing the public of its history. This furnace, adjacent to the campground and picnic area, has proved to be a great tourist attraction.

Cottage Furnace was located approximately seven miles northeast of the present-day town of Irvine, Kentucky, in Estill County. It was built in 1854, and was operated from that date under the supervision of several successive owners until 1879. A village with a church, shop, and a school grew up around the furnace. Some of the iron made here was cast into household utensils for local and Bluegrass area markets, and much of the production, in the form of pig iron, was hauled to the Clay City Forge and Rolling Mill, where it was made into bars, nails, and similar products. The region in which this furnace was located was known as the Red River Iron District. This furnace, located on government-owned land administered by the Daniel Boone National Forest, has been cleaned up, protected from the public, and a modern picnic and recreation area constructed adjacent to it. Signs informing the public of its history have been erected.

Another furnace, located within the boundaries of the Daniel Boone National Forest, is in Estill County about 12 miles from the town of Irvine. This was the largest of the charcoal-burning furnaces in Kentucky. It was a double furnace, built as a single structure, 55 feet high and 115 feet long, with the masonry laid up without benefit of mortar. It is located on Furnace Fork of Miller's Creek in Estill County. This furnace, designed by Frank and Fred Fitch, was built by Frank and Sam Wortley in 1869. It is reputed to be the largest furnace of its type in the world. Over the front of the furnace, a special block is inset which reads: Red River Furnace — Frank Fitch, Designer. Frank Wortley, Builder, 1869. This furnace was operated from 1870-1874, and employed 1,000 men. In 1870, this furnace produced 10,000 tons of pig iron, valued at better than $60,000. The town of Fitchburg, which grew up adjacent to this furnace, was chartered in 1871. This town no longer exists. The furnace is located on privately owned land within the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is the most carefully constructed furnace of the group, and today is in the best state of preservation. Negotiations have been made in the past to obtain this furnace by the Daniel Boone National Forest but, to date, such negotiations have not been successful. It would be highly desirable, from a historical standpoint, that this furnace be acquired, protected and preserved by some public agency before further vandalism or deterioration takes place.

Kentucky's iron production reached its peak during the 1840's and the 1850's. By 1860, it was definitely on the decline, and only the coming of the Civil War prolonged its life for another decade or two. By the year 1875, one by one the hearts of the old charcoal furnaces grew cold, and Kentucky's once-famous iron industry came to its end.

The remains of these famous old iron furnaces within or adjacent to the Daniel Boone National Forest constitute a historical resource of interest to the public, if they are made aware of the history connected with them. The iron industry of this area played an important part in the early settlement and development of the area now included within the northern part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.