Buckeye Furnace (1851 - 1894)
Buckeye Furnace was the second charcoal-fueled iron furnace to be built along Raccoon Creek. The furnace, constructed in 1851 by Thomas Price, was financed by Newkirk, Daniels, and Company under the name of Buckeye Furnace Company. In its early years, during a forty two-week blast period Buckeye Furnace produced an average of 7.3 tons of iron daily. Later construction increased the height of the stone stack and raised the output of the furnace to twelve tons per day.
In 1862, the company was sold to H. S. Bundy, who operated it for two years and then sold it to Terry, Auston, and Company. In 1867, a group of Welshmen bought the company and ran the furnace until 1894, when operations ceased.
Buckeye Furnace represents the transformation of the United States from a small agricultural nation to an industrial giant. Opening in 1851, the furnace used time-tested methods and technology. Buckeye Furnace closed in 1894 because the company could no longer produce the quantity of iron necessary to stay competitive with coke-fueled furnaces.
Industry
Buckeye Furnace employed about 100 men at full production. They came from the eastern United States,
England, Wales, and Germany. Forty of these men had jobs near or at the furnace and office. The rest worked
in the surrounding area,mining iron ore and limestone, cutting down trees, hauling the raw materials to the
furnace, and the finished iron to the railroad. With their families, nearly 500 people lived in the area around
the furnace.
Buckeye Furnace is a monument
to the American iron industry
workers whose backbreaking
labor helped build a prosperous
and powerful nation.
Topics and series.
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Location. 39° 3.283′ N, 82° 27.517′ W. Marker is in Buckeye Furnace, Ohio, in Jackson County. It is on Buckeye Park Road (County Road 167) 0.2 miles north of Buckeye Road (County Road 165), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 900 Buckeye Park Rd, Wellston OH 45692, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern Ohio Hill Country. It is also in the American Midwest, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hanging Rock Region (within shouting distance
Other markers no longer nearby. Buckeye Furnace (was here, next to this marker but has been confirmed missing); a different marker also named Hanging Rock Region (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Scales (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Stock Shed (was about 700 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on February 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 544 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 10, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
