Underwood Furnace / Iron Made in Kentucky
Underwood Furnace. Built ¾ mile north in 1846-47 by James C. Sloo and Leonard White. It was a brick structure with a steam powered air-blast, using locally made charcoal fuel to produce pig iron from ore mined nearby. Iron was shipped by steamboat to fabricators. After 1848, operations were transferred to the neighboring Hopewell Furnace.
Iron Made in Kentucky. A major producer since 1791, Ky.
ranked 3rd in US in 1830s, 11th in
1965. Charcoal timber, native ore,
limestone supplied material
for numerous furnaces making pig iron,
utensils, munitions in the Hanging
Rock, Red River. Between Rivers,
Rolling Fork, Green River Regions.
Charcoal-furnace era ended in 1880s
with depletion of ore and timber
and use of modern methods.
Erected 1970 by Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Department of Highways. (Marker Number 1348.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources. In addition, it is included in the Kentucky Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.
Location.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Hopewell Furnace / Iron Made in Kentucky (within shouting distance of this marker); Livingston County Courthouse (approx. 5.7 miles away); County Named, 1798 (approx. 5.7 miles away); A Civil War Base (approx. 5.7 miles away); Ned Buntline / Gower House (approx. 5.8 miles away); Jefferson’s Sister (approx. 6½ miles away); Crittenden Furnace (approx. 7.8 miles away); "Oak Hill" (approx. 8.8 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on April 5, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 133 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 4, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
