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The following list of iron furnaces in Clarion County was compiled from a variety of sources as listed in the document.  Additions and corrections are always welcome.

Redbank Furnace Note:  References in parentheses in the table below refer to sources listed at the end of this document.

Furnace Owner Date Erected
Beaver Leonard & Sample (Caldwell)
Long, Blackston(e) & Co. (Rupp, Beck, History)
1837 (Caldwell)
1835 (Beck, History)
Located on Deer Creek, 2 miles from its mouth.  Originally cold blast, later hot.  Steam- and water-powered.  Height 33'; 9' bosh.  Produced 1,200 tons in 1845; Rupp listed 12,000 tons in 1847; only 1,500 tons in 1852.  Abandoned 1854.  D. B. Long, one of the owners, stimulated passage of a law prohibiting sale of intoxicating liquors within three miles of this furnace while he was in the Pennsylvania legislature.
Black Fox Lawson & Co. (Caldwell)
Welsh & Co.; Adams & Varnum; Jacob Painter, et al.; Jones & Co.; Joseph M. Thompson; I. M. Boyd; others (History)
1844
Located on Black Fox Run, about 1 mile from the Allegheny River in Perry Township.  Height 30'; 9' bosh.  Built by Welsh & Co.  Bought by Adams & Varnum in 1848.  Failed in 1850.  Purchased by Jacob Painter, et al., at Sheriff's sale.  Samuel Barr was Superintendent.  Steam - hot blast. Production in 1845 was 1,000 tons; in 1856 was 2,000 tons.  Boiler exploded about 1858; one man killed, several others critically injured.  Abandoned following explosion.
Buchanan Plummer, Creasy & Co. (Caldwell)
Plummer, Crary & Co. (History; Davis)
1844
Located on the north bank of the Clarion River opposite Callensburg.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Cold blast.  Production in 1847 was 2,000 tons; averaged 1,200 tons annually.  Owners were S. F. Plummer (of Kittanning), Arnold Plummer (of Franklin), and F. G. Crary (of Kittanning).  Crary became sole proprietor circa 1857.  Abandoned Fall, 1858, because timber was exhausted.
Callensburg Alexander & Co.  
Production in 1847 was 1,000 tons.
Catfish Over & Lobaugh (Caldwell)
Over, Reichart & Lobaugh (History)
1845 (Caldwell)
1846 (History)
Located on the Allegheny River at the mouth of Catfish Creek.  Steam - cold blast. Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Failed 1851.  Built by Over, Reichart & Lobaugh. Sold to Alexander Miller; leased to J. L. Miller. Manager J. H. Kahl. Production in only 33 weeks of 1856 was 925.5 tons carbonate and red ores from within one mile to the north.
Clarion Bear & Myers (Caldwell)
C. Myers (Rupp)
1829
Located on the Clarion River (hence its name), just west of the mouth of Little Toby Creek. Stack 30' high; base 24 feet square (8' bosh).  Cold blast.  Erected 1828 by Henry Bear and Christian Myers [see his biography on this Web site].  Designed by Bear.  Myers became sole owner until 1851, after which he assigned it to Nelson Hetherington, his son-in-law.  Closed 1852 because of financial problems.  Production 1847:  1,200 (Caldwell) or 1,300 (Beck, History) tons.
Clinton Moore, Semour & Co. (Caldwell)
(1) Clapp & Semore (Rupp, History)
(2) Samuel F. Plumer (History)
1841
Located on Hemlock Creek in the extreme northwest corner of Washington Township.  Height 33'; 9.5' bosh.  Produced 1,000 tons in 1845 and 1847; 2,000 tons of forge metal out of fossil buhr stone and fossil limestone mined two miles south of furnace lower coal measure ore in 1856.  Managed by William Hollis under Plumer's ownership.
Cocheco Samuel & John Wilson (Caldwell)
J. & P. Kerr (History)
1844/1845 (Caldwell)
1844 (Beck, History)
Located on Leatherwood Creek, 2 miles from the Low Grade Railroad.  Height 33'; 10' bosh.  Also known as St. Charles Furnace.  Built by Wilsons.  Sold to J. & P. Kerr, of Clarion, in 1846.  Leased 1861-1865 to Michael McCue.  Production in 1845 and 1847 was 1,000 tons; 1850 was 2,000 tons.  Originally charcoal furnace; used coke from Freeport lower coal one year; one year on raw coal from Freeport upper bed.  Only Clarion County furnace that used raw coal.  Began hot blast in 1857.  Dismantled 1865.  A description can be found on this Web site in Linda Stitt's History of Porter Township.]
Corsica    
See Mt. Pleasant.
Deer Creek Kerr & Hasson (Caldwell, History)
Mease & Co. (History)
1844
Located on Deer Creek, at the turnpike crossing just west of Shippenville.  Cold blast.  Production in 1847 was 1,100 tons. Abandoned 1851.
Eagle Curll, Kibbs & Co. (Caldwell)
Kribbs, Reynolds & Curll (History)
1846
Located on Canoe Creek, one mile from the Clarion River.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Cold blast.  Built by Curll, Kibbs & Co.  Operated by George Kribbs and Joseph B. Reynolds.  Annual production averaged 700-800 tons.  Abandoned 1858.
Elk William B. Fitzhugh (Caldwell)
W. B. Fetzer (Davis)
W. B. Fetzer; Kahl & Call (History)
1842
Also called Smearkase.  Located on Deer Creek, 1 mile above Deer Creek Furnace.  Height 22' (small stack); 7' bosh.  Production was 1,000 in 1847; about 700 tons in 1845; only 400 tons in 1854.  Abandoned Fall, 1855, when timber was exhausted.
Franklin    
See Wildcat.
Helen Robert Barber & Packer (Caldwell, History)
Robert Barker & Wilson S. Packer (Beck)
David Richey; Samuel Wilson & David McKim (History)
1845
Located on Scotch Hill road, 8 miles from Clarion.  Height 32'; 8' bosh.  Built by Robert Barber & Packer in 1845.  Failed, then bought by David Richey.  Then bought by Samuel Wilson, with whom David McKim was partner for a while.  Cold blast.  Production was 756 tons in only 26 weeks in 1856; ore was mined at back of tunnel head.  Abandoned 1856 or 1857.  Built on "old McNaughton farm."  Named "Highland Furnace," in honor of Alexander McNaughton, by builders.   McNaughton was proud of his Highland Scotland heritage.  Pronunciation with Scottish accent was "heeland," which eventually became "Helen."
Hemlock Fitzhugh & McGuire (Caldwell)
W. B. Fetzer & McGuire; Horner & Eaton; F. & W. M. Faber (History)
1845
Located on Hemlock Creek, very near Clinton Furnace.  Built by W. B. Fetzer & McGuire; Horner & Eaton.  Height 30' (inside); 7.5' bosh.  Steam - cold blast.  Production in 1846 and 1847 was 2,000 tons; 1856 was 1,200 tons.  Abandoned about 1860.
Jefferson Arnold Plummer & Co. 1838
Located on Beaver Creek at Jefferson Station.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Built by Arnold & S. F. Plummer; S. F. later became sole proprietor.  Managed by John Haslett.  Sporadic use.  Production in 1845 and 1847 was 800 tons; 1856 about 600 tons of forge metal out of limestone and bog ores.  Abandoned 1858, mainly from lack of timber.
Licking Ohler & Co. 1845
Located on Licking Creek, near Lickingsville in Washington Township.  Height 30'; 7.5' bosh.  Cold blast.  Production in 1846 and 1847 was 1,200 tons; later dropped to 400 tons.  Abandoned 1856.  Owners were William Ohler, John G. Seigworth, John Myers, and John Kapp.
Limestone J. B. Lyon & Bro. (Caldwell)
Jacob B. Lyon & Co. (Rupp, History)
J. Painter & G. B. Smith (History)
1845
Located on Piney Creek in Limestone Township.  Bosh 8'.  Cold blast.  Production in 1847 was 1,000 tons and about 1,000 tons each year afterward.  Abandoned 1853.
Lucinda James Humes & George B. Hamilton (Caldwell & Beck)
J. Reynolds & Co. (Rupp)
John F. Steinman, James Buchanan & John Reynolds (History)
1836 (Caldwell)
1833 (Beck)
Located on Paint Creek in Knox Township.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Hot blast.  Humes became sole proprietor.  John F. Steinman, assignee of Humes, sold furnace to James Buchanan (later U. S. President) and John Reynolds in 1843.  Produced 1,200 tons in 1845, but only 1,500 tons in 1856.  Rupp listed 1847 production as 12,000 tons.  The furnace's output had a high reputation among mill and foundrymen.  Abandoned 1858 because of low prices and scarce timber.   Buchanan and Reynolds also bought 4,351 acres in Knox Township for $20,500.  Buchanan visited the furnace in June, 1843.  Furnace leased to Reynolds & Nathan Evans, who managed it.
Madison Mathiot, Miller & Co. (Caldwell)
Lyon, Shorb & Co. (History)
1836
Located on Piney Creek, 2 miles from Clarion River.  Height 32'; 9' bosh.  Steam - cold blast.  Under Lyon, Shorb & Co. ownership, managed by Thomas McCulloch, Samuel Barr, Calvin Rankin, and M. Conrad.  Produced 1,000 tons in 1845 and 1847; only produced 2,500 tons of mill iron out of argillaceous carbonate ores of coal fields near by in 1856.   Production in 1872 was 3,048 tons.  Used chills.  Abandoned 1873 as a result of economic panic.
Martha    
See Polk.
Mary Ann Plummer & Craig (Caldwell)
J. Black & Co. (Rupp)
1844
Located on Paint Creek where the Franklin-Brookville turnpike crossed.  Bosh 8'.  Cold blast.  Built by John Black, Daniel Brenneman, David McKee, and John Thom.  Sold to John and Adam Black.  Production in 1846 was 1,100 tons; in 1847 was 1,000 tons.  Abandoned 1851.
Monroe Cochran & Fulton (Caldwell)
Cochran Fulton; W. B. Fetzer & Co.; Cochran & Timblin (History)
 
Located on Piney Creek, in eastern Monroe Township, on the road between Reidsburg and Greenville.  Height 30' (inside); 8' bosh.  Cold blast.  Produced 1,000 tons in 1845 and 1847; 1,250 tons in 1855.  Abandoned 1882.   Dismantled Summer, 1922.
Mt. Pleasant J. P. Brown (Caldwell)
G. W. Corbet, Solomon Cyphert, & George Reynolds; J. P. Brown (History)
1849
Later called Corsica.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Located in Clarion Township, northwest of Corsica and slightly north of the turnpike.  Built by G. W. Corbet, Solomon Cyphert, & George Reynolds.  Average annual production about 500 tons from nearby ore.  Sold to J. P. Brown in 1850.
Perry Welsh & Co.  
Production in 1847 was 1,000 tons.
Pike Lawson, Duff & Orr
Hunter Orr
1844 (Caldwell)
1845 (Beck)
Located on Wildcat Run, three-quarters of a mile north of Lawsonham.  Height 30'; 8' bosh.  Steam - hot blast, but originally cold blast stack.  Hunter Orr was owner/manager.  Production in 1845 and 1847 was 1,700 tons; 1856 was 1,500 tons from limestone ore in coal beds near furnace.  Suspended production 1858 for a while.  Dismantled by 1887. Blew out 1868-9.
Polk Christian Myers (Caldwell, History)
Nelson Hetherington (Caldwell)
Lyon, Shorb & Co. (History)
1844 (Caldwell)
1845 (Beck)
Located near Reidsburg in Monroe Township.  Steam cold blast.  Named for President James K. Polk, but the name was changed when Myers became angry with Polk.  Ore and timber became scarce at Clarion Furnace, so Polk was built as its successor by Christian Myers, who renamed it Martha after his wife.  Later owned and managed by Myers' son-in-law, Nelson Hetherington; Hetherington was manager most of the time.  Bought by Lyon, Shorb & Co., but never operated by it.  Production was 1,000 originally (and in 1847); in 1854 was 1,260 tons.  Dismantled 1856 because of scarce timber.
Prospect Alexander & Moore (Caldwell)
H. Alexander & McElroy; Moore, Painter & Co. (History)
1845
Located on Cherry Run, 1 mile south of Callensburg. Height 30'; 8' bosh. Steam - cold blast. Managed by owner, William Moore, under Moore, Painter & Co. ownership. Produced 1,450 tons of mill iron in only 39.25 weeks in 1856 from blue coal measure limestone ore mined within 3.5 miles of the furnace. Abandoned 1862.
Redbank Reynolds & Moorhead 1859
Located at the mouth of Redbank Creek.  First stack 39' high and 11' bosh; later 64' high.  Built by Thomas McCulloch, formerly of Lyon, Shorb & Co.  Alexander Reynolds was later his partner; Moorhead then replaced McCulloch.  Successor to Old Redbank Furnace across the creek in Armstrong County.  Originally used coke made in pits and averaged 95 tons a week.  Still in blast in 1877.  This facility had 40 coke ovens working in connection with the furnace in 1887.  Furnace capacity was 150 tons per week.  Abandoned January, 1883.  In February, 1887, historian A. J. Davis believed the furnace would reopen soon.
Richland Keating & Bencel (Caldwell)
John Keating & J. Vensel (History)
1846
Located on a small branch of Turkey Run in Richland Township.  Height 30'; 8' bosh. Steam - cold blast.  Built by John Keating & J. Vensel.  Averaged 550 tons in 1854-1856.
St. Charles    
See Cocheco.
Sarah Samuel F. Plumer (Caldwell)
Jennings, Morey & Co. (History)
1860
Located at the bottom of the bend of the Allegheny River, about 1 mile above Catfish.  Plumer built it after giving up part ownership in Prospect Furnace.  Plumer named it for his wife.  Used coke as fuel.  Abandoned about 1867.
Shippenville Richard Shippen & Jacob Black 1831 (Caldwell)
1832 (Beck, History)
Located at the junction of Deer and Paint Creeks, 1 mile southeast of Shippenville.  Hot blast.  Height 32'; 9' bosh.  Managed by Robert Montgomery and David McKim.  Produced 1,200 tons in 1845; Rupp listed 1847 production as 12,000 tons; 1,500 tons in 1856.  Abandoned 1859.  Also had an associated forge, the only one in Clarion County, located about 1 mile farther down Deer Creek; together, they produced 50 tons of bar iron (annually?).
Sligo Lyon, Shorb & Co. 1845
Located on Licking Creek near Sligo borough in Piney Township.  Named for Sligo, headquarters of the company's iron works near Pittsburgh.  Owners William Lyon (of Pittsburgh), J. P. Lyon (Sligo), Anthy Shorb, and Thomas McCullough (Sligo).  Steam - originally cold blast.  Changed to hot blast in 1857.  Used chills.  Production in 1845 and 1847 was 1,500 tons.  Produced 2,400 tons rolling mill iron in 1856.  Abandoned 1871.
Tippecanoe Black & Maxwell 1844
Named for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too."  Located on Canoe Creek, 1.5 miles above Eagle Furnace.  Steam - cold blast.  Operated by King and Maxwell.  Production 1,000 tons in 1845 and 1847.  Abandoned 1851.
Washington D. Long & H. Blackstone (Caldwell, History)
H. Blackstone & Co. (Rupp)
Lanier & Co. (History)
1846
Located in extreme southwest corner of Clarion Township, about a half mile north of Monroe Furnace.  Height 30' (inside); 8.5' bosh.  Steam - cold blast.  Produced 1,000 tons in 1846 and 1847.  Produced 706 tons in Spring, 1885; blew out.  Standing in 1924 and mistakenly thought to be the only extant Clarion County furnace at that time.
Wildcat Lawson & Flick (Caldwell)
John L. Miller & James M. Freeman (History)
1844 (Caldwell)
1843 (Beck, History)
Located on Wildcat Run, 1 mile southeast of Rimersburg.  Sometimes called Franklin.  Built by Lawson & Flick.  Height 28'; 7.5' bosh.  Production 1,000 tons in 1845; 1,380 tons in 1847 (Beck, History - Rupp listed 1,000).  Steam - cold blast. Blown out 1857; not abandoned until 1863.



Sources:
  • Caldwell's Illustrated Historical Combination Atlas of Clarion Co., Pennsylvania.  Published by J. A. Caldwell, 1877.
  • I. D. Rupp, History of Pennsylvania, 1847.
  • Paul E. Beck, comp., "Christian Myers, Migrant Iron Master and Founder of Clarion County," Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Journal, date not noted.
  • History of Clarion County, unknown compiler, published circa 1976.
  • A. J. Davis, ed., History of Clarion County, 1887.
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