Iron Furnaces And Where To Find Them

Venango Museum Staff
Nov 19, 2025
3 min read

Forged In The Oil Region

Venango County’s iron industry thrived decades before the oil boom. From Crary’s Furnace to river shipments bound for Pittsburgh, iron helped shape the county’s economy, workforce, and industrial identity.

This article draws on county histories, industrial archaeology sources, and 19th-century accounts to document the rise of iron production in Venango County prior to the oil boom.

Before oil and gas took over the Oil Region, Venango County relied on industries like lumber, coal mining, farming, and iron refining. Iron production, in particular, was important but is often forgotten in the county’s history.

People have used iron for thousands of years, with early examples found in ancient Egypt, China, and India. Since iron is usually alloyed (or mixed) with other elements, it must be refined to remove impurities such as carbon and sulfur. Over time, smelting methods improved, leading to the use of charcoal blast furnaces in Europe. When European forests ran low, ironmaking slowed there, but it grew in the American colonies, where there was plenty of wood and fuel for large-scale production.

Pennsylvania soon became a major center for iron production. The first ironworks in the state, Rutter’s Bloomery, was built in 1716 in eastern Pennsylvania. In Venango County, the 'Iron Age' began in 1825 with the construction of the Oil Creek Furnace, also known as Crary’s Furnace. This site, near the mouth of Oil Creek on land bought from Chief Cornplanter, included a furnace, foundry, warehouse, boat landing, and housing for workers. Although nothing remains of the furnace today, it marked the beginning of 20 years of iron production in the county.

After Crary’s Furnace, several iron operations opened across Venango County, such as Castle Rock Furnace on South Sandy Creek. These blast furnaces were big projects that needed workers around the clock. Jobs included cutting wood, making charcoal, hauling ore and limestone, caring for animals, moving goods, and keeping the furnaces running. Smaller sites hired 15 to 20 men, while bigger ones could have 60 to 80 workers at once. Even though the work was tough and the sites were remote, ironwork offered good pay and steady jobs.

Iron production was booming across the country during this time. By the mid-1800s, Pennsylvania accounted for half of the nation's iron production, and by 1870, it led the nation in the value of iron manufacturing. New furnace technology boosted output, and by the late 1800s, furnaces could produce dozens of tons of pig iron each day.

In Venango County, refined iron was used to make everyday items like pots, pans, gates, tools, plows, and fences, as well as military supplies such as artillery and cannonballs. Much of the local iron was shipped downriver to Pittsburgh for sale or further refining, linking the county to larger industrial markets.

The iron industry faced many challenges. Letters from iron entrepreneur Samuel F. Dale show how hard and uncertain furnace operations could be. Low river levels, tough winters, and changing markets could hurt profits. Sometimes, though, these problems helped producers. In 1835, Dale wrote about selling 50 tons of iron at a high price because he was the only one who could reach Pittsburgh when the river was too low for others.

Even though the oil industry later took over, iron refining helped build Venango County's industrial base. It shaped the local workforce and economy, and early growth, long before oil wells changed the area.