Iron Furnaces and Where to Find Them
- Lydia Seaton
- Nov 19
- 4 min read
Before oil and gas became the dominant industry in the Oil Region, other trades made their homes there first. Lumber was a popular business in the region, as well as coal mining, farming, and even extensive iron refining!
Iron is a plentiful natural material that has been used throughout human history, with pieces of iron dating back to ancient Egyptian civilizations. Ancient writings from China and India both refer to iron smelting and to objects left behind, such as swords, axes, and sickles.
Iron is almost always found in combination with other elements. To strengthen the material and make the metal more useful, iron undergoes a refining process that removes impurities such as carbon, oxygen, and sulfur. The first usable metallic iron was most likely produced accidentally by a lightning strike or by a wood fire that unintentionally burned a deposit of iron ore.
As the practice of iron smelting moved from the east to the west, engineering evolved significantly, and by the time it reached England, charcoal blast furnaces were the most common refining method.
Due to massive deforestation for fuel and land in continental Europe and the United Kingdom, the use of blast furnaces was significantly reduced as resources diminished. Colonists, however, brought the trade with them to the thirteen colonies, where iron became a massive industry, in part thanks to the vast forests and fuels like coal, which had not yet been mined.
The first ironworks established in Pennsylvania was a bloomery forge built by Thomas Rutter along Manatawny Creek in the eastern part of the state. The business, called "Rutter's Bloomery," was constructed in 1716.
The so-called “Iron Age” in Venango County began in 1825 with the construction of the Oil Creek Furnace, also known as “Crary’s Furnace.” This furnace was built between 1824 and 1825 by Stockberger, Kinnear, and Reuben Noyes on land purchased from Chief Cornplanter for $2,121.
Constructed at the mouth of Oil Creek, the owners also built a foundry, a warehouse, a boat landing, and several worker homes. Eventually, the business was taken over by William and Frederick G. Crary, who ran it until 1835. Sheriff Andrew McCaslin then sold the property to William Bell, who continued to operate the furnace for fourteen years. No trace of the furnace remains today.
What followed the construction of the Oil Creek Furnace was two decades of the iron industry in the region. Multiple furnaces were constructed throughout Venango County.
Iron not only took Venango County by storm but also the rest of the United States. In 1810, the USA produced 54,000 tons of iron. In 1840, however, the number grew to 286,000 tons! During this period, Pennsylvania was responsible for half of the national total. In 1870, Pennsylvania manufactured $123 million worth of iron, more than twice that of New York, which produced the second-most iron.
Blast furnaces were large operations that required numerous workers around the clock to keep production moving. Small operations would need about 15 to 20 men. Jobs included cutting wood, hauling charcoal, coke, and other fuel sources, preparing and growing food, hauling ore, limestone, and pig iron, and, but not limited to, caring for horses. At times, operations could involve between 60 and 80 men.
The iron industry could be highly lucrative for those in the business. Workers and teamsters were paid relatively well for their intensive labor and often remote lifestyles. At the beginning of the 19th century, single, smaller furnaces could produce up to three tons of iron per day. By the 1840s, the average furnace could produce up to twenty-one tons, and by the end of the 19th century, upwards of fifty tons of pig iron could be reached!
Once refined, iron could be used to make anything from household supplies to military artillery. Pots and pans were common goods, as were gates, axes, plows, fences, grates, and (but not limited to) cannonballs. After being smelted in Venango County, refined iron would be shipped downriver to Pittsburgh, where it would be sold or refined further.
The success of a furnace was not always certain, however. According to letters written by Samuel F. Dale, an iron entrepreneur, the work was challenging, tedious, and painstaking. On October 19, 1834, Dale wrote to his father: “The Furnace is now making some money, though not as much as she ought. Metal is low as it can possibly be, and I do think if I had the entire management of it, I could make more with it.”
Winters would prove difficult for those in the business as well, due to reliance on the river for transporting refined iron and to the extreme cold, which could freeze waterways and lower furnace temperatures. However, at times these disadvantages could work in favor of workers like Dale, whose luck changed in October 1835. Because the river was low, Dale was the only seller who made it to Pittsburgh and sold his iron.
“The water was very low. No metal had been able to get to market but mine, which I disposed of 50 tons at $31.00 at four months to Stackhouse & Thompson, which was the best sale that was or will be made this summer. The rains have since raised the waters and will probably let the other metal all to market.”
— Samuel F. Dale, October 1835
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