Timeline

Technology
Raw Materials Consumption -
To produce 3,000 tons of pig iron per year required:
 7,888 tons of ore
411 tons of limestone for flux
411,000 bushels of charcoal ( 4,110 tons )
     300-350 acres of timberland and 48 wood cutters working 120 days from October to April to produce 11500 cords of wood to make those 411,000 bushels of charcoal.
     Timber regeneration takes 20-30 years so Buckeye needed from 6000-10,000 acres of timberland to maintain a continuous supply.

To produce one ton of pig iron required:
5,200 pounds of ore (2.6 tons)
274 pounds of limestone for flux (0.14 tons)
137 bushels of charcoal (1.37 tons)

One ton of pig iron required over 4 tons of raw materials producing about 3 tons of slag; 12 tons of pig iron a day produced 36 tons of slag a day!

The furnace was charged every 30 minutes with:
1165 pounds of ore
125 pounds of limestone (up to 2")
33 1/3 bushels of charcoal

How a Hot-blast Furnace Works
A fire was lighted in the furnace to begin the heating of the stack. Charcoal was then added to increase the heat and combustion.

Once heated to the proper temperature, charging the furnace began in 30 minute increments adding a measured mixture of ore, limestone and charcoal in layers. These layers of solid materials collected above the narrow neck inside the furnace.

The materials mixed in the 2700 degree F. furnace where iron ore liquefied and separated into heavy pure molten iron and lighter molten slag impurities. The Limestone acted as a flux to help separate the elements and bind the impurities. The liquid iron and liquid slag dripped through the neck of the furnace to the cauldron below.

The liquid iron and liquid slag collect in the cauldron behind a dam stone. This dam stone has two holes in it; one near the top, the other at the bottom. Every half hour the top hole- cinder hole (slag hole) is opened and the slag drained into a trench on the left side of the casting shed. While the slag is still in a liquid state, the end of a chain is dropped into it. When it cools it will harden around the chain. The other end of the chain is wrapped around the axle of the large hand-wheel in the casting shed which is used as a winch to pull the long lump of slag away from the cauldron where it can be safely broken up and hauled away. Once the slag has drained from the cinder hole, it is closed up again with a lump of clay.

After about 12 hours the level of the molten iron has nearly reached the cinder hole and so the iron hole is opened and the molten iron is drained through a series of channels into molds. As soon as it hardens (not necessarily cool) it is broken out of the molds and loaded into wagons to be shipped to the rail landings at Berlin Cross Roads, Wellston, or Jackson. Once the iron has stopped flowing from the iron hole, it is closed up again with a lump of clay.
Heat and gasses from the combustion traveled up the stack and through a duct below two long boiler tanks and then out through a chimney/oven. The boilers produce steam which is piped to the engine house.
The steam powers a steam engine much like on a locomotive. The steam engine drives air compressors /blowers that take in outside air and pump it under pressure to the chimney/oven where the compressed air is heated to about 450 degrees F.

The compressed and heated air is then piped to the base of the furnace through the touyers, the side openings on the furnace stack. This heated compressed air speeds up combustion and somewhat reduces the need for charcoal thereby reducing operating costs.

The only difference between hot-blast and cold blast is the use of the chimney/oven. A hot-blast system runs the compressed air through the chimney/oven to heat it before pumping it to the touyers. A cold-blast system pumps the air at ambient temperature from the blower/compressors directly to the touyers.

Charcoal Making
Charcoal was made in the forests in huge pits, by partially burning piles of wood, stacked in conical piles, covered with damp leaves and earth to exclude oxygen and insure charring, rather than burning. These were called meilers and contained about 40 cords of wood, equal to about one acre of virgin timber and produced around 1600 bushels of charcoal, worth 8 cents a bushel. From 300-350 acres of timber were required each year to operate one furnace. Charcoal made from second and third growth wood was superior to that made from virgin timber.

Made on a hearth called a "pit" with 35-45 cords of wood stacked in a mound 35-45 feet in diameter and 10 to 12 feet high. Building the hearth took one man between one and five days depending on whether he was reusing an old hearth or making an new one. One man needed about two days to stack the wood. The mound was covered with earth, leaves and charcoal dust and carefully burned and tended 24 hours a day for 12-20 days. Removing the charcoal took one man approximately four or five days. Each hearth contained about 200 bushels of charcoal, which weighed approximately two tons. Oak, hickory, and maple were the favored woods because they produced a dense charcoal capable of supporting a great load of ore in the furnace.

Ore and charcoal were hauled by oxen teams pulling large open topped wagons. About 50 yoke (pair) of oxen were needed by each furnace to move pig iron to market and supplies to and form the furnace.

Ore and Ore Processing
Little Red Block (Lower Mercer), Big Red Block (Upper Mercer), and Ferriferous (Limestone) were the favored ores. Others included Harrison, Guinea Fowl, Lincoln, Sand Block, Boggs, Canary, Red Kidney, Yellow Kidney, Peterson, Hallelugah, and Oak Ridge.

The preferred ores had an iron content of 30%-40%; after roasting, such ores usually yielded from 45%-55%.

Ores were stripped from outcroppings; the common rule was that it was economical to strip one foot of overburden for each inch of ore. Buckeye consumed about 2-3 acres of ore-land each year.

Ore miners were paid approximately 75cents per ton and could dig about 1.5 tons a day.

Ore delivered to the furnace cost about $2-$4 per ton depending on the richness of the ore and length of the haul and other factors.

To Slake Iron Ore (to roast ore in preparation for smelting)
1. Lay a base 30'x 40' with heavy logs and wood
2. Spread a layer of braise (charcoal screened by farking, use the screenings) 4 to 6 in
3. Spread a layer of ore 4 " to 6 "
4. Repeat with braise and ore till the kiln is 10 to 12ft high. It will burn 4 or 5 days. Sometimes this reduces some of the ore to iron. As the pyramid became higher the workmen would build a board platform and shovel the ore from the wagon to the platform then from the platform to the top of the kiln.
 Received from Dallas Haydon –Oak Hill, Ohio. OHS Documents on file at Buckeye Furnace State Memorial

For Ore Kiln
Lay 8 "-10 " diameter wood crosswise Lay (bank wood) crosswise to base (limbs and tips of base wood, (10') then layer of ore (8') Then 2 " braise) Braise – Charcoal left after farking. Repeat with layers of ore and braise to a Night of 10' to 12'. This would burn for 2 months. Days to months. 
Received from Dallas Haydon – Oak Hill, Ohio. OHS Documents on file at Buckeye Furnace State Memorial

Limestone for Flux
Vanport ("Gray") limestone was used throughout the region. Limestone extracted from outcroppings or by stripping off overburden and or blasting.

The Furnace
The furnace consisted of an inner lining of fire-brick and an outer wall. The outer wall or stack was constructed of massive native sandstone blocks. The purpose of the outer wall was to support and to insulate the inner lining. Space between the two was filled with sandstone rubble and sand. 

The furnace was built on two levels with the top of the stack the same elevation as the storage yard. Sheds were used for housing the charcoal and other supplies to be used in the furnaces. 

Another shed on the upper level of the stack, served as a bridge and the charge of charcoal, ore, and limestone were moved across this and dumped from a cart into the top of the furnace. Equipment for generating the hot air blast was also located on the upper level. Large blowers fanned the burning charcoal to a high heat and as the charge melted, the limestone served as a flux to float away the impurities. About every half hour another charge was added, In the old stacks air was fed through large V shaped openings in the side. The impurities floated to the top of the molten iron and formed a glassy waste product called slag. This slag was usually black in color an no litters the ground in the vicinity of the old furnaces. The waste product was referred to as cinders and in later years was used for surfacing roads. The molten iron collected in the bottom and was drawn off periodically into troughs formed on a sand bed. This was called pig iron because the troughs resembled a mother sow suckling her pigs. 

Furnace Family Life 
In the vicinity of each furnace was a community of several hundred persons, where the workers and their families lived. The small town consisted of a general store, church, school, and graveyard. Occupations were classed as laborers, teamsters, ore-diggers, black-smiths, carpenters, charcoal burners, store keepers, bookkeeper, and the furnace owner or manager. Wages were low and life was primitive. The $10 or $20 per month wage was paid in script to be used at the company store. Homes were furnished by the company and were usually dirt-floored log cabins. The manager had a home of wood or brick. 

Buckeye employed: 
100-200 men and 50-100 yoke (pair) of oxen 
1 Manager (furnace, lands & store) 
1 Foundryman or Blower (furnace operations) 
2 Engineers (steam engine & boilers) 
5-9 Chargers (weighing & charging the stack) 
2 Keepers (discharge iron & slag, regulate blast air)
2 Helpers 
3-5 Cast House workers (pig molds & break out pigs) 
2 Slag removers 
2-4 Loaders and clean-up men 
2-3 Store clerks 
50 Wood cutters 
2-10 Colliers (charcoal makers) 
14-21 Ore miners 
2-5 Limestone miners and haulers 
2-5 Ore Burners (roast the ore in hearths similar to charcoal making or in kilns) Reese Edwards (later moved to Oak Hill), worked in the blacksmith shop at Buckeye Furnace, dates unknown. 

CONTEMPORARY AND LATER DESCRIPTIONS

1850:  "In 1850, for instance, a boiler perversely exploded at Pine Grove Furnace, killed a man instantly, hurling him to a distance of 150 yards or more." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935

1851:  "During the year 1851, a third furnace was projected in the county, the "Buckeye", which was located only a few miles north of "Keystone".  It differed but little from the other furnaces in the county. The stack was 37 feet high, and it produced from. 10-12 tons a day. It was build in the side of a cliff, the opening being plainly visible in the center. The company purchased 4,500 acres of land about the furnace, and employed the firm of Newkirk, Daniels & Co. to erect the plant, a hot-blast stack." 
The Jackson County Iron Industry, Ohio Arch. And Historical Society Publications 1933 

1853:  "In 1853, during February, Buckeye Furnace was said to be using cannel coal mixed with charcoal very successfully. In March, 1853, Buckeye had pig iron in process of delivery to the railroad. 150 tons, indeed, were collected at the Jackson depot from more than one furnace. The railroad was unable to handle all the iron which had been accumulating for some time. In July, 1853, Buckeye had 200 tons, by report, awaiting shipment. And in December, 1853, we regret to say, the Buckeye coal house burned." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1853-1854:  "The most successful, as well as the best-known furnace established at the beginning of the railroad era in 1853-1854, was the Jefferson Furnace. It was erected by a company of Welshmen, who had become dissatisfied with their connections at Madison Furnace." 
The Jackson County Iron Industry, Ohio Arch. And Historical Society Publications 1933 

1853-1854:  "The three furnaces which were in operation when the railroad [The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad] was completed in 1853-54, were "Keystone", "Buckeye", and "Jackson". These furnaces rapidly made plans to expand their business, and felt much more confident as to the future of the industry." "...Buckeye Furnace had large stacks of iron at Jackson, awaiting the coming of the first train. This Iron was soon on its way to Columbus, Cincinnati, and Chicago. The cold-blast iron was selling at thirty to forty dollars a ton, and was greatly in demand." 
The Jackson County Iron Industry, Ohio Arch. And Historical Society Publications 1933 

1854:  "A joint-stock company [Jefferson Furnace] was organized in January, 1854, under the leadership of Thomas T. Jones, David Edwards, et al, all Welsh, the capital being $50,000, and divided into shares of $500 each. Many of these stockholders traded land to the company in exchange for stock, some giving as much as 160 acres at $12 and acre, reserving the land where their buildings stood, and the right to cultivate what had already been cleared. Some of the less fortunate persons offered to allow their accumulated wages to be applied as part payment for stock. Although the company had a large amount of paid-in capital, it was necessary to go into debt considerably to build their plant. The firm had in the beginning 2,000 acres of timber-land, valued at $24,000 and cash to the value of $26,000 fully paid. A peculiar statement in their constitution provided that none but persons of Welsh birth could hold stock, and that the furnace should be always shut down on Sundays, as was common among other early industrial enterprises." 
Interview with Andrew J. Dutiel, last Madison Furnace manager, 1931 

1857-1858:  "It was the fault of the Democrats, said the Standard editor, that several furnaces including Buckeye, went under in 1857-1858. But the furnace was reorganized and was operating with ten others in February, 1865, in Jackson County." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1859:  "Buckeye Steam Hot and Cold-blast Charcoal Furnace, owned by Newkirk, Daniels & Co. Buckeye Furnace Company, managed by Warren Murfin, Berlin P.O. Jackson county Ohio, and situated five miles south of Iron Valley Furnace 483, on Little Raccoon creek, six miles east of Berlin railway station, was build in 1853, is 11 feet in the bosh by 34 feet high, and made in forty-two weeks of 1855 1,840 tons of iron out of horizontal limestone ore of the surrounding coal measures." 
Iron Manufacturer's Guide... J.P. Lesley and The American Iron Association, New York, 1859 

1860:  "In 1860, for instance, the Jackson County Republicans appealed to the fumacemen, hotly demanding to know whether the furnacemen, were going to be "slaves" of the Democracy! The Welsh furnace owners, and often workmen, were not Democrats in 1860." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1867:  "Finally the Standard editorial details the reorganization in the issue of October 3."
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1867:  "He gives the persons in the new firm, and thinks it is a strong organization." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces hanging Rock Iron In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1868:  "In 1868, the Standard describes a splendid mass meeting, "by all odds the most magnificent ever held in Southern Ohio," at which attended the voters of 'Buckeye with her true and loyal Welshmen." It must have been quite a meeting, and the year before." 1867: "...the Buckeye men are praised for coming out to a big Union rally." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1868:  "In 1868, H.S. Bundy addresses the Buckeye furnacemen on behalf of the right party, the meeting being held at the schoolhouse — which might be the quaint building still standing on the ragged hillside." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1869:  "Buckeye was set to go into blast in June, 1869, It was represented at the iron manufacturers meeting of January in Portsmouth. Its sales of iron are listed, being smaller than the biggest furnaces — but quite a worthwhile item for the owners. It has some litigation with S. Goetz & Co. With Keystone, it subscribes to the new railroad running up from Gallipolis." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1869:  "Dr. Williams, who was the financial manager of Buckeye Furnace in 1869, kindly furnished us ores for analysis some being very superior ores. One gives 61.52% of metallic iron, the other two respectively, 55.58% and 50.83%. The cinder of No. 2 contains nearly seven per cent of metallic iron. Nor furnace can afford to make much of such cinder. From the appearance of the cinder heaps in southern Ohio some furnaces have made far too much of it." 
From State geologist report, 1869

1873:  "Its managers have to appear before a tax board in 1873." 
"Buckeye delegates are listed in a Sunday school convention — Lot Davies, T.J. Williams, and others." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1875:  "In 1875, Buckeye with other furnaces, is subscribing to the Standard."
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1875:  "In 1875, a railroad is proposed between Latrobe and Buckeye in a sizable meeting in the Jackson County Court House." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait April 8 1935 

1876:  "In 1876, Buckeye is still in blast." 
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1876:  "Lot Davies informs me that Buckeye Furnace was built in the year 1851 before the building of the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad. That is true; but the railroad had been projected. Lot Davies, we might explain, was a Welshman of high standing and an executive who managed to make Buckeye Furnace a paying enterprise for a few years." 
Davis Mackley, Editor The Jackson Standard, February 1876 

1876:  "The owners of certain furnaces became wealthy and men of enterprise were by the means obtained from the profits of those two furnaces enabled to build and buy other furnaces outside of the Welsh settlement (around Oak Hill) such as the Buckeye Furnace, which has been continually under the control and management of our philanthropic fellow-citizen and competent furnaceman, Lot Davies: and his brother , John Davies, manages the Jefferson Furnace, both of which have been eminently successful in making money." 
Davis Mackley, Editor The Jackson Standard, November 1876 

1878:  "In 1878, for example, all six Jackson furnaces were idle, and the editor of the Standard quoted figures from the Ohio Statesman to show that funeral ceremonies had best be held for the ancient charcoal and coal furnace."
"Literary associations were held sometimes, picnics, and other festivities; some editors denounced the "odd fish aristocracy" of the Zaleski Furnace, their enormous rents exacted from employees, and high prices at the company store."
Report of Research on Charcoal Iron Furnaces Hanging Rock Region In Ohio by John W. Tait, April 8, 1935 

1882:  "Most ores, when smelted with cold blast, will make an iron which will have a more uniform and lasting chill than when smelted with hot blast. Some ores are affected more injuriously than others. Some, when smelted with hot blast, make an iron not better than the average of anthracite Iron. We know of no red or brown hematite ores, which will not make a better iron when smelted with cold blast." 
Journal U.S. Association of Charcoal Iron Workers, 1882-1883 Report of Lobdell Car-Wheel Co. Wilmington, Del. Vol. XLII-II 

1890:  "F.E. Hinckley, Chicago, Illinois; Buckeye Furnace, Jackson County. One stack: 40 x10, build in 1851; hot blast, open top; red limestone ore (mined on property); product is number one and two foundry pig iron; annual capacity is 4,000 net tons. Idle at present." 
Unknown source, taken from OHS documents on file at Buckeye Furnace State Memorial

"Mr. Thorn stated that the roads were practically impassable during the winter, and that most of the hauling was done in the spring and summer." 
The Jackson County Iron Industry, Ohio Arch. And Hist. Society Publications 1933 

"Cambria Furnace was incorporated by David H. Lewis & Co. Many of the Welsh settlers traded their homes, land and belongings for a share of stock. Practically all of the timber-land was secured by this method." 
The Jackson County Iron Industry, Ohio Arch. And Hist. Society Publications 1933 

The Welsh Connection 
The Welsh connection to Buckeye can be found the most successful owners/operators to manage the plant. The were a company of Welshmen who operated Buckeye from 1867 to 1895, an impressive 28 years through the two depressions of the `60s and 70s. It was the Welsh who inspired and mandated the closing of the furnace on Sundays. At that time, those managers asserted that although they could not produce in 6 days what others could in 7, they could in a year far exceed the production of those other furnaces. 

From conversations with local historians and descendants of ironworkers, the community may not have been as harsh and austere as it might at first seem. Note the picture of a worker's cabin on the interpretive sign half way up the hill to the charging loft. The cabin has a screen door and lace curtains over glass windows. The large opening for the original fireplace/hearth is boarded up and a small chimney now sticks out of the roof. The tin chimney must be attached to a wood burning stove- a huge improvement in heating and cooking efficiency requiring much less fuel and labor to operate. The curtains area luxury that surely could not be afforded by someone living in filthy poor conditions. Education for the children was close at hand and free. A doctor would be much more available in a town setting than for isolated farmers. The family's survival did not depend as precariously on the weather and the harvest. 

Not all furnace managers were ruthless capitalists and some seemed genuinely interested in the health and welfare of the community on which their business relied. H.S. Bundy was asked, at the peak of the '70s depression why he continued to operate his furnaces; "The country cannot always do without iron and the poor men cannot starve, even if iron cannot be sold." He continued to operate his furnaces, even at a loss, to ensure the long-term success of the community. John Campbell, a Welsh leader in the iron industry and founder of many furnaces as well as the town of Ironton, was a close friend of the Rankin family and is believed by many to have been active in the underground railroad movement. Research is ongoing into the connection between Hanging Rock furnaces and communities and the underground railroad movement. 

Buckeye Furnace State Memorial
The only original structure on the site is the masonry stack of the furnace. All the buildings are new constructions built between 1960-1970. The Ore/Limestone Scale is an accurate representation of one that was once on site somewhere near where the reconstructed one is. (the scale we have came from one of the Muskingum River locks).

 The Company store sits on the site of the original Buckeye School house which was later converted into a church. The original school foundation was about half the size of the present foundation. The original company store stood somewhere further uphill behind the current building. The original church was also on that hillside, possibly to the east. 

Across the road from the company store is a small square, aluminum sided house. This is quite possibly one of the original workers cabins sided over. There was a line of cabins on that side of the war from about where that house now stands and extending eastward along that road towards the cemetery. 

The bridge over Little Raccoon Creek has been a covered bridge since 1855 but the modern incarnation is only 8 years old. 

Directly across from the Company Store, where the campers and mobile home now sit, was the oxen barn and stockyards for the company oxen and mules.

Beginning about where the parking lot is and extending towards the furnace along the road was a line of 6 workers cabins. 

Across Little Raccoon Creek was a parallel line of 9 cabins along a road to Latrobe furnace 5 miles to the west. 

There is evidence that a railroad spur ran along Buckeye Park Road but this was laid after Buckeye closed for the coal mining operations that followed. 

In the hills around Buckeye one can still see the tell-tale "benches" where ore was scraped off the hillsides. The average ground level in the Little Raccoon valley has been raised about 3' by filling with slag from the furnace. Buckeye Park Rd north of the furnace has been raised 23' above the valley floor by filling with slag heaps. Note the rounded mounds extending down to the valley floor.

At the time Buckeye Furnace was in operation the valley was not as swampy as it is now. The water table rose 4' between 1960 and 1980 due to a general drop of the surface soil from long wall mining beneath the area. The flooded field north of the furnace between the stack and County Rd 58 was once used for company baseball games!