Hocking County lay on the edge of the great charcoal iron furnace district know as the Hanging Rock region. Two charcoal iron furnaces were built in Hocking County in the early 1850s to extract the iron ore from the region s sandstone. The iron resulting from the smelting process was used for farm implements as well as ammunition and cannons used by the Union Arm during the Civil War. The vast stands of timber in the area were used to make charcoal to fuel the furnaces. Eventually, beds of coal were discovered and provided additional prosperity for this remote region.
Coal remains and important mineral resource in eastern Hocking County.
During the late 1860s, the cave and park regions became popular as picnicking and hiking area. Poor roads kept the cave area inaccessible to outsiders, making it almost an exclusive local attraction. As accessibility improved around the early 1900s, the virgin woodlands were threatened by encroaching lumbering operations. Fortunately, through the efforts of State Forest Edmund Secrest, the State Forest law was passed by the legislatures in 1915 which enables the state to acquire, by purchase or gift, areas of scenic value, virgin woodland and areas suitable for recreation and reforestation. In 1924, the state purchased its first parcel of land in Hocking Hills which encompassed Old Man s Cave.