New-York tribune., 1870-02-05
IRON IN SOUTHERN OHIO.
MINING AND MANUFACTURES.


grossly tho facts relating thereto The
most charitable construction to be put upon the matter
is that the Secretary msnormed as 10 the COST
producing pig iron and that he did not seek INFORMATION
from the most Trustworthy sourcesthe places where IL
is manufactured casual investigation will show that
the estimated cost the Secrearys reports much beow
the truth In coming directly to the point OF manufac
turing pig ron we cannot better than to begin hero
in the very center nproducng region OF south
ern Ohio This place laid out In lSiS. by iron manu-
facturers and capitalists to obtain harDor Tor the sDp
ment of ron and II possible to establish great iron
mart Ironton the seat OF Lawrence County, and is
situated on the Ohio River $50 miles above Cincinnati or
about midway between that city and Marietta Its
growth has been rapid and IL numbers moro than
500 inhabitants. all or less engaged In the iron
business 1t the center OF the coal and iron region
extending over the counties Of Lawrence, Jackson VIM
ton the eastern portion OF Scoo and the western part OF
Gala in OHIO and the counties OF Greenup, Carter and
Boyd in Kentucky.
In this section are 81 iron furnaces. II OF
which are "bown ont" or discontinued The
IS in operation may be classified as follows:
In Ohio, 80 charcoal and btuminous coal furnaces
In Kentucky 10 charcoal and btuminous coal furnaces
The manufactured by these furnaces known as the
Hanging Rock ron aud is recognized In the iron market
as OF superior quality In 1869 the amount OF Hanging
Rock Iron manufactured was 10 OF charcoal ron
tuns Of btumnous coal The charcoal required
to produce this amount Of iron s0OoOOO bushels
buminous coal 10000 bushels; limestone, 10000 tnns
native ORE tuns foreign lake Superior and Mis-
souri, ores $4,000 The capital invested In the man
ufacture of iron sOOOO Number Of persons employed
about the furnaces, about 10000.
The ore from which the Hecla iron Is made the gray
hemite found only in a belt six miles long and
six inches thick deeply mbeddcd in the upper in
the hills back OF IrontOn This ore Is the most dnieut
10 get at in this region 1t requires the mining process
and therefore costs moro TO bring to the furnace The
only other Ohio the red hemate which crops out on
the hill sides requiring only the process known as peel
ing to procure The iron Of Southern Ohio runs In two
seams That from which the Ironton furnaces is supplied
ia the upper and appears tops Of the hills at Union
Landing on the Ohio River and disappears at Peters
burg miles above giving river front OF about nine
miles The dip of the IS to 80 feet to the mile The
secOnd lower appears In the hills ve miles below
Ironton and crops out Franklin Furnace. six miles
further down the river.
IL requires p N tuns OF orc to make tun OF Iron IN
hot-bast furnace in n cold-bast furnace it requires
three least to make tun OF iron IL requires
bushels of charcoal 10 make tun Of ron and OF btu
minous coal 50 bushels Charcoal only is good in cold
blast furnaces buminous coal in h0tbast THE former
makes the purest and best iron The difference in the
irons can at glance. hotbast furnace is one
in which constant OF hot air is used to keep tho
fuel blaze cold blast furnace is blown by stream
OF cold air furnace is only better and larger lime
kiln The furnaces OF Southern Ohio nearly all built
blocks Of immense thickness aud cost from
to 100000 The inside OF furnace looks like
a champagnebottle. neck downward. In the neck is a
cut-stOne chamber tub where the melted iron Is re-
coived and is kept from pouring out by huge slab
punctured the hole being pasered up with thick clay
until the blast is ready to be drawn. The furnace is
first heated with charcoal until the inside is red hot
This process takes about week. Alternate layers OF
charcoal with certain proportion Of limestone
amalgamate the dross dumped into the furnace
above. and the is melted and the charcoal con-
sumed the supply kept up until the tub full Of
molten IRON. The blast OF hot cold air is supplied
through the side the furnace lust above the tub by
means OF simple invention called tweer." nozzle
made Of heavy iron with coil OF waterpipe around it to
keep It from melting.
The furnace drawn twice in "a hours. and produces
an average Of per day The process OF drawing
the iron from the furnace very simple In front OF the
furnace bed Of clear dry sand prepared. with deep
in II frOm the mouth Of the furnace. From this
seam smaller lead off, and the sand thus presents
the appearance OF an exaggerated comb. When the
melted is ready hole is punched with long iron
rod through the clay covering the mouth OF the furnace
aud the metal down the back OF the comb and into
the teeth where left to cool The back Of the
comb called the SOW the teeth called the pigs
and after the iron is cool enough TO handle is broken
lengths of three to four feet aud Is then IN the IA
iuliar form known to commerce as pig iron"
The Ohio River Is the only medium by which the pig
iron manufactured in Lawrence County reach tho
market We have little railroad 10 miles long out TO the
furnaces aud this brings in tho and takes out coal
aud supplies to the furnaces 1t built In 1885, and
brought into rSnton ~ 1868 2as tgns OF iron The
The bituminous coal process in the manufacture OF
Ohio pigron is recent invention, made necessary by
the alarming consumption OF charcoal and the demoi
on OF thousands OF acres OF forest trees which cannot
be replaced except by second growth" after lapse OF
from years. Each furnace the region holds
original purchase of 10000 Of forest and lands
ago. several the verge stopping from the
same cause aud proyident manufacturers are directing
their attention to making iron with coal Thus far the
thing is little better than experiment. Two
of coal fit to make iron with explored OF these
is near Ashland Kentucky tho other at Jackson, Ohio.
Both Goals Dned the furnaces and costs about
eight cents per bushe being owned by the furnace
experiment. The charcoal furnaces look upon 1t with
suspicion for IL 1t be demonstrated that the iron pro-
manufacture 1t will put end 10 the high prices which
charcoaliron now commands. This much. however. Is
certain that coairon produced thus far Is vastly ILL
fcriOr to charcoalron.
The producing pig iron differs according cir.
cunstauces Some furnaces produce 1t as low as $50
per un but they those where the and timber for
charcoal Ire e0gnSns The cost Of iron is that Of the
furnace the cost of and timber do not enter into tho
dug from the hilsides and costs s. so to 81 per nn.
Hauling 1t TO the furnace costa 5Oc 10 81 so per tun,
81 50 per day with several skilled worEmen at double
that rate. and foreman at 81 200 year brigade of
timber The timber charred in Inc dry season by the
job and costs the furnace delivered 50 to $40 per load Of
200 bushels the amount necessary TO produce tun Of
IRON These figures moderate estimate. and leave
of view the risks Of handling and transportation.
The average cost OF pig iron In the lronton region 3 90
per tuD. -.
Few people are found in furnace regions but those
tuay employed in the manufacture of iron. The coun'
try Is rough, broken. hly, barren and has desoate
and blasted appearance but the companies fnd t 10
their advantage to establish schools aud churches for
their people. The greatest enemy they encounter Is
drink Wherever 10 gains foOthod. labor is injured,
aud the prosperity OF the community retarded
IrOnt0n just engaged In trying 10 effect railroad
communication with the interior. and expects to unto
with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad by OF
bridge the Ohio six miles above this place That
Will place In direct communication with Norfolk aud
enable IL 10 send It's Heca iron the seabOard besides
enabling II 10 distribute the great commodity throu
the Immense tract OF country that will be trayersed by
that great railroad artery.
A novelty i'll iron manufactures is on exli-
att thaE Eanla ~ Oar Il ma