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(Tentative Introduction) In 1835, a financial venture syndicate with representatives from Baltimore and from London, England, purchased eleven thousand acres of coal-rich wilderness land along George's Creek in Allegany County, Maryland. On March 29, 1836, the State of Maryland granted a corporate charter to the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company. Coal, iron ore, and limestone was readily available in the George's Creek valley. In 1837, the Corporation members were involved in the construction of an "experimental" iron smelting blast furnace in what became present Lonaconing. Iron is obtained from its ores by heating a mixture of iron ore; carbon in the form of charcoal, coal, or coke; and mineral flux to somewhat above the melting point of cast iron -- commonly about 3000 degrees F. in a vertical furnace made of firebrick. Heated, compressed air is forced into the bottom of the furnace through water-cooled ports to increase the burning rate of the carbon fuel and the formation rate of carbon monoxide which reacts with the iron ore to form liquid iron. The iron collects in the bottom of the furnace beneath a layer of liquid mineral flux and is drained off into large molds to make “pig” ingot cast iron. Prior iron smelting processes in the U.S. used charcoal as the fuel; this furnace would use bituminous coal and/or coke as the fuel mixed with the iron ore and flux minerals and produce much more "pig iron" per day than prior furnaces. Completed and started in 1839, the furnace was a commercial success through the 1840's, producing up to 75 tons per week of cast iron for local casting operations and out-of-town sales throughout the region. Dowel pins in the walls of the C&O Canal have been traced to the Lonaconing Furnace. By 1855, the local market for pig iron and cast iron products was filled to capacity, larger and faster furnaces were being built elsewhere, and lower cost cast iron ingots were being obtained from overseas sources. The Lonaconing iron furnace was shut down, and the salvageable parts resold and moved away. The George's Creek Coal and Iron Company concentrated on its coal mining operations thereafter. Today, the Iron Furnace superstructure is the center-piece for the Iron Furnace Park in Lonaconing; an area used for local events and gatherings. With good lighting and electrical outlets available, the park has hosted private parties and weddings in addition to the traditional "Sunday in the Park" event of food, entertainment, and craft shows. The Iron Furnace is listed on the National Register of Historical Places (National Park Service) as the Lonaconing Furnace, Structure Number 73000886 (also as the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company Furnace Number One). J. N. Harris is listed as the supervising architect (or engineer).
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Flyer Description The Lonaconing Iron Furnace, actually named George's Creek Coal and Iron Company Experimental Furnace Number One, seems to be the only remaining intact furnace of its type in world and is the center piece of the main park in Lonaconing, Allegany County, Maryland -- it most likely was the first furnace of the modern Age of Iron. It was designed and operated by John H. Alexander, a professor of mining and engineering, and Philip Tyson, an industrial chemist. Being the first metallic iron production furnace specifically designed to use coal (and coal-derived coke) as the fuel, this "over-sized" furnace started operation May, 1839, and continued in operation until the local iron ore deposits were exhausted in 1855, producing over 3000 tons of commercial-quality cast iron each year in the form of iron bricks (pig iron), transported by horse and wagon to the local and distant customers, who in turn cast various commercial products. Fifty feet high and fifty feet at the base, the furnace is constructed of sandstone and bricks, all of which were mined and fabricated locally -- only the four, internal, cast iron, supporting beams were obtained from elsewhere.
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Press Release Description The George’s Creek Coal and Iron Company Furnace Number One, commonly known as the Lonaconing Iron Furnace, was designed and constructed 1836-1839 by John Alexander, a professor of mining and civil engineering, and by Philip Tyson, an industrial chemist. Built specifically to extract iron metal from its ore using coal instead of charcoal for the fuel, it was constructed substantially larger than any other furnace of its time — 50 feet at the base, 50 feet high, with a 30 foot wide top. The furnace size (probably accidentally) exceeded the minimum size necessary for a coal-fuel iron-rendering furnace and was a major commercial success, producing commercial-quality cast iron until 1855 when the local ore deposits were exhausted. Although no longer with its ancillary equipment, the furnace is basically intact, seems to be the only remaining intact furnace of its kind in the world, and may well have been the first commercial production furnace of the modern age of iron. Repair work is presently being done, substantially funded by the Maryland Historic Trust. In 1973, the Lonaconing Iron Furnace was listed as Structure Number 73000886 on the National Register of Historical Places. John Alexander's construction journals were edit by K. Harvey and published in 1977 by the American Philosophical Society; reprints on CD-ROM will sold at the event in support of the Iron Furnish refurbishment.
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Questions? Comments! -- IronFurnace@midatlantic.cc
George's Creek History Exhibit, P.O.Box 240, Lonaconing, MD 21539