Paducah Furnace
Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Paducah Furnace. Built here 1889 by Paducah Iron Co., 70 ft. high with a maximum inner diameter of 14 ft. Rated annual capacity 30,000 tons of iron, using coke fuel. Operations began in 1900, smelting ore from Lyon, Trigg, Livingston counties in Ky., and from Missouri. It was in blast intermittently until 1903, when the furnace ruptured. Razed 1907. See the other side. (Reverse) Iron Made in Kentucky - A major producer since 1791, Ky. ranked 3rd in US in 1830s, 11th in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, limestone supplied material for numerous furnaces making pig iron, utensils, munitions in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, Green River Regions. Charcoal-furnace era ended in 1880s with depletion of ore and timber and use of modern methods. Over.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Built in 1889 by the Paducah Iron Company, this 70-foot coke-fired blast furnace was rated to produce 30,000 tons of iron a year, smelting ore from nearby Kentucky counties and Missouri. It ran intermittently from 1900 until 1903, when the furnace ruptured, and was razed in 1907. Its story is part of Kentucky's long history as a major iron producer, once ranking third in the nation, until the charcoal-furnace era ended in the 1880s.
Why it matters
The furnace marks Kentucky's important but often overlooked role in early American iron production, which supplied tools, utensils, and munitions to a growing nation.
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