Iron and Steel Furnace, Lawrence County, Ohio
Built: 1871
Researched by Sharon M. Kouns
Ironton Register, September 23, 1897 – Iron & Steel Furnace Sold – Last Saturday, Sheriff Ward sold the Iron & Steel furnace to Col. H. A. Marting for $2000. The appraisement was $3000. The sale was on a suit by the county for about $1400 in taxes. The Iron & Steel Furnace was built in 1871 and cost over $100,000.
Shortly after it was completed, there was a slump in the iron business, so the furnace was never a money-making enterprise. But the price of $2000 is a terrible descent from the original cost of over $100,000. This is because the condition of the furnace makes it worth a little over the cost of scrap. The boilers are burnt out. The ovens are out of date. The engines are too small. All the brass mountings have been carried off. The furnace lining is worn out. It would cost almost the price of a new furnace to get it in condition to run.
The purchaser will dismantle the furnace and use about an acre of ground in connection with the Eagle Mill. But he will not be able to carry out this purpose for two years, as the former owners have had that time to redeem the property by paying a penalty of 25 percent.
Chillicothe, Ohio Gazette 6 Nov. 1909 – Found Him Guilty Ironton Ohio, Nov. 6. The case of the city against J. Q. Payne, the N. & W. engineer charged with running over the fire hose during the fire some nights ago at the Union Iron & Steel Furnace, was heard in Mayor Golden’s court Thursday afternoon.
The case was bitterly contested, Ex-Congressman Bannon representing Mr. Payne and O. E. Irish the city. Several witnesses were examined, and during the examination, many sharp exchanges between the attorneys furnished excitement and entertainment for the spectators. The burden of the testimony seemed to prove that Payne had maliciously run onto the hose and Mayor Golden so held, returning a guilty verdict.
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