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Photo Index & Map Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 Set 8 Set 9 Set 10 Set 11 Set 12 Set 13 Set 14 Set 15 Set 16 Set 17 Set 18 Set 19 Set 20 Set 21

Illinois Iron Furnace Historic Site

The Illinois Iron Furnace Historic Site is a great place to visit if you are near the popular Garden of the Gods or Cave-in-Rock. It is maintained by the US Forest Service in the Shawnee National Forest. We visited on August 7, 2010.

The furnace is next to the parking area.

Step back to Civil War days when "pig iron" was smelted at this, a coal-fired iron furnace. Built between 1837 and 1839, this ancient iron furnace is made from brick and was once used to smelt iron. Due to the Civil War, there was a shortage of workers, which lead to the end of operations from 1861 to 1868. It did not permanently close until 1883, when it was abandoned to ruin.

From Illinois Ozark: Nearby Big Creek was dammed and a millstream dug to the furnace to operate the bellows. Log homes and buildings were constructed and a whole town grew up around the furnace. Bridges were built across Hogthief and Big Creeks. When fully “blown in” and producing iron, the furnace consumed every half hour 37 bushels of charcoal, 750 pounds of iron ore, and 250 pounds of limestone. After 12 hours the furnace contained about 900 bushels of charcoal, 9 tons of iron ore and 3 tons of limestone. At this point the furnace was ready to be tapped. The molten iron flowed out of the bottom of the furnace onto a sand floor where, by a series of trenches in the sand, the iron was led into molds called pigs. After tapping, the hole was again plugged and another twelve-hour cycle began. The pig iron was loaded onto ox carts and transported to Elizabethtown where it was stacked on a levee west of where the Rose Hotel now stands. For miles around the furnace a roar or beat could be heard. At night a great shower of sparks and flames licked the darkened sky, and the burning hardwood in the charcoal pits made an aromatic smell pervade the valley. The furnace changed hands in 1844. By 1846 Illinois Furnace, Illinois had its own post office. The furnace was “blown out” and ceased operations October 8, 1850. Under new ownership in 1856, the furnace was enlarged and rebuilt to operate by hot or cold blast. The furnace again produced pig iron until sometime in 1861. During the war years of 1861 to 1865 there was a desperate need for iron. Records from the time do not show a furnace in operation in Illinois during the period. It wasn’t until 1879, again under different ownership, that iron was produced at the furnace. By this time all the timber conveniently located near the furnace had been used up. The furnace instead used coke, partially burned coal, to fire the furnace. It was barged to Elizabethtown then stockpiled at the furnace for use. The last iron from Illinois Furnace was produced the summer of 1880. The iron in Hardin County wasn’t of a sufficient grade to make iron works profitable in the area. Today the Iron Furnace is preserved as a United States Forest Service site. You can walk along the grounds and see the reconstructed furnace. No trace of the small village remains.