Henry Clay Furnace
National Register of Historic Places

Henry Clay Furnace

Cheat Neck, Monongalia County, West Virginia
Listed
January 25, 1970
Type
Structure
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
70000658

About this property

Henry Clay Furnace is an historic iron furnace located in Cooper's Rock State Forest near Cheat Neck, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built between 1834 and 1836 by Leonard Lamb. It is a 30-foot square, 30 feet high stone structure in the shape of a truncated pyramid. It was the first steam-powered blast furnace to be built in Western Virginia and had a capacity to produce 4 tons of pig iron per day. In 1839 it was sold to the Ellicott Brothers, who also purchased the Jackson Ironworks at the same time. They made significant improvements, such as connecting it via tram lines to their ironworks at Ices Ferry. It supported a community of approximately 100 people (some sources say as many as 500 people with 100 dwellings). The small settlement included a school, store and a church. No structures apart from the furnace exist today. It is believed to have ceased production in 1847-48 when the Ellicott's business failed. The furnace may have continued to operate until 1868 when all the Cheat River iron works ceased production. It is among the ten or more abandoned iron furnaces still existing in northern West Virginia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Location

Cheat Neck, Monongalia County, West Virginia
39.64891, -79.81829

Categories

INDUSTRY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Camp Rhododendron
Industrial
0.7 mi
Coopers Rock State Forest Superintendent's House and Garage
Industrial
2.1 mi
Gribble, A.W., Farm
Early Republic
4.4 mi
Easton Roller Mill
Industrial
5 mi
Harner Homestead
Industrial
5.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Henry Clay Furnace listed on the National Register?

Henry Clay Furnace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1970.

What type of historic resource is Henry Clay Furnace?

Henry Clay Furnace is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Henry Clay Furnace?

The period of significance for Henry Clay Furnace is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1834.

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