From Falling Creek To Zug Island

Bituminous coal furnaces give way to coke, and by 1880, the American iron and steel industry was growing at a tremendous rate. In the twentieth century, the number of operating blast furnaces was cut in half while pig iron capacity more than doubled. Bituminous coal furnaces Attempts to relieve the shortage of charcoal by the use of bituminous coal in American furnaces began quite early. Use of bituminous coal in the blast furnace was restricted to areas lacking anthracite deposits but rich in deposits of bituminous coaL The largest concentration of bituminous coal furnaces was in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Western New York state. Other areas included Kentucky and southern portions of the states of Indiana and Illinois. The first trials were made in Pennsylvania around 1780. Gradually several more furnaces began charging coal with their burdens as a partial substitution for charcoal. These so called cheaters were numerous, especially in Western Pennsylvania, which around 1810 began to expand its ironmaking capacity to catch up with the Lehigh Valley and the Schuylkill According to the existing references, complete bituminous coal burdens began to be used in this area only around 1840 when the ironmakers hastily adopted the hot blast apparatus introduced from England. The majority of these furnaces were built, however, after 1844 when an extensive experimental program, carried out at the Shenango Steam and Water Hot Blast Charcoal, Coke and Raw-Coal Furnace produced favorable results, with coal containing up to 35 pct volatile matter. The furnace was located near the Shenango River on the Lackawannok Run, five miles northwest of Mercer, Pennsylvania. It was built, owned, and operated by David Hogeland of Mercer. The first furnace was built in 1836 or 1837 as a charcoal furnace. Soon, however,