Hope Furnace

Hope Furnace

Hope Furnace, seen from State Route 278
Location State Route 278, 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Zaleski, Ohio
Coordinates 39°19′55″N 82°20′25″W / 39.33194°N 82.34028°W / 39.33194; -82.34028Coordinates: 39°19′55″N 82°20′25″W / 39.33194°N 82.34028°W / 39.33194; -82.34028
Area less than one acre
Built 1854
NRHP Reference # 73001546[1]
Added to NRHP May 25, 1973

The Hope Furnace is a historic blast furnace in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located along State Route 278, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the village of Zaleski,[1] it is one of two extant iron furnaces in Vinton County. Between 1854 and 1874, the furnace was used to smelt iron ore, using coal or charcoal for fuel. It is a rectangular structure, built of sandstone and shaped like a truncated pyramid.[2]

Like many other iron furnaces in southeastern Ohio, Hope Furnace was surrounded by a community of at least three hundred residents at its height. The production of iron and the supply of the materials required for iron smelting required a large number of workers, and during a furnace's years of operation, it was the center of a temporary community. No buildings from the community remain to the present day: when the furnace closed, the workers dispersed, and the buildings collapsed or were demolished.[2] Although the buildings are gone, many artifacts still remain in the soil surrounding the furnace; most significant are the many pieces of slag that litter the ground.[3]

Historical marker

Today, Hope Furnace is part of Lake Hope State Park.[3] Because of its importance in local history, the furnace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[4] It was the second place in Vinton County to be added to the Register, being preceded only by the Ponn Humpback Covered Bridge.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1368.
  3. 1 2 Lake Hope State Park, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 2010. Accessed 2010-07-16.
  4. ↑ Hope Furnace, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-07-16.
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