Nolin Furnace, also called Baker Furnace after its ironmaster, John H. Baker, was built in 1848 a mile north by Craddock &. Co. Using steam power and charcoal fuel, it produced pig iron, kettles, andirons, and other articles from local ore, and its last blast came in 1850. The top of the stone stack, originally about 40 feet high, is still visible when water in the Nolin Reservoir is low. Kentucky had been a major iron producer since 1791, ranking third in the United States in the 1830s and eleventh in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, and limestone supplied material for numerous furnaces that made pig iron, utensils, and munitions in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, and Green River regions. The charcoal-furnace era ended in the 1880s with depletion of ore and timber and the use of modern methods.