Pennsylvania Furnace stood 3¼ miles west. Built in 1845 by George and Samuel Wurts and later owned by the Eastern Kentucky R.R., it shipped its production to the Ohio River. It operated until 1881, producing 2213 tons of iron in 1873. Its stone stack was 38 ft. high with a maximum inside diameter of 10¼ ft., and it used charcoal for fuel. Iron was a major Kentucky product beginning in 1791. Kentucky ranked third in the U.S. in the 1830s and eleventh in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, and limestone supplied numerous furnaces in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, and Green River regions, where pig iron, utensils, and munitions were made. The old charcoal furnace era ended with depletion of ore and timber and the growth of railroads.