Jacob Myers of Richmond, Virginia, took up land grants on Slate Creek in 1782 and built Kentucky’s first iron blast furnace there in 1791. John Cockey Owings and Company was formed to operate the furnace, which supplied settlers with utensils and tools, began making cannonballs and grapeshot for the U.S. Navy in 1810, and furnished munitions for the U.S. victory at New Orleans in 1815. Its first blast was in 1791 and its last in 1838. Kentucky was a major iron producer from 1791 onward, ranking 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.