Industry
5
Before the age of railroads, iron furnaces were built in rural settings where the basic ingredients of iron production were nearby. A source of iron ore was essential, limestone separated impurities from the molten iron as the furnaces burned, huge forests supplied wood for charcoal that burned with intense heat, and a stream or creek provided water power to operate machinery that fanned the charcoal fire and raised its temperature to nearly 3,000 F.
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