Six miles south stood a famous iron furnace erected in 1848 by R. M. Biggs and others. It operated for 37 years, averaging 15 tons of pig iron daily, which was hauled by ox teams to the Ohio River for shipment. Iron produced there was used for rails, plows, cannon, and machines. The industry declined as supplies of limestone, charcoal, and ore ran out. The last blast there occurred in 1885.