After iron ore was found along Brush Creek in 1815, three iron furnaces were built in Green County. Jacob Holderman and Charles Wilkins built a furnace and forge in 1816, 10 miles downstream, and Joseph Harrison erected a furnace in 1819, 7 miles farther downstream. The forge produced household wares and tools. Green Springs Furnace was built in 1832, 2 miles from here. All of these operations continued until the late 1830s. Kentucky had been a major iron producer since 1791, ranking third in the United States in the 1830s and eleventh in 1965. Charcoal from timber, native ore, and limestone supplied numerous furnaces that made pig iron, utensils, and munitions in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, and Green River regions. The old charcoal furnace era ended because of depletion of ore and timber and the growth of railroads.