At the mouth of the Carp River in Marquette, Michigan, iron was made in blast furnaces in the late 19th century using three essential ingredients: iron ore, flux material, and heat. In Michigan's iron ranges, furnaces used iron ore, limestone, and charcoal, with charcoal produced in kilns from hardwoods harvested from vast forests. The collier who operated a kiln stacked wood 10-14 feet high in circular piles, lit it with a long pole carrying a spark, and controlled the heat through a venting system; the wood burned for 6-8 days and then cooled for another 3-5 days. Near this site, 43 kilns once supplied the Carp River Blast Furnace, which operated on and off from 1874 until 1907. John Burt built and operated the Carp River Furnace in 1874, it burned down in 1882, and Noah Gray and Charles Shaffer rebuilt it and continued operations until 1907. The furnace complex was dismantled in 1916.