Enterprise Furnace stood 6 miles south. Built in 1826 by Richard Deering, James McCoy, and Jacob Clingman on the site of a bloomery forge erected in 1824, its air blast was operated by water power, and it burned charcoal fuel, producing as much as 6 tons of iron daily, mostly cast into utensils. It was not in blast after 1833. Kentucky was a major iron producer beginning in 1781, ranking 3rd in the U.S. in the 1830s and 11th in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, and limestone supplied material for numerous furnaces making 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 with depletion of ore and timber and the growth of railroads.