The Carlisle Iron Works in Boiling Springs began around 1760, marking the start of industrial development in the Cumberland Valley, and operated from the 1760s until 1895, when new ironmaking processes replaced the charcoal method. Three successive families, the Eges, Ahis, and Butchers, owned and managed the complex. The iron works included a charcoal furnace dating to about 1762, a forge, grist mill, ironmaster’s mansion, stables, three barns, tenant houses, coal houses, and carpenter and blacksmith shops. The site was chosen for access to iron ore from South Mountain, timber for charcoal, limestone from Ironstone Ridge, and water power created by damming Boiling Springs. The furnace produced cast goods such as pots, kettles, skillets, stoves, chimney backs, and pig iron, and at the nearby forge, pig iron was reheated and shaped into finished iron goods. Iron made here was likely used to manufacture weapons and ammunition for the Revolution.