Argillite Furnace. First of 97 iron furnaces in the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ky. and Ohio, one of earliest in Ky. Built by John and David Trimble and Richard Deering in 1818. Stone stack was 25 feet high. Air blast machinery was water-driven. Charcoal fueled. Daily capacity two tons of iron, cast as utensils or shipped by river in pigs. Last blast in 1837. See other side. (Reverse) Iron Made in Kentucky - A major producer since 1791, Ky. ranked 3rd in US in 1830s, 11th in 1965. Charcoal timber, native ore, limestone supplied material for numerous furnaces making pig iron, utensils, munitions in the Hanging Rock, Red River, Between Rivers, Rolling Fork, Green River Regions. Old charcoal furnace era ended by depletion of ore and timber and the growth of railroads. See over.