THE FURNACES OF THE 20th CENTURY

While charcoal iron furnaces dotted the Jackson County countryside in the 19th century, there were two furnaces that produced silvery pig iron that remained well into the 20th century before all of the furnaces of Jackson County become a moment in time. There were eleven charcoal iron furnaces that were constructed over a 21-year period from 1836 through 1857 throughout the county.

Jackson County was a part of the Hanging Rock Iron Region (so named because of the topography). Elliptical in shape, it covered nearly 1,300 square miles in Ohio and just over 500 in Kentucky bordering the Ohio River. Besides the charcoal iron furnaces, there were also stone coal and coke furnaces being in the second half of the 19th century. Two of those furnaces constructed soon after the Civil War were Fulton Furnace in 1865 and Globe Furnace in 1872.

The Fulton Furnace was based on the southern edge of Jackson and was started by Captain Lewis Davis, who had been associated with the Orange Furnace. The furnace was located just east of the current day intersection of Main and South streets, near the location of the Jackson Square Shopping Center.

The original Globe Furnace was on the west edge of town and operated for only four years until 1876, when it was destroyed by fire.

In 1873, the Globe Furnace Company and the Fulton Furnace Company were reorganized and took the name the Globe Iron Company. The furnaces continued to operate independently until the 1876 fire of the Globe Furnace and Fulton Furnace was then renamed Globe Furnace and remained near the Main and South streets intersection.

The Globe Iron Company operated successfully under the leadership of Thomas A. Jones until his untimely death in 1887 at the age of 81, he was killed in a buggy accident in an attempt to catch a business train bound for Cincinnati.

Eban Jones succeeded his father as president in 1887 and soon became an experienced iron master. It was during his time as president that Eban's son, John E. Jones, made an interesting discovery. Periodically the furnace would produce an "offcast". This is an iron product that contains a higher than normal level of silicon. This occurred when the furnace was overburdened with siliceous ores in conjunction with higher than normal hearth temperatures. He further discovered that this product was useful in grey iron castings, malleable iron, and in the open hearth and electric steel making process.

Thus, with the help of local ores, limestone and Sharon #1 coal, Globe was able to forge out a business specializing in silvery pig iron, an iron defined as an alloy of iron, manganese and silicon. Aided by a seam of coal naturally suited for this process, John E. Jones convinced his father to develop an entire business around this specialty product. Globe's specialization in silvery pig iron became so successful that the company paid off all of its debts and declared a dividend in 1901.

The success of the silvery pig iron enabled the company to begin its first major capital improvement in 1900, followed by another major modernization project to the existing stack and related facilities in 1912.

Another furnace in Jackson, Star Furnace, located near the present site of Luigino's, had also seen the value of this product. Star Furnace had the first iron stack ever erected in the county and was one of the most modern of its time. That plant, though, was abandoned in 1923. While Globe Iron was blossoming and Star Furnace was still going strong, the last blast furnace company in the Hanging Rock Iron Region was organized in 1906 with the Jackson Iron and Steel Company (JISCO).

Construction started immediately and two years later, on October 6, 1908, the new furnace was placed into operation, with its first expansion in 1914 when two more boilers and stove among other things were installed. As time progressed, both furnaces continued to make improvements which allowed they survive challenging economic times. In 1923, the furnace at JISCO was remodeled and more extensively in 1928, when the cast house was enlarged.

In 1929, Globe Iron erected an entirely new blast furnace with a height of 87 feet. The plant also erected five new hot blast stoves, which were painted silver and black. These colors would later become a trademark for the Globe plant. The plant employed about 125 men, including the men who worked in the mine. This modernization program made Globe one of the finest blast furnaces of its time.

However, the Great Depression was soon at hand and by 1930, it was becoming obvious that Globe was about to go through some difficult times. The continued economic slowdown caused Globe to close its doors for an entire year in 1932. John E. Jones himself helped many Globe employees during this period by extending credit at the Globe Store.

It was well in 1935 before sales reached over the one million mark, with a problem that was plaguing Globe Iron was a high inventory of pig iron. But just about any problems for both Globe Iron and JISCO were erased by 1940 because of the increased demand of pig iron on the eve of World War II.

In 1942, the first JISCO stack was dismantled and replaced in record time with a new and larger structure. Adequate water supply for furnace operations was made possible when The Jackson Iron And Steel Company purchased 562 acres of hill and valley land less than a mile from the plant and constructed a dam, when completed in 1952, created a mile-long, seventy acre lake.

The retirement of John E. Jones as president of Globe Iron Company in 1941 brought a new era in its history. Edwin A. Jones, who had long been involved with the everyday operation of the company, became chairman of the board on the eve of World War II. His brother, Marshall Jones, became president and general manager.

Unlike his father, Edwin A. Jones had worked to develop Globe from a local producer, to an iron business that was competitive nationwide.

The 1950s were also a good time for the two furnaces.

Globe Iron was not only overhauling its Jackson facility, but looking to expand into other products. The Globe office, later the central office for the Jackson City Schools, was completed on April 10, 1952. The most significant change in the Globe Iron Company came on April 24, 1956 when the shareholders voted to merge and combine operations with the Interlake Iron Corporation.

It was the decade of the 1960s, though, that brought an end to a Jackson County era that had actually had its roots as far back as 1836. The end of the Jackson Globe Iron plant came on September 4, 1960, when a tremendous explosion at supper time, around 5:10 p.m., killed one man, severely burned another an injured three others. The damage was so extensively that the blast furnace never reopened.

The office building and some other buildings in the mid-1960s were developed into the Manpower Training Center, to help train workers for new jobs. Manpower Training Center closed in the early 1980s.

The remainder of the land was cleared and now stands the Jackson Square Shopping Center, opened in the late 1960s and still the largest shopping center in Jackson.

JISCO, located on the western edge of the city, continued to produce until May 20, 1969, when its final call came and the furnaces of Jackson County were silenced once and for all.

 

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