Mary Ann

Mary Ann Furnace

In operation as early as 1817, the Mary Ann Furnace was Licking County's first iron manufacturer. The furnace was located in the northeast corner of Mary Ann Township near a rich deposit of high quality iron ore and some deposits of bog iron. Established by former Newark postmaster David Moore, this enterprise opened in the wake of protective tariff legislation passed in 1816 and strengthened two years later.

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Moore, who owned thousands of acres of land in the area, also operated a grist and saw mill near the iron furnace. All of the raw materials to operate the furnace, including timber for charcoal, sandstone to line the furnace, and iron ore came from the immediate area. The route of the canal through nearby Hanover made the job of getting his iron products to the market much easier.

The Mary Ann Furnace produced a variety of iron products, including nails, hinges, chains, pots and pans, kettles, and bar and rod iron. The firm's main products, however, were iron stoves. The company sold its products locally and statewide. An advertisement in the June 15, 1839 issue of the Newark Advocate informed local residents that B.W. Brice's Newark store had just received box stoves, Franklin stoves, and several new styles of stoves from Mary Ann Furnace.

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Despite numerous changes, including the death of David Moore and his son, and the conversion of the blast furnace to steam, Mary Ann Furnace remained operational throughout the 1840's. Finally, a disastrous fire in 1853 forced the company to cease operations.