The remains of the blast furnace at Katahdin Iron Works

One of the remaining charcoal kilns at Katahdin Iron Works

KATAHDIN IRON WORKS

is located in Katahdin Iron Works Township, T6 R9 NWP, an unorganized township northwest of Brownville and just east of Gulf Hagas and the Hermitage.

Red iron oxide from Ore Mountain is believed to have been the source of pain for the "Red Paint" people who inhabited the area 2000 years ago.  According to the Maine Bureau of Parks and Recreation,

Between 1843 and 1890, these structures pulsed with activity as part of Maine's only nineteenth century iron works operation. The fires of the blast furnace flamed non-stop, glowing against the night sky. Such sights and sounds must have seemed out of place in the Maine wilderness. Yet, it was the wilderness, with its ready supplies of iron ore, fuel wood, and waterpower that brought the iron works industry to this site.

White settlers first entered this area in 1815.  Mining and smelting operations started in 1843 and continued until 1856.  The original blast furnace, rebuilt in 1874, was improved in 1877 but burned in 1883.

The present structure is the remains of the new blast furnace built in 1885.  At the height of operations, about 200 men were employed in mining, wood cutting and smelting before production ceased in 1890.

Pig iron ingots were first hauled to Bangor by horse or oxen.  Returning wagons brought lime from Rockland.  After 1869, shipments were made by rail from Dover and Milo.  The railroad reached the Iron Works in 1882 and operated until 1922.

The charcoal kiln (also called a beehive oven) was built in about 1880.  It is the only remaining example of sixteen similar buildings at the Iron Works.

The kiln is approximately thirty feet in diameter and eighteen feet high.  To make charcoal, the kiln was loaded from the top with fifty cords of wood.  The wood was then burned by a charring fire, which was controlled by opening and closing small openings at the base of the kiln.  The "charring" fire produced charcoal rather than ash.

After the charcoal was removed, it was transported to the blast furnace where it was used in the iron smelting process.  Each furnace charge required all the charcoal produced in the kiln.  As a result, many kilns were needed to keep the furnace in steady operation.

Preservation of the blast furnace has been supported by the Allied Chemical and Dye Company of New York.

Sources:  Maine Bureau of Parks and Recreation, information posted at the historic site.  Photo from the Bureau's Internet site.

National Register of Historic Places - Listings

Katahdin Ironworks 12/23/69, Northwest of Brownville Junction at Silver Lake