The Peter Tarr Furnace was the first

iron furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric p ...

west of the

Alleghenies The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. The furnace was built in the 1790s by a man named Grant on property owned by

American pioneer American pioneers were European American and African American settlers who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or used by Nati ...

James Campbell along Kings Creek near modern

Weirton, West Virginia Weirton () is a city in Brooke and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located primarily in Hancock County, the city lies in the northern portions of the state's Northern Panhandle region. As of the 2020 census, the city's pop ...

in Hancock County. Peter Tarr purchased the business shortly after its construction, as Grant was no longer able to maintain it. Along with a partner, Peter Tarr then established the firm of Connell, Tarr, & Company. A forerunner to the modern

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

, the furnace was fueled using local timber and produced about two tons of metal daily. The metal produced at the mill was typically used to make cooking utensils and iron grates. However, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

the metal was used to cast the cannonballs used by Commodore Oliver H. Perry in the 1813

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

. The furnace remained in operation until 1840. In 1968 the shell of the furnace was reconstructed as a permanent landmark."Iron's Cities: A Half Dozen Furnaces Remain From W Va S Short Lived Iron Industry"
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References

External links

Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Hancock County, West Virginia Industrial furnaces National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, West Virginia Ironworks and steel mills in the United States {{HancockCountyWV-NRHP-stub