Madison Furnace, Clarion County, Pennsylvania

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Madison - We found this furnace remains along Piney Creek in Piney Township. It was built in 1836 by Mathiot, Miller & Co.(jac), or Mathias & Co(ajd). It was a steam powered cold blast furnace 32' high with 9' bosh. Bought by Lyon, Shorb & Co. about 1846 it was managed by Thomas McCulloch, Samuel Barr, Calvin Rankin, and M. Conrad. Produced 1000 tons in 1845 and 1847 and only produced 2500 tons of mill iron out of argillaceous carbonate ores of coal fields nearly in 1856. Production in 1872 was 3,048 tons. Madison Furnace ran the molten metal into "chills".i.e. iron molds. The iron was taken to Hahn's Ferry at the mouth of Piney Creek for shipment to Pittsburgh in flat boats with 75 to 100 tons of metal(ajc). Abandoned in 1873 as a result of economic panic(jac). Only a few stones remain. (P)(V)(rp-he-2004).
Follow PA68 north through Sligo to its junction with SR2007.
Three directions to Madison are given, two from this location:
(1) Turn north on SR 2007 and follow it to the Clarion River. Just before the river cross the bridge over Piney Creek and turn right on Laurel Road (T420) which runs between this bridge and the bridge over the Clarion River. A little more than a mile out on this road is a bridge on a road to the right crossing back over Piney Creek. The furnace is located on the right side of this road at the far end of the bridge and against the hillside. These are the original s&t directions modified with new road numbers.
(2) Dan Dundon suggests a better route. Turn north on SR2007 and proceed to the village of Shamburg. Turn right and go east and then northeast on Wassum Road to its junction with a road going left over Piney Creek. The furnace ruins are on the left side of this Road before crossing the bridge and against the hillside.
(3) Hank Edenborn visited this site in Aug. 2004 and verified the location, and also suggested a better route. Exit south onto PA68 at Williamsburg exit on I80. Past Williamsburg turn right onto Piney Dam Road (SR3016) and go west to the road to the left and the bridge over Piney Creek as in (1) above.
After crossing Piney Creek from the north (routes 1 & 3) go around the guard rail on the right side of the road and follow the millrace to the furnace, about 60 feet off the road and 100 feet from the creek. Only a few stones remain.
GPS Coordinates 41º 10.503'N - 79º 27.035'W.(he-rp,km-2004)

Loose Furnace Stones- Madison Furnace - October 2004

RobinJeanne Parks examines Furnace Stones
at Madison Furnace - October 2004
Richard Parks at Madfison Furnace Remains - October 2004
Madison Furnace Special Sources:
A Guide to the Old Stone Blast Furnaces of Western Pennsylvania, Myron B. Sharp and William H. Thomas (s&t)
Caldwell's Illustrated Historical Combination Atlas of Clarion Co. Pa. J. A. Caldwell(jac) 1877*
History of Clarion County, unknown compiler, cir 1976 (hcc)*
History of Clarion County A. J. Davis (ajd) ed. 1887*
Unspecified Clarion Co. Sources from asterisk list above.(unk)
Hank Edenborn, Finleyville, PA
Karl Mouck, Sandy Lake, PA
Copyright © Richard Parks, August 9, 2010