The Henry Clay Iron Furnace
The Henry Clay Furnace trail is a total of just over a mile (there and back) and goes down and old iron mining road to the Henry Clay Iron Works. This furnace was used in the 1830's and '40's, the road continued to be used by lumbermen in the 1920's. You can see the old ore pits along the road, and the slag from the furnace covers the ground at the bottom of the trail.
The trailhead is a couple miles down the road from the main Forest road. There's a parking lot and a sign points the way down the trail. This is a nice place to enjoy the fall foilage and there's a good place to picnic at the furnace at the bottom of the trail.
The Henry Clay Iron Furnace was built in 1834 and operated until around the 1840's. It was one of many iron furnaces in the area at that time that capitalized on the availability of timber for fuel, iron ore and limestone on Chestnut Ridge, and river transportation on the Cheat River.
All that's left now is the massive furnace, and the scars from the roads, mines, and timbering. The drawing below shows what the furnace probably looked like when it was in operation. The bridge to the top of the furnace comes from the access trail, and the water wheel utilized the nearby creek to power the cold blast furnace.
