{"nrhp_refnum":"07000299","name":"Olive Furnace","other_names":["Mt. Olive Furnace","Law-479-1"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"OH 93 at TR 239 (Olive Branch Rd.)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pedro","county":"Lawrence County","state":"OH","lat":38.762187363000066,"lon":-82.63040579299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sandstone iron furnace stack about 35 feet tall at SR 93 and Olive Branch Road in Pedro, Lawrence County, Ohio, built in 1846-1847 for John Campbell in the Hanging Rock Iron Region.","why_significant":"The furnace is tied to the early industrial development of the Hanging Rock Iron Region (Criterion A) and to John Campbell, the 'Father of Ironton' (Criterion B). It is also notable under Criterion C for its unique Roman-style stone arch, which the nomination says is the only one of its kind among furnaces in the region.","narrative":"Olive Furnace is a sandstone iron furnace stack about 35 feet tall beside SR 93 in Pedro, Lawrence County, Ohio. John Campbell had it built in 1846, and it first went into blast in 1847. The lower third was cut from the hillside behind it, and the upper part is hewn sandstone blocks laid without mortar. A Roman-style arch on the north side once supported boilers, and the nomination calls it unique among furnaces of the Hanging Rock region. The furnace began as a cold blast operation and was converted to hot blast in 1856. It produced roughly 16 tons of iron daily, and its iron went to forges along the Ohio River. Local history also links it to aiding runaway slaves. Campbell is known as the 'Father of Ironton.' Operations ended in the early 1900s, and the supporting buildings were demolished after the 1910 sale. The stack is now the main surviving element, with some collapse in the arches and interior walls and a ruined 1930s log cabin on the site.","period_of_significance":"1846-1910","architect_builder":"Built by John Campbell and John Peters; construction by Madison Cole, William Clements and J. L. Thompson","architectural_style":"OTHER/Iron Furnace","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Only the stone stack remains. The site is vacant or not in use. Some deterioration from abandonment and weather, including a fallen west arch and a hole in the north arch.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.364175-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/07000299.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000299/00786c3665-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000299/00786c3665-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olive_Furnace_from_93.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olive_Furnace_from_93.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989637","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Furnace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16896136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lawrence-county/olive-furnace-07000299/"}