1833 Iron Furnace Ruins and CCC-Built Reservoir in Wayne National Forest
County Road 193, Ironton, OH 45638
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Day use fees apply for some facilities. Camping rates available at recreation.gov. Some areas are free to access.
Access
Limited Access
Mix of paved roads, gravel paths, and forested hiking trails; furnace area is accessible on foot
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1833 · Iron Furnace Industry · Civilian Conservation Corps · Wayne National Forest Heritage · Pre-Columbian Archaeology
The Vesuvius furnace, named for the Italian volcano, was constructed in 1833 in what is now Lawrence County, Ohio. The Hanging Rock region where it stands was one of the most productive pig iron districts in antebellum America — 46 charcoal iron furnaces operated across the six-county region between 1818 and 1916, and by 1875 southeastern Ohio led the nation in iron production.
At its height, the furnace employed approximately 100 men in specialized roles: ore-diggers, charcoal burners, laborers, teamsters, blacksmiths, carpenters, storekeepers, and bookkeepers. William Firmstone directed operations and pioneered a hot-blast technique that reduced heat requirements and increased production to 8 to 12 tons of pig iron per day, approximately 3,000 tons per year. The operation declined as iron ore seams in the immediate area were exhausted, and the furnace closed around 1906. The furnace stack and its associated masonry survive at the base of the modern dam.
In the late 1930s the federal government purchased the land around the furnace, and a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established at the site. CCC workers dammed Storms Creek between 1937 and 1941, flooding the valley to create a 143-acre reservoir. The resulting complex — lake, campgrounds, beach, picnic areas, archery trail, and hiking paths — opened as the Wayne National Forest's premier developed recreation site. The CCC-built cabins, bathhouses, and structures remain in use.
A 1966 cave survey in the surrounding area recovered archaeological artifacts dating to approximately 700 BC, indicating the valley had been occupied by Native peoples long before Euro-American settlement.
Sources
Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State, a regional paranormal research site, documented multiple recurring apparitions at Lake Vesuvius following fieldwork in the area.
The most frequently reported figure is a man wearing a cowboy hat, seen walking the paved roads around the lake with his head down. When a second look is attempted, he is gone. The description is consistent across independent reports.
Along the dock area, observers have reported a woman who appears beaten and bloodied, her clothing disheveled. The account places her primarily near the water's edge, though road sightings are also reported. No historical record was located identifying either figure or establishing the circumstances of their deaths.
The white vaporous figure is described not as a human shape but as a floating mass drifting through the tree canopy. Additional reports, newer than the primary accounts, describe an elderly woman seated in a rocking chair at one of the former CCC cabins and an apparition of a Native American man near the wooded trail sections.
A miner's ghost is also noted: a figure repeatedly seen emerging from a mine entrance with a loaded wheelbarrow, walking a short distance, and returning. The iron furnace's long operational history and the presence of ore-digging operations in the surrounding hills provide the general historical backdrop, though no specific incident is documented in available sources.
Notable Entities
Hike the 8-mile trail circling the 143-acre lake, passing the preserved 1833 Vesuvius iron furnace at the base of the dam. The furnace employed roughly 100 workers and produced 3,000 tons of pig iron annually before closing as ore seams depleted around 1906. Reports of apparitions are concentrated along the paved roads near the dock and the wooded trail sections.
Camp in the same facilities constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1937 and 1941. Two family campgrounds and a group campground sit along the lake. A 1966 cave survey nearby revealed archaeological artifacts dating to at least 700 BC, indicating long pre-industrial use of this valley.
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