Little Boar

Difficulty: easy
Terrain: easy
Placed by: Bigguy, CardinalMom, Pack Rat, & Trail Buddy
Date Placed: July 3, 2003

A few miles north of Ironton, Ohio off State Route #93, is a lovely
state park on the site of an old 19th century iron furnace. It is
named Lake Vesuvius State Park after the Vesuvius Furnace which
operated there. Only the stone stack of the furnace remains. Iron
ore, limestone, and charcoal were poured into the top of the stack
and air was blasted inside. The intense heat separated the oxygen
from the iron oxide and the carbon form the charcoal bonded with the
freed oxygen molecules. The limestone bonded with many of the other
impurities of the ore and formed slag which floated to the top of the
molten iron. The bottom of the furnace was then tapped to allow the
molten iron to run out into casting channels pressed in sand to form
managable sized pieces of iron. These pieces sprouting off a main
channel reminded some of a mother pig and her nursing pigs. Thus the
term "pig iron". Make your way to the opening of the furnace stack
nearest the road and take a bearing of 152. Walk about 22 paces (1
pace = 2 steps) on this heading to a rather large tree with four
trunks. At this tree take a bearing of 60 and walk about 6 paces.
You should be standing on the old slag pile from the furnace (note
all the shiny black rocks) close to an old stone retaining wall. If
you look in the hole where one of the large stones is missing, you
should find the newest pig at Vesuvius Furnace hiding under some
smaller rocks.