Anthracite iron facts for kids

Anthracite iron is a special type of iron that was made using anthracite coal. It's a form of pig iron, which is the basic iron produced from a smelting furnace. This new way of making iron was a huge help during the Industrial Revolution, making it possible to produce much more iron than ever before.

Why Anthracite Iron?

For a long time, iron was made using charcoal as fuel. But as more and more iron was needed, the price of charcoal started to go up. It became very expensive to make iron this way. People began looking for a cheaper and easier fuel source. That's when they turned to anthracite coal. Anthracite is a type of coal that burns very hot and cleanly, making it perfect for iron production.

A Big Change for Iron Making

It took a lot of experimenting to figure out how to use anthracite coal to make iron. In the early 1800s, people in places like Wales were trying to make it work. A skilled iron maker named David Thomas finally found a reliable way to produce iron using anthracite coal at the Yniscedwyn Iron Works in Wales.

News of his success reached America. Companies in the United States, like the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, invited David Thomas to come and help them. He came to Pennsylvania and helped build a new iron works called the Lehigh Crane Iron Works near Catasauqua Creek. On July 4, 1840, a special furnace there, called a hot blast furnace, successfully produced anthracite pig iron. This was the first time this had happened in North America! This moment was a big deal because it meant iron could be made faster and cheaper, which helped many new industries grow.

Images for kids

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  This picture shows the area around the historic Lehigh Crane Iron Works. In 1840, at this very spot, the first hot blast furnace in North America successfully made iron using anthracite coal. This was a huge step forward for making iron and helped kick off the Industrial Revolution.